H03 Vs H05

[blueblur1984]

The biggest specific example I can think of was a claim out of marin county (a ritzy area north of San Francisco). They had a fire which was put out quickly so there was very little structural damage. The bulk of the claim was cause by the water running through the asbestos in the walls and ceiling contaminating all of the soft goods in the house (blankets, mattresses, clothes, etc). Even the hard surface items like jewelry and appliances had to be professionally cleaned by a hazmat company at great expense.

My understanding is that the HO3 will not cover the personal property portion of a claim resulting from a non-listed peril (asbestos tainted water in this case). Or would they cover for it because it was initiated by a response to a covered claim? The home was insured under an HO5 so I didn't have to worry about it.

Again, we're getting back towards anecdotal coverage ideas and away from statistics comparing the two, but I would be curious to hear how this would be treated.

 

[Dave864]

Some examples of HO5 covered claims that would not be paid on an ISO HO3:

Spilled a bottle of red wine on the new white carpet
Scorched the new countertop with a pot of boiling water
Wedding ring fell down the drain (without a specific jewelry rider)
Almost anything water related, unless it happens to be accidental discharge

I'll see if I can think of more.

1) With a $500 deductible or higher, that must be a hell of a carpet or a big ass bottle of wine. Plus, as an agent, I would never recommend they file a claim for something that menial that was their fault. What a waste of home insurance--rates go up, they may lose underwriting grace for when they file a real claim.

2) Same as #1

3) My HO3 carriers can add special personal property as an endorsement that's usually cheaper than the HO5 version. Specifically, I add an endorsement on Allied that increases jewelry limits to $15k and adds special coverage on those limits. +any good agent is going to recommend a jewelry rider if the insured cares that much about the jewelry.

4) I'm trying to think of a water claim that would be covered on an HO5 that wouldn't be on an HO3. Water back up (with endorsement), burst pipe, leaky faucet, etc. is all covered on HO3.