HO-5 homeowners form Carolinas vs HO-3 contents

The contents question is the one that separates a typical HO-3 from an HO-5. The Insurance Information Institute, in a note attached to its 2022 premium comparison, describes the HO-3 package as the most common one written: all-risks coverage on buildings except causes the policy specifically excludes, and broad named-peril coverage on personal property. [1] North Carolina's Department of Insurance, in a consumer guide issued in 2017 and still posted by the department, describes special form HO 00 03 as open perils on the dwelling and on structures that are not attached to it, with personal property insured only against perils the contract names. [2] The same guide describes comprehensive form HO 00 05 as open perils on the dwelling, on unattached structures, and on personal property. [3] An HO-5 homeowners form Carolinas households are comparing is that broader contents contract. The declarations page, not a nickname, shows which number is actually in force.

Contents, not the walls

A peril is the cause of a loss. Named-peril coverage pays only when the cause is one the contract lists. Open-peril coverage, sometimes called special or all-risks coverage, pays for direct physical loss unless the contract excludes the cause. On a typical HO-3, those two ideas are split by property type. The building gets the open-peril treatment. Furniture, clothing, electronics, and the rest of Coverage C stay on the named list. [1]

That split is the point of this comparison. How a broad form and a special form treat the dwelling is a separate reading, and it is not repeated here. For a household in Charleston, Charlotte, Horry County, the Grand Strand, or along coastal North Carolina, the practical question is what happens to the things inside when the cause is not on a list.

North Carolina's 2017 guide says HO 00 03 may be used on a single-family dwelling or a townhouse. Open perils, in that section, means direct physical damage to the dwelling unless the policy excludes it. Personal property stays on perils named in the contract, which the guide lists in a chart. [2] HO 00 05 may be used on a single-family dwelling or a townhouse too, and personal property moves onto the open perils basis with the dwelling and the unattached structures. [3] The guide says coverage amounts on the comprehensive form match the broad form, and it lists personal property on the broad form at 50 percent of the dwelling amount. [4]

South Carolina pages cited below do not restate that HO 00 03 versus HO 00 05 contents split. A South Carolina policy still has to be read on its own form number. The Institute's HO-3 note is a national description of the common package, not a South Carolina statute. [1]

What named-peril contents require

On named-peril contents, the loss has to fit a cause the policy names. If the cause is missing from that list, Coverage C does not start, even when the building section would treat the same event as open peril. North Carolina's guide tells readers to use the named-peril chart for special-form personal property, then the contract itself. [2]

The Institute's HO-3 brochure, which assumes that common form, states that personal property is covered while it is anywhere in the world. The example is a set of clubs stolen from a car. The same answer says older items may be settled at current value unless a replacement-cost endorsement is on the policy. [5] Worldwide reach is a contents feature. It is not the same thing as open-peril causes.

What open-peril contents add

Open-peril contents are the HO-5 change. On HO 00 05, North Carolina's guide puts personal property on an open perils basis with the dwelling and the unattached structures, so the household does not have to match belongings to a named row first. [3] Exclusions still apply. The guide's open-peril wording, written for the dwelling on the special form, is direct physical damage unless the policy excludes the cause. [2]

Open perils are not a settlement method. The 2017 North Carolina guide says most homeowners policies cover contents on an actual cash value basis, and that many insurers offer endorsement HO 04 90 so personal property can be insured at replacement cost. [6] The Institute tells readers to look under Section I, Conditions, Loss Settlement. In that article, replacement cost generally pays the dollar amount needed to replace a damaged item with one of similar kind and quality without a deduction for depreciation, and actual cash value pays the amount needed to replace the item, minus depreciation. [7] The pages cited here do not say that the HO 00 05 label, by itself, switches contents from actual cash value to replacement cost.

South Carolina's 2019 post-disaster claims guide makes the same reading point from the front page. Check the declarations page to see whether the policy provides replacement cost coverage. If it does not specify replacement cost, the guide says the policy likely covers only actual cash value. If it specifies replacement cost, that is the coverage in force. [8] A household can hold an HO-3 or an HO-5 and still need that line. Our team treats the form number and the loss-settlement wording as two separate checks.

Limits that remain on the contents

A wider list of causes does not, by itself, raise the dollar limit. The Institute says the personal property limit appears on the declarations page under Section I, Coverages, Personal Property, and that most companies provide 50 percent to 70 percent of the amount of insurance on the dwelling. [9] North Carolina's 2017 guide says comprehensive-form amounts match the broad form, which lists personal property at 50 percent of the dwelling amount. [4]

South Carolina's additional-coverages page uses its own example. Contents coverage is 50 percent of the insurance on the home, so a home insured for $100,000 would show $50,000 of contents in that example, and the contents amount can be increased for a minimal extra charge without increasing the insurance on the home. [11] That figure is the department's illustration, not a quote for a house in Horry County or Charlotte.

Special category limits sit inside the contents limit. North Carolina's 2017 guide says coverage is limited on property especially susceptible to loss, including cash, securities, jewelry, furs, manuscripts, and stamp or coin collections, and that additional amounts may be purchased or the items scheduled. [10] A later section describes a scheduled personal property endorsement, sometimes called a personal articles floater, for high-value items that travel more than ordinary household goods, with examples that include jewelry, furs, coins, guns, and computers. [12] The Institute places special limits of liability in Section I, Personal Property, and says a special personal property endorsement or floater can insure valuable items separately when those limits are too low. [13]

The Institute's HO-3 brochure states that a standard policy provides only from $1,000 to $2,000 for theft of jewelry, and that a floater can raise limits and cover additional risks. [14] That brochure has been posted for many years, so the range is the brochure's statement, not a 2026 limit to copy onto a Carolina contract.

North Carolina has a dated update on those caps. A Rate Bureau circular dated October 29, 2025, says the Commissioner of Insurance approved the North Carolina 2027 Homeowners Policy Program on October 21, 2025. It replaces the current program for new and renewal policies effective on or after June 1, 2027, and it is based on the Insurance Services Office 2022 homeowners program with state-specific modifications. The form list includes HO 00 03, Homeowners 3 Special Form, and HO 00 05, Homeowners 5 Comprehensive Form. [15] Highlights include increased special limits for items such as money, securities, and theft of jewelry. [16] The summary does not print the new dollar caps, so they are not guessed here. A North Carolina renewal on or after that date should be read again for the special-limits table.

What the cited pages still leave out

Open-peril contents still stop at exclusions. The pages below are state-specific where the statement is state-specific. A North Carolina sentence is not treated as a South Carolina rule, or the reverse.

In North Carolina, the 2017 guide says homeowners policies do not provide protection against losses from floods, earthquakes, mudslides, mudflows, or landslides. [17] The same guide says losses from water backup and sump overflow are not covered under the homeowners policy, and that an endorsement is available from most companies, though it may not be offered unless the household asks. [18] Those lines describe homeowners policies in the guide that also explains HO 00 03 and HO 00 05. They are not a reprint of an HO 00 05 exclusion form.

In South Carolina, the department's storm preparedness guide, updated in 2025, says the standard homeowners policy does not include flood damage, including damage from storm surge, and that a separate flood policy is needed. It notes a thirty-day waiting period before National Flood Insurance Program coverage becomes effective. [19] On earthquake, the additional-coverages page says no standard policy, including the homeowners policy, covers catastrophic earthquake damage, that an endorsement is available for an additional premium, and that fault lines run through the state even though activity is infrequent. [20] The 2019 post-disaster claims guide adds that most policies will not cover flood or earthquake damage unless that coverage was bought separately. [21]

The Institute's disaster article, which is not a Carolina statute, adds two gaps that show up on a typical policy. Sewer backups are not covered under a typical homeowners policy and are not covered by flood insurance. That article says the coverage is bought as a separate product or as an endorsement. [23] The policy will not cover damage from lack of maintenance, mold, or infestation from termites or pests. [24] Flood damage is excluded under standard homeowners and renters policies, with separate coverage available from the National Flood Insurance Program and from some private insurers. [22] None of those sentences say an HO-5 deletes the exclusion.

How to read the form number

Start on the declarations page. North Carolina's 2017 guide says that page is almost always first and that it contains the name of the insured, the address, the dollar amounts of coverage, a description of the policy, and the cost. Definitions, coverages, exclusions, and conditions follow. [25] In that description, and on the form pages behind it, look for HO 00 03 or HO 00 05. Companies also shorten those labels to HO-3 and HO-5. The Rate Bureau circular uses the titles Homeowners 3 Special Form and Homeowners 5 Comprehensive Form for the 2027 program. [15]

South Carolina's 2019 claims guide says to check the declarations page for whether replacement cost is specified. If the page does not say replacement cost, the guide says the policy likely covers only actual cash value. [8] The same habit works in both states. The front page identifies the contract, the limits, and the settlement label. The perils section for Coverage C identifies the causes.

If the front page says special form, do not assume the contents followed the building onto open perils. [1][2] If it says comprehensive form, still read the exclusions. North Carolina's guide says homeowners policies do not cover flood or earthquake. [17] South Carolina's 2025 storm guide says a standard homeowners policy does not include flood damage, including storm surge. [19]

North Carolina's 2017 guide says insurance on the home is not required by state law, though a lender may require it when the home is mortgaged. [26] The same guide says the Coastal Property Insurance Pool provides broad form HO 00 02, special form HO 00 03, unit-owners form HO 00 06, and modified coverage form HO 00 08, for property in the coastal areas that plan serves. [27] That sentence names those forms. It does not name HO 00 05. That is a description of the guide's list, not a guess about every carrier in coastal North Carolina.

Our team uses that order on policies written for coastal South Carolina and coastal North Carolina. Households that want a plain walk-through of the building and contents sections can start with our page on homeowners coverage. The form number is the first thing we match.

Practical takeaways

• A typical HO-3 keeps personal property on named perils while the building is all-risks except exclusions. That is the Institute's description of the common package. [1]
• In North Carolina's 2017 consumer guide, HO 00 05 places personal property on an open perils basis, and HO 00 03 does not. [2][3]
• Open perils still stop at exclusions. North Carolina's guide names flood, earthquake, mudslide, mudflow, and landslide, plus water backup and sump overflow unless an endorsement is added. [17][18]
• South Carolina's department says a standard homeowners policy does not include flood, including storm surge, and that no standard policy, including the homeowners policy, covers catastrophic earthquake damage. An earthquake endorsement is offered. [19][20]
• Most companies, the Institute says, set contents coverage at 50 percent to 70 percent of the dwelling amount, and that limit is printed on the declarations page. [9] South Carolina's department uses a 50 percent example and says the contents amount can be increased without raising the insurance on the home. [11]
• Replacement cost on belongings is a separate endorsement question, including HO 04 90 in the North Carolina guide. The form number does not settle it. [6][7]
• Special limits on jewelry and similar items survive the move to a broader cause-of-loss form. Schedule the items when the sublimit is too low, and re-read North Carolina limits at the June 1, 2027 program change. [12][13][16]
• The declarations page holds the insured name, the address, the amounts, a description of the policy, and the price. Match HO 00 03 or HO 00 05 there before comparing causes of loss on the contents. [15][25]

How we can help

Have more questions or want to get in touch? Contact us Our team can read the form number beside the contents section and explain whether belongings are on named perils or on open perils.

Citations

1. Insurance Information Institute, "Facts + Statistics: Homeowners and renters insurance" (2022)
2. North Carolina Department of Insurance, "A Consumer's Guide to Homeowner's Insurance" (2017)
3. North Carolina Department of Insurance, "A Consumer's Guide to Homeowner's Insurance" (2017)
4. North Carolina Department of Insurance, "A Consumer's Guide to Homeowner's Insurance" (2017)
5. Insurance Information Institute, "Am I Covered?" (undated live article)
6. North Carolina Department of Insurance, "A Consumer's Guide to Homeowner's Insurance" (2017)
7. Insurance Information Institute, "House and personal possessions" (live article)
8. South Carolina Department of Insurance, "Post-Disaster Claims Guide" (2019)
9. Insurance Information Institute, "House and personal possessions" (live article)
10. North Carolina Department of Insurance, "A Consumer's Guide to Homeowner's Insurance" (2017)
11. South Carolina Department of Insurance, "Additional Homeowner's Insurance Coverages" (undated page)
12. North Carolina Department of Insurance, "A Consumer's Guide to Homeowner's Insurance" (2017)
13. Insurance Information Institute, "House and personal possessions" (live article)
14. Insurance Information Institute, "Am I Covered?" (undated live article)
15. North Carolina Rate Bureau, "Circular Letter P-25-3, Implementation of the North Carolina 2027 Homeowners Policy Program" (2025)
16. North Carolina Rate Bureau, "Circular Letter P-25-3, Implementation of the North Carolina 2027 Homeowners Policy Program" (2025)
17. North Carolina Department of Insurance, "A Consumer's Guide to Homeowner's Insurance" (2017)
18. North Carolina Department of Insurance, "A Consumer's Guide to Homeowner's Insurance" (2017)
19. South Carolina Department of Insurance, "Are You Storm Ready?" (2025)
20. South Carolina Department of Insurance, "Additional Homeowner's Insurance Coverages" (undated page)
21. South Carolina Department of Insurance, "Post-Disaster Claims Guide" (2019)
22. Insurance Information Institute, "Which disasters are covered by homeowners insurance?" (live article)
23. Insurance Information Institute, "Which disasters are covered by homeowners insurance?" (live article)
24. Insurance Information Institute, "Which disasters are covered by homeowners insurance?" (live article)
25. North Carolina Department of Insurance, "A Consumer's Guide to Homeowner's Insurance" (2017)
26. North Carolina Department of Insurance, "A Consumer's Guide to Homeowner's Insurance" (2017)
27. North Carolina Department of Insurance, "A Consumer's Guide to Homeowner's Insurance" (2017)