ISO Home-owners policy conditions & benefits!

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2007 07:20 am Post Subject: lets consider the 3 conditions

Hi Rhonda,
I have only come across 3 types of situations wherein a homeowner gets eligible for ISO homeowners program.
Lets consider them one by one:
# Suppose you and your family members own a home & you all start residing at this very place, then you may apply for it.
# Suppose you start leasing out your premises to others.
# Suppose you and your family buy a segment of a pvt. condominium which is being used as a residence.
Now this is all about the eligibility criteria that you had asked about.
Regards, Fatman

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2007 07:55 am Post Subject: coverage-related sections..

Hi yeah! sometimes we do refer to the declaration, the agreement and the policy definitions associated with a HO policy as the prelim. sections. But you should know that every such policy has two coverage-related sections. The policy-issue code, the extent of the coverage, the duration, the named-insured, the broker's name, the address of the insured are all stated in the prelim. section (declarations page).

The agreement clearly states how the coverage described in the policy is subject to applicant's regularity towards paying the premiums. The definitions-section associates all those terms which are related to the named insured & his insurer. It also describes all the terms which are closely supporting the policy benefits.
All the best! Juanita

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2007 08:23 am Post Subject: describing the ISO policies in my own way

My friend, for your state the ISO policies may be described in a different way according to the Texas Insurance Board-

HO-A - This policy covers your home and whatever you have inside it from some hazards which have already been mentioned in your policy papers.
HO-B - Protects your home from all hazards except those which are being mentioned as 'risks & contents against group-perils'. In this case your home may be covered up to the limit stated in your policy & the contents would be reimbursed for the real cash value. But this one you need to show that you don't already have any addl. replacement benefit in place.

HO-C - This one generally takes care of all the perils towards your home n contents, unless any of such perils are conditioned to get barred. (Other conditions remain the same as the previous HO-B)
I think I could explain these policies in a vivid way! ColdWallet

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2007 09:57 pm Post Subject:

Let's be clear of a couple of things regarding ISO forms for ALL lines of insurance.

ISO, or Insurance Services Office, does a number of different things within the insurance industry. One of the bigger ISO areas is that they generate generic policy forms that insurers are free to adopt within a given state. Insurers also have the choice of having company specific forms that are normally pre-approved by a particular state.

So, if an insurer decides that the ISO form is the form they want to adopt, ISO will commonly do all of the filing, etc. of that policy form within the state. They are already approved, they simply need to be filed. The insurer will pay ISO for these services.

If an insurer elects to use their OWN policy forms, as many do, they may contain whatever coverage, exclusions, conditions, etc. they please as long as they do not violate state law or rule and have the forms pre-approved for use (most common).

Insurer generated policy forms commonly grant a higher level of coverage than those generated via ISO. The key is that the ISO forms are already approved, ISO has done the work, and ISO maintains the state-required functions. For insurer forms, the insurer must do these things.

Do not worry about the cost. Cost is cost, and has nothing to do with what type of form the insurance company has adopted. If you're planning on shopping, it's very difficult for the average layperson to define the differences between ISO and company generated forms. I know many producers that couldn't identify the differences unless they had a copy of each form in front of them, and even then there would be difficulties.

Coverage is the key, and cost is secondary. Saving $50 a year by going with a lame form will pale in comparison to the personal cost if a loss isn't covered. Just my two cents worth.

Good luck, and let us know if you need anything else!

InsTeacher 8)