The additional coverages hiding in your policy

After Coverage D in the standard HO-3 form, there is a section headed "Additional Coverages." In the May 2011 edition of the ISO form (HO 00 03 05 11) it holds twelve small coverages, such as tree debris removal, fire department charges, stolen credit cards and a $1,000 loss assessment benefit. Some of them add money on top of your Coverage A or C limit, some only spend money you already have, and a few carry limits so low that they matter only on the right kind of claim.

Most people never read this section until a claim brings it up. An adjuster will say "that falls under the tree removal additional coverage, so it is capped at $500 a tree," and the homeowner learns the cap for the first time. Read the list once now, before you need it.

One caution before the details. Everything here describes the ISO form as published in May 2011. Your insurer may use its own form with different dollar amounts, and your state's amendatory endorsement can change them again. Your policy and declarations page control, not this page.

The list at a glance

The most useful question to ask of each coverage is whether it adds to your limit or draws on it. The form says so in plain words: "This coverage is additional insurance" means the benefit sits on top of the limit for the damaged property. "Does not increase the limit" means it is paid out of that limit.

The dollar limits come from the form text. Note the two "no deductible" entries: the fire department charge and the credit card coverage waive it. Expect the deductible on your declarations page to apply to the rest.

The ones that come up in real claims

Ordinance or law

This is the largest of the group. When a city requires you to bring a damaged house up to current code, the standard form lets you use up to 10% of the Coverage A limit for the extra cost, and that amount is additional insurance. Say your dwelling limit is $400,000: the form gives you up to $40,000 for code upgrades. For a 1950s house that needs new wiring, egress windows and a modern roof deck, $40,000 can disappear fast, and insurers sell higher percentages by endorsement. The full treatment is in ordinance or law coverage: paying to rebuild to code.

Debris removal and tree removal

Clearing ruined material is part of the covered loss. If the damage plus the cost of hauling it away exceeds the limit that applies, the form adds another 5% of that limit for debris removal. On a $400,000 dwelling limit that is up to $20,000 more. Trees are a separate and much smaller benefit: up to $1,000 per loss to remove trees felled by wind, hail or the weight of ice, snow or sleet, no more than $500 per tree, and only if the tree damaged a covered structure or blocked a driveway so a registered vehicle could not get in or out. A tree that falls in the back yard and hurts nothing is yours to remove. The details and the neighbor's-tree rules are in debris removal and tree removal coverage.

Trees, shrubs and lawns

A different clause from tree removal, and often confused with it. It pays to replace trees, shrubs, plants and lawns on the residence premises, up to 5% of Coverage A with a $500 cap on any single plant, and only for a short list of perils: fire or lightning, explosion, riot, aircraft, vehicles not owned by a resident, vandalism and theft. Windstorm is not on the list, so a hurricane that flattens your landscaping typically pays nothing under this clause. are trees, shrubs and landscaping covered? covers it in depth.

Reasonable repairs

The form pays the reasonable cost of necessary measures taken solely to protect covered property from further damage after a covered loss. Tarps, board-up, water extraction and temporary fencing all fit. It does not raise your limit, and it does not relieve you of your own duty to protect the property. A separate guide, reasonable repairs: what you can fix before the adjuster comes, explains what to do first and what to save.

Fire department service charge

Pays up to $500 if you are legally liable by contract for fire department charges, with no deductible. The catch is the exclusion: no coverage if the property is inside the limits of the city, municipality or protection district that responds. In practice it matters mostly for rural homes served by a subscription fire company, which is also where a bill can arrive in the first place.

Loss assessment

If you belong to a homeowners association or condominium association and it levies a special assessment after a covered loss to shared property, the form pays your share up to $1,000. That figure is low for any association with real exposure. Loss assessment coverage for HOA and condo owners explains when to raise it.

Property removed

An underrated one. While covered property is being moved out of a premises endangered by a covered peril, it is protected against loss "from any cause" for up to 30 days. If you load the car ahead of a wildfire or carry furniture out of a burning room, a later theft or a wreck on the road is still covered during that window.

Collapse

Covers abrupt collapse, meaning the building falls down or caves in so that it cannot be occupied for its intended purpose. It does not cover a building that is merely in danger of collapsing, or cracking, bulging or sagging. Causes include hidden decay or hidden insect damage that no insured knew about before the collapse, the weight of people or contents, and the weight of rain collecting on a roof. See collapse coverage: what counts as a collapse.

Credit cards, forgery and counterfeit money

Up to $500 for the legal obligation to pay on stolen or misused credit cards, theft of bank card access, check forgery and good-faith acceptance of counterfeit U.S. or Canadian paper currency. Federal law already caps a cardholder's liability for unauthorized credit card use at $50, which makes this one the least used on the list.

Landlord's furnishings and grave markers

Landlord's furnishings pays up to $2,500 for appliances and carpeting in each apartment on your premises that you regularly rent, but not for theft. Grave markers, including mausoleums, are covered to $5,000. Both are footnotes for most readers.

What the list leaves out

The additional coverages do not include several things homeowners assume are standard. Food spoilage after a power outage, water backup from a sewer or sump, equipment breakdown, identity theft expenses and scheduled valuables are not in the base form; they come through endorsements or separate policies. The overview in homeowners endorsements worth considering sorts out which are worth a look, and the six main coverages that come before this section are laid out in The six coverages in a homeowners policy, A through F.

How to find your own numbers

1. Pull your policy and find the table of contents. Look for "Additional Coverages" in Section I.
2. Compare each dollar figure with the table above. Mark anything that differs.
3. Open the forms list on your declarations page and note every endorsement. Several of these coverages are replaced or enlarged by an endorsement there.
4. Ask your agent to put the figures that matter to you in writing: ordinance or law, loss assessment, tree removal and debris removal.
5. Repeat at each renewal. Insurers change forms, and a dollar limit that was $1,000 last year may not be this year.

Key takeaways

• The ISO HO-3 lists twelve Additional Coverages in Section I; some add to your limit and some are paid out of it.
• Ordinance or law (10% of Coverage A) and debris removal (an extra 5%) are the large ones, and both are worth sizing against the age of your house.
• Tree removal pays $500 per tree and only when the tree damages a structure or blocks a driveway; landscaping coverage excludes windstorm.
• The $1,000 loss assessment benefit is thin for condo and association owners.
• Dollar amounts vary by insurer and state, so read the Additional Coverages section of your own policy and its endorsements.