Guides
The HO-5 comprehensive form: is it worth the upgrade?
The HO-5 insures belongings on open perils as well as the house. What it adds over the HO-3, what it leaves out, how contents are valued, and when it pays off.
The HO-5, ISO's "Comprehensive Form" (HO 00 05), is an HO-3 with one major change: your belongings are insured on an open-perils basis, like the house, instead of against a list of 16 causes. Whether that is worth paying for depends on what you own and on how your insurer values contents after a loss, because the ISO base form still pays belongings at actual cash value unless replacement cost is added. The NAIC's 2023 data put the average HO-5 premium at $1,891 and the HO-3 at $1,737, but the two averages describe different homes.
What the HO-5 changes
On the HO-3, Coverages A (dwelling) and B (other structures) are open perils and Coverage C (belongings) is named perils. On the HO-5, all three are open perils. The trade publication FC&S puts it plainly: contents on the HO 00 05 "are not insured for named perils coverage but insured for anything not otherwise excluded" (FC&S). Loss of use, liability and medical payments work as they do on the HO-3. For the underlying idea, see named perils vs open perils coverage.
Open perils still has an exclusion list, and the HO-5 adds a separate one for belongings. Based on the ISO form's published structure (sample copy of the 10 00 edition; the 2011 edition follows the same pattern, per FC&S), the contents exclusions include:
- Breakage of fragile articles, such as eyeglasses, glassware, statuary, marble, bric-a-brac and porcelains, other than jewelry, watches, bronzes, cameras and photographic lenses. Breakage caused by fire, windstorm, theft and several other listed events is still covered.
- Dampness of the atmosphere and temperature extremes, unless rain, snow, sleet or hail is the direct cause.
- Refinishing, renovating or repairing property, other than watches, jewelry and furs.
- Collision, other than with a land vehicle, and the sinking, swamping or stranding of watercraft.
- Acts or decisions of any person or body, though ensuing loss is covered.
The general exclusions are the same as on the HO-3: flood and surface water, sewer backup, earth movement, wear and tear, neglect, intentional loss and the rest. The HO-5 is not flood or earthquake coverage.
Where the two forms differ: six events
These are hypothetical outcomes on the ISO standard wording. Your insurer's form and any endorsements decide your own result, and FC&S is the source for the open-window and lost-ring comparisons.
| Event | HO-3 (named perils on belongings) | HO-5 (open perils on belongings) |
|---|---|---|
| Rain comes through an open window and stains a silk sofa | Not covered; rain damage inside requires wind or hail to open the roof or a wall first | Covered; the dampness exclusion has an exception for rain |
| A ring is lost, not stolen | No named peril | Covered, subject to the jewelry special limit |
| A tablet or television falls and breaks | No named peril for accidental breakage | Generally covered, since electronics are not in the fragile-article list |
| A surge, not lightning, burns out a television's circuitry | The electrical current peril excludes circuitry | Not blocked by that peril limit; other exclusions, such as mechanical breakdown, may still apply |
| Paint spills on a rug | No named peril | Covered |
| A glass vase is knocked off a shelf | Not covered | Not covered; fragile-article exclusion |
The pattern is that the HO-5 closes the gap for accidents and odd causes. The big losses, fire, theft, windstorm and sudden water discharge, are named perils on the HO-3 already. lightning and power surge damage explains why surge claims are so often disputed.
Valuation matters as much as perils
Open perils decides whether a loss is covered. Loss settlement decides how much you collect. The ISO form pays personal property at actual cash value, meaning replacement cost less depreciation, and replacement cost for contents comes from an endorsement (ISO's is HO 04 90). Some insurers sell an HO-5 with replacement cost on contents built in; others do not. The declarations page and the endorsement list will tell you, and an agent's description will not.
Say a five-year-old sofa costs $2,000 to replace new and its depreciated value is $1,200 (hypothetical; insurers set their own depreciation schedules). On actual cash value you collect $1,200 less the deductible. On replacement cost you typically collect the ACV first and the rest when you replace it. The depreciation calculator: actual cash value vs replacement cost and replacement cost vs actual cash value: why it matters show how the gap grows across a whole household.
Special limits do not go away
Open perils does not lift the dollar caps on categories of valuables. The May 2011 ISO forms limit money to $200, securities and records to $1,500, watercraft to $1,500, jewelry and furs to $1,500, firearms to $2,500 and silverware to $2,500 (the last three apply to loss by theft; on the HO-5, ISO widened the three to cover misplacing and losing, per FC&S). ISO's 2022 revision raised many of these limits, so check your edition. If your jewelry, watches or collections exceed the limits, scheduling jewelry, art and valuables and special limits on jewelry, firearms, cash and collectibles cover the fix, and the valuables coverage checker tallies the gap.
What it costs and who offers it
The NAIC's report on 2023 data, published in July 2026, shows an average premium of $1,891 on the HO-5 and $1,737 on the HO-3, a difference of $154, or about 9% (NAIC). Do not read that as the price of the upgrade. HO-5 policies are often written on newer, higher-value, better-maintained homes, so the averages compare different houses. About 8.5 million house-years were written on the HO-5, roughly 12% of owner-occupied exposures (our calculation from the NAIC table).
Insurers set their own eligibility rules, and some reserve the HO-5 for newer homes, certain coverage levels or clean claims histories. The only reliable number is a quote on both forms at the same dwelling limit, contents limit and deductible.
Is the upgrade worth it?
The case for. A household with a lot of electronics, art or musical instruments gets protection for accidents that no named peril covers. If the insurer includes replacement cost on contents, the HO-5 may cost less than an HO-3 plus the endorsements that approximate it. It also removes arguments over which named peril applies.
The case against. Most small accidental losses fall under the deductible. With a $2,500 deductible, a $900 laptop that slips off a counter pays nothing on either form. If your contents are modest, the premium difference over many years can exceed what you would ever collect. And if contents are still paid at actual cash value, a covered loss may leave you short even though the peril was covered.
A middle route exists: some insurers sell an endorsement that gives an HO-3 open-perils contents coverage for less than a full HO-5. Ask for that quote as well.
Questions to put to your agent
- Is contents coverage settled at replacement cost or actual cash value, and is that built in or an endorsement?
- What are my contents limit and special limits for jewelry, firearms, silverware and electronics?
- Which contents exclusions apply in this insurer's form?
- What is the price of an HO-3 with replacement cost on contents against the HO-5, at the same limits and deductible?
- What does this insurer require for HO-5 eligibility, and could that change at renewal?
A written how to make a home inventory for insurance makes the contents limit a number you can defend, and how much personal property coverage do you need? explains how to set it.
Key takeaways
- The HO-5 is the only standard ISO owner form that insures belongings on open perils; the house is covered the same way as on the HO-3.
- It closes gaps for accidental and oddly caused losses but excludes fragile-article breakage, atmospheric dampness, repairs and the usual flood, earth movement and wear exclusions.
- Check how contents are settled: the ISO base form pays actual cash value, and many gaps come from valuation rather than perils.
- Special limits on money, jewelry, firearms and silverware still apply, so valuables may need a schedule.
- Compare quotes at the same limits and deductible, and weigh the premium against the small losses a deductible already absorbs.