What does home insurance actually cover?

The short answer

Six separate kinds of coverage in one document: the house, other buildings, your things, somewhere to live while it is fixed, and two kinds of protection when someone gets hurt.

A homeowners policy is six separate pieces of coverage in one document: the house, the other buildings, your things, somewhere to live while it is fixed, and two kinds of protection when someone gets hurt.

Don't know a word? Press any purple word to see what it means. They're all listed at the bottom of the page.

The six parts

You choose the house limit. Most of the rest is set as a share of it.

A. The houseRebuilding or repairing the home itself. You choose the limit.
B. Other structuresA detached garage, a shed, a fence. Typically 10% of A.
C. Your thingsFurniture, clothes, electronics. Typically 50% of A, sometimes more (Insurance Information Institute: 50% to 70%).
D. Loss of useHotel, rent and meals while the house is being fixed. Typically 20% of A.
E. LiabilityIf someone is hurt at your home, or you damage someone else’s property, and they claim against you.
F. Medical paymentsSmall medical bills for a guest hurt at your home, whoever was at fault.

National Association of Insurance Commissioners, consumer guide to home insurance. Your own percentages are on your declarations page, the summary at the front of the policy.

Listed risks and unlisted risks

Two ways a policy decides what it pays for.

Listed risksSome policies pay only for the risks they list by name.

Everything except a listThe most common form works the other way round for the house itself.

insures your property against all perils, except those the policy specifically names as not covered.NAIC, on the most common homeowners form

Belongings are sometimes covered only for listed risks; your policy says which. That list of what is not covered is where the surprises live. Step 3 is about the biggest one.

Read the exclusions first.

Renters and condo owners

Different homes, different policies.

RentersCovers your belongings and your liability, not the building, which is the landlord’s.

CondoCovers the inside of your unit and your things. The association’s master policy covers the building and common areas.

$2,000minimum loss-assessment cover a Florida condo unit policy must include, for your share of an association’s special assessment after a covered lossFlorida law as of October 2026

Remember this

The most useful page in your policy is the list of what it does not cover.

Words on this page

Master policy: A condo association's own policy for the building and shared areas. What it leaves out is yours to cover.

Next — Step 2 of 6: Would your policy actually rebuild your house? →