Buying Home Insurance Coverage in Oklahoma

Purchasing insurance to protect your home in the Sooner State might seem like it wouldn't be any different than buying it for a house in Texas or Missouri. But you'd be wrong. States might have common ground between laws because of some common ground between what consumers need to be protected, but each state has its own concerns. That can be a function of politics and politicians, but can also have much to do with geography and weather patterns. For example, in this state, there are no small number of twisters. Any risk of damage to a home in Oklahoma is known as a "peril." Some examples are fire, burglary, or hailstorm. Home insurance is intended to protect it from various dangers.

Oklahoma's Four Single-Family Coverage Types

Unlike many states where policy types have long, descriptive titles that can vary for different types or levels of protection, the state has tried to keep things as consistent as possible for the sake of consumers. That has result in four types of policies for houses denoted by code numbers. They are HO-1, HO-2, HO-3, and HO-8. (There are two more types, neither of which are for single-family homes: one for apartments - HO-4 - and another for condos & co-ops - HO-6.)

What follows are explanations of what the standardized codes represent in terms of coverage for the homeowner's investment. As you read through them, remember that a peril is a cause of damage to a home:

• HO-1: The most basic policy in the bunch is the HO-1. It includes coverage of your house, surrounding buildings, and incidental property inside or on the property from eleven primary dangers. According to the Oklahoma Insurance Department, they are:
  1. Fire or lightning.
  2. Windstorm or hail.
  3. Explosions.
  4. Riot or civil commotion.
  5. Damage caused by aircraft.
  6. Damage caused by vehicles.
  7. Sudden or accidental damage from smoke.
  8. Vandalism, also known as malicious mischief.
  9. Theft.
  10. Volcanic eruption.
  11. Damage by glass or safety-glazing material that is part of a building.
• HO-2: The next level up in coverage is HO-2, which includes the first eleven perils above, plus an additional six possible examples. Those additional six are:
  1. Objects falling from the sky, including meteorites, airplanes, etc.
  2. Weight of ice, snow, or sleet.
  3. Water damage from home utilities or appliances.
  4. Accidental discharge or overflow of water from plumbing.
  5. Damage from frozen plumbing.
  6. Sudden accidental splitting, cracking, burning, or distension of a steam or hot-water heating system.
• HO-3: The highest level of protection for the average home, the HO-3 provides protection from all seventeen perils listed above. But it also includes coverage of any peril that has not been identified specifically in your policy, with the exception of flood, earthquake, war, and nuclear accident. These are not covered.
• HO-8: While the number of perils included in this policy matches that of HO-1 (eleven), it is in fact a more valuable policy. The reason is that it is offered almost exclusively for heritage home of some historic value or which contains extraordinary architectural features of historic value. Also unlike HO-1, HO-8 offers replacement at actual cash values, minus rebuilding fees. This policy type increases the level of financial protection for replacement costs as well.

We have sought to being together some basics to get you up to speed on the nature of policies in the Sooner State. However, it is best that you look up the Oklahoma Insurance Department website on the Internet. Or why not seek the help of carriers licensed to offer coverage in the state.