HO-7 mobile home insurance is the main policy available for mobile homes in the United States. This guide will cover the most important information about HO-7 policies including coverage options, perils, and exclusions. More than 20 million Americans reside in mobile homes full-time and many rent their mobile homes to tenants. Mobile home insurance options provide similar coverage to a single-family home insurance.
- HO-7 is designed to protect mobile home owners and owners of manufactured homes
- HO-7 insurance policies cover a homeowner in a similar fashion to standard homeowners insurance policy like HO-3, with the same outline of coverages (structure itself, extensions, personal property, additional living expenses, personal liability, and medical payments) being included in the policy.
- There are additional coverages that should be considered if the mobile home is used for extended vacation periods or as a rental home
What is an HO-7 home insurance policy?
An HO-7 insurance policy is the type of homeowners insurance that an individual needs if they own mobile home or manufactured home. It’s the mobile home insurance policy. Mobile and manufactured homes can be similar to a single-family home in a lot of ways and different in others.
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HO-7 homeowners insurance policies are in the form of an open perils policy, which provides greater protection than the broad form homeowners policy like HO-2.
What Does an HO-7 Insurance Policy Cover?
HO-7 homeowners insurance protects individuals in much the same way as the standard HO-3 does. There are some differences between HO-7 and an HO-3 policy that best suits the owner of mobile or manufactured homes.
There are six sections of coverages contained within an HO-7 policy these include: coverage A- Dwelling, Coverage B- Mobile home extensions, Coverage C- Personal Property, Coverage D- Loss of use, Coverage E- Personal Liability, and Coverage F- Medical payments to others
The six sections provide well-rounded coverage to the homeowner up to the coverage limits listed in the policy.
Coverage A – Dwelling
Dwelling as it pertains to a mobile home includes the mobile home’s structure, meaning the motor home itself, walls, roof, and base of the mobile home. Anything that is a part of the mobile home itself will be covered under this section.
This part of the policy is on an open perils basis, meaning that every peril is covered unless explicitly stated in the policy.
Typical Limit: Usually, the covered amount should be the replacement cost of the home.
Coverage B – Mobile home extensions (Other structures)
This protection covers damage to any other structures on the property, for example a porch or covered car port. It can also cover detached structures on the mobile homeowner’s property.
This section is on an open perils basis like part A. Any peril would be covered unless specifically excluded.
Typical Limit: This part of the policy is typically capped at the replacement cost value.
Coverage C – Personal property
Part C is meant to protect the mobile homeowner in the event of any damage to or loss of their personal belongings.
As in HO-3 insurance, this part of the policy is on a named perils basis unlike parts A and B. This means that the peril must be specifically named in the policy in order to be a covered event. All other instances not listed would be excluded.
Typical Limit: The limits differ from insurance company to insurance company, but generally speaking a covered loss in this section is on an actual cash value basis unlike the first two parts. Actual cash value protection will take into account depreciation of the personal items over time. These typically leads to a lower valuation than the homeowner may expect.
Coverage D – Loss of use
Loss of use, also known as additional living expenses coverage, provides mobile or manufactured home owners with reimbursement for expenses that are in addition to their daily living costs they may incur while they do not have access to their home This can include the cost of a hotel room or other form of accommodation.
Typical Limit: This section typically provides limited coverage to the mobile home owner with actual dollar amount limits varying by insurance carrier.
Coverage E- Personal liability coverage
This section covers the owners of mobile homes for any legal expenses or medical expenses that may be incurred if the owner is found to be at fault.
Typical Limit: This limit will vary from carrier to carrier. It is important to check the liability coverage provided by each insurance company.
Coverage F – Medical payments to others
This portion of the HO-7 policy will pay for medical bills for a guest who was injured on the mobile home property no matter who was determined to be at fault.
Typical Limit: This section is generally limited to a smaller amount ($1k to $2k).
What Perils Are Covered Under HO-7 Home Insurance?
Homeowners are covered by any peril except what is specifically excluded under an HO-7 policy. This is the open peril basis which is the more comprehensive form of coverage for a homeowner to have.
It is important to note that the personal property section of coverage is on the more limited named perils basis. This means that the peril must be specifically included in the policy in order for a covered claim to occur for damage or loss of one’s personal belongings.
The named perils that constitute a covered peril for property damage include:
- Falling objects
- Volcanic eruption
- Weight of snow/ice/sleet
- Sudden accidental damage due to discharge/overflow of water
- Accidental tearing, cracking, burning of a built-in appliance
- Power surge
What types of mobile homes are covered?
HO-7 mobile home insurance covers any sort of mobile home that was typically built in a factory. The types of homes usually included are:
- Single-wide mobile homes
- Double-wide mobile homes
- Modular homes
- Sectional homes
- Trailers, fifth-wheels
- Some tiny houses
- Some RV’s and park model homes
The dimensions, build, and age of the listed mobile homes above can vary greatly. The cost of an HO-7 mobile home insurance policy can greatly differ depending on the characteristics of it.
What HO-7 policies do not cover
An HO-7 policy provides similar insurance protection to the standard home insurance, HO-3. There are common perils that are usually excluded in both the HO-3 and HO-7 policy. The following types of events are typically excluded:
Government Seizures/Illegal Builds
The mobile home’s infrastructure has to abide by all local building codes and any damages (floods, fire, etc) caused by buildings or upgrades that are not according to the legal code will not be compensated. If the government seizes the property for any reason, the insurance company will also refuse to pay out a claim.
Animal Damage
The HO-7 policy does not extend to damage caused by pets inside the mobile home. Example: If your dog starts biting the furniture and destroying the appliances in your mobile home, the insurance company will refuse to pay for the damage caused.
Certain Natural Disasters
The HO-7 policy, similar to other homeowner policies, does not cover you for certain natural disasters. These disasters include earthquakes, floods, nuclear damage, or war. If you live in a high-risk zone where any of these could occur, there’s a possibility to add these to your HO-7 plan.
Molding
Most HO-7 plans do not cover mold even though this is not a rare occurrence in mobile homes. Molding problems can be expensive to fix, and this is why you should consult your insurance agent to find out whether you’re covered. The coverage can be added to your existing plan.
Normal wear and tear, negligence and maintenance issues
These are typically not covered by any type of home insurance. HO-7 is no exception.
Mobile home while in transit
An important added exclusion to an HO-7 policy is that the policy will typically not cover the mobile home while it is in transit. Sometimes it is possible to add more coverage through an endorsement for the home to be covered while moving from destination to destination.
Additional coverages available
There are some additional coverages available for an HO-7 policy, that should be considered by the homeowner. The typical coverages available are secondary mobile home insurance, short-term rental or landlord insurance, earthquake insurance, and flood insurance.
Secondary mobile home insurance
If the mobile home is used as a vacation home or seasonal home, where the home is left vacant for extended periods of time, it will be important to get an additional secondary mobile home insurance policy. Vacant dwellings are at higher risk for theft or damage to the home’s structure thus insurance companies will want one to pay for further protection to be in place.
Short-term rental or landlord Insurance
If one rents out the home the insurance company may require additional protection and a landlord insurance policy will certainly be required if the home is rented out full-time.
Earthquake and flood Insurance
These are common additional policies that can be added to most homeowner’s policies. They can be important considerations if your mobile home is in an area where earthquakes and/or floods occur.
In Closing
HO-7 policies provide excellent insurance options for different mobile homes, RVs, and modular homes. If you live in an earthquake and flood-prone area, add these upgrades your policy in order to be covered. Get acquainted with the environmental risks in your area and make sure your HO-7 policy covers you for all potential damages.
