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HO-15 vs HO-5

Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2014 2:20 pm
by iamfabio
Need some help identifing the key differences in coverage comparing a HO-3 with a HO-15 endorsement and a true HO-5. Any information about possible gaps in coverage or opinions on the differences would be appreciated.


Thanks

Re: HO-15 vs HO-5

Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2014 12:30 pm
by jtownagent
You will need to read the HO 5 policy and compare it to the HO-3 policy with the HO-15 Endorsement, then you need to read all of the endorsements attached to each policy, as each of the endorsements may affect the entire policy. Be careful if you are comparing ISO and "Non-ISO" contracts.

The advantage of special form contracts is the burdon of proof will be on the insurance company to find an exclusion to deny coverage. With a named peril policy the burdon of proof is on the insured to prove that the cause of loss is one of the named perils.

Sorry, no one can do this type of work/analysis for you. At the end of the day you need to refer to the contract and wording rather than say " I read so and so on Insurance Journal". That just won't cut it.

Re: HO-15 vs HO-5

Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2014 12:36 pm
by gforaker
jtownagent wrote:You will need to read the HO 5 policy and compare it to the HO-3 policy with the HO-15 Endorsement, then you need to read all of the endorsements attached to each policy, as each of the endorsements may affect the entire policy. Be careful if you are comparing ISO and "Non-ISO" contracts.

The advantage of special form contracts is the burdon of proof will be on the insurance company to find an exclusion to deny coverage. With a named peril policy the burdon of proof is on the insured to prove that the cause of loss is one of the named perils.

Sorry, no one can do this type of work/analysis for you. At the end of the day you need to refer to the contract and wording rather than say " I read so and so on Insurance Journal". That just won't cut it.
Jtown is correct. Not only do you have to gather all of the forms to compare, but a single company will likely not offer both options and will likely have small endorsement differences from ISO. I suspect the largest differences will be with the company forms to ISO rather than just comparing the two ISO forms.