What Type of Property Insurance Policy Do You Have?

Your declarations page names the policy form you hold — homeowners, dwelling, condo, commercial, or a specialty windstorm or flood policy. Here is how to read it, and why the form matters when an appraisal settles the amount of loss.

By Marshall Smith, IAUA CPAU Certified Insurance Appraiser · Published September 11, 2026 · 7 min read · Filed under Policy & Coverage

If you own or manage property, you almost certainly hold one of a handful of standard policy forms: a homeowners policy (usually an HO-3), a dwelling or landlord policy (a DP form), a condominium unit-owner policy (HO-6), a renters policy (HO-4), a commercial property policy, or a specialty policy such as a state windstorm form or a separate flood policy. The exact form is printed on the first page of your policy — the declarations page — and identifying it is the first step to understanding how your claim will be scoped, valued, and, if you and your carrier disagree on the number, resolved. One thing the policy type never does, though, is decide whether a loss is covered. That is a separate question. When this article talks about appraisal, remember the boundary: appraisal settles the amount of loss only.

Where your policy type is written down

You do not have to guess. Pull out your declarations page — the summary page your carrier sends at issue and renewal — and look for a form number and an edition date, usually near the top or in a "forms and endorsements" list. That code is the fastest way to know exactly what you hold.

Homeowners forms in the widely used series are labeled HO-1 through HO-8. Dwelling forms are labeled DP-1, DP-2, and DP-3. Condominium and renters forms carry their own numbers. Commercial policies often reference a "Building and Personal Property Coverage Form" or are bundled into a Business Owners Policy (BOP) or a commercial package. If you cannot find the number, the declarations page will still tell you a great deal: the named insured, the covered property, the coverage limits (Coverage A for the dwelling, Coverage B for other structures, and so on), the deductibles, and any separate wind or hail deductible.

The homeowners forms, from most basic to broadest

Most single-family homeowners hold one of these:

• HO-1 and HO-2 are named-peril policies. They respond only to perils the policy specifically lists. HO-1 is the most limited and is rarely written today; HO-2 covers a broader list.
• HO-3 is the most common form for owner-occupied homes. It typically insures the structure on an open-peril ("all risk") basis — meaning risks are covered unless the policy excludes them — while insuring personal property on a named-peril basis.
• HO-5 is a broader form that often extends open-peril treatment to personal property as well.
• HO-8 is a modified form frequently used for older homes, where valuation is handled differently to reflect the cost and character of the structure.

The distinction between named-peril and open-peril forms matters because it shapes how the cause of a loss is described in the file. It does not, however, hand the covered-or-not decision to an appraiser. Whether a particular cause falls inside or outside your form is a policy-and-carrier determination.

Policies for landlords, condos, and renters

Not every property owner holds a homeowners policy. Several other common forms exist:

• Dwelling (DP) policies are written for rental houses, seasonal or secondary homes, and properties that do not fit a standard homeowners form. DP-1 is the most basic; DP-3 is the broadest and behaves much like an HO-3 for the structure.
• Condominium unit-owner policies (HO-6) insure the interior of a unit and the owner's personal property, working alongside the condo association's master policy, which covers the building's common elements. Reading an HO-6 correctly often means reading the master policy too, because the two define who is responsible for what.
• Renters policies (HO-4) insure a tenant's personal property and liability, not the building itself.

Knowing which of these you hold changes what property is even on the table in a loss. A unit owner and an association may each hold a policy, and a repair that looks like one loss can involve two forms.

Commercial and specialty property policies

Businesses, apartment complexes, and coastal properties frequently carry forms that behave differently from residential policies. A commercial property policy may value the building and business personal property separately and may add time-element coverages such as business interruption. If you own income property, our page on commercial property insurance appraisal explains how these files are scoped.

Two specialty situations come up constantly in the states we serve:

• Windstorm policies. Along parts of the Texas coast, wind and hail are often insured under a separate state windstorm form rather than the homeowners policy. If that describes you, our TWIA windstorm insurance appraisal page covers how those files differ.
• Flood policies. Flood is almost always insured separately from a homeowners or dwelling policy, under its own form. That separation is why the cause of water intrusion gets documented so carefully — different water events sit under different policies. We cover this on our water and flood damage appraisal page.

Named-peril, open-peril, and how the form shapes the scope

Once you know your form, you know something important about how a loss gets described. On an open-peril structure form, the scope of repair starts from the damage itself and works outward. On a named-peril form, the cause has to be tied to a listed peril before the conversation moves to numbers. Either way, the appraisal function stays on the same task: measuring the cost to repair or replace the damaged property.

Your form also tells you whether the loss will be valued on a replacement cost basis or an actual cash value basis, and whether recoverable depreciation applies. That single distinction can move the dollar figure substantially, and it is one of the most common sources of honest disagreement. Our post on ACV versus RCV in an insurance claim walks through how each is calculated and why the difference shows up in the final number.

Why the policy type matters to an appraisal

Here is the practical link between your policy form and appraisal. Most property policies — homeowners, dwelling, commercial, and many specialty forms — contain an appraisal clause. This is a provision both you and your carrier agreed to when the policy was written. It gives either party a structured way to resolve a disagreement about the amount of loss without going to court.

The mechanics are the same across forms that contain the clause: each side selects its own independent appraiser, the two appraisers work toward agreement on the amount, and a neutral umpire decides any individual items the two appraisers cannot reconcile. The award reflects the amount of loss. It does not, and cannot, decide whether the loss is covered — that determination belongs to the carrier under the policy, and where the parties disagree about coverage, to a court.

So knowing your form does two things for you. It tells you whether an appraisal clause is likely present and what its terms are, and it tells you how the loss will be valued once the scope is settled. If you find an appraisal provision in your form and you and your carrier are apart on the number, our guide on how to invoke your appraisal clause in Texas explains the steps.

Read your own policy language

Every point above is general. Policy forms vary by carrier, by state, and by the endorsements added to your particular contract, so treat the form number as a starting point, not the last word. Check your own policy for its actual terms — the perils it addresses, the valuation basis, the deductibles, and whether it contains an appraisal clause and how that clause reads. If a section is unclear, your agent or carrier can confirm which form you hold and what it says.

If what you really want to know is whether a specific loss is covered, that is the boundary worth repeating: the policy and the carrier settle coverage, and a court resolves a coverage dispute. Appraisal settles the amount. Keeping those two questions separate will save you a great deal of confusion as your claim moves forward.

Talk it through before you decide

If you have identified your policy form and you and your carrier disagree on the amount of loss, an independent appraiser can help you understand where the numbers diverge and whether appraisal is the right path. Marshall Services offers a free, no-obligation consultation. You can review our full appraisal and umpire services or call 972-322-0752 to talk through your situation.