There are seven broad categories of homeowner's insurance. HO-1 is the designation for the most common basic policy. It covers such things as damage from fire, hail, theft and vandalism. The HO-8 variation addresses those same situations but protects older homes by covering actual repair and replacement costs, not just rebuilding costs at today's rates. If you won't settle for just any new structure, and especially if the market value of your home is less than it would cost you to reproduce it, this is the policy for you.
Many companies sell such insurance, and some aggressively target owners of older homes.
And the Chubb Group's City Home policies are designed to cover older homes with unique features. In New England, where homes tend to be older, choices are more numerous, with many local companies opting in. Today's Homeowner, a division of Times Mirror Magazines. Privacy policy .