Coverage A Through F (Homeowners)
Homeowners insurance policies divide coverage into six lettered sections, Coverage A through Coverage F, each protecting a different category of loss.
What is Coverage A on a homeowners policy?
Dwelling coverage (Coverage A) protects the physical structure of your home: the walls, roof, foundation, built-in appliances, and attached structures like a garage. Coverage A is based on the cost to rebuild your home at current construction prices, not its market value or purchase price. In Georgia, where labor and material costs have risen sharply in recent years, a Coverage A limit set three or four years ago may no longer reflect what a full rebuild would actually cost today. For example, a home purchased for $350,000 in 2021 might cost $480,000 to rebuild at 2025 construction prices, since market value and rebuild cost can diverge significantly over just a few years.
What do Coverages B, C, and D cover?
Coverage B covers other structures on the property: a detached garage, fence, shed, or gazebo. It is usually set at 10 percent of Coverage A by default. Coverage C covers personal property, including furniture, clothing, electronics, and kitchen items. Most standard policies cover personal property on an actual cash value basis, meaning depreciation is deducted from any claim payment. A replacement cost endorsement for personal property eliminates that deduction and pays what the item costs to replace new.
Coverage D is loss of use, covering the extra living costs (hotel, meals, laundry) while your home is being repaired after a covered loss. Policies typically cap this at 20 to 30 percent of Coverage A for a defined time period, so a lengthy repair on a high-value home can exhaust this limit faster than expected.
What does Coverage E (personal liability) cover?
Liability coverage (Coverage E) pays for bodily injury or property damage you cause to others, whether on your property or elsewhere. It also covers legal defense costs if someone sues you. For example, if a guest slips on an icy walkway at your home and breaks a wrist, Coverage E pays the resulting medical bills and any lawsuit costs up to the policy limit.
What is Coverage F and how does it differ from Coverage E?
Coverage F is medical payments to others: a small no-fault benefit, typically $1,000 to $5,000, that pays a guest’s medical bills after an injury on your property without requiring any finding of fault. It is designed to handle minor injuries quickly without triggering a formal liability claim against Coverage E. The key difference is that Coverage F pays regardless of fault, while Coverage E responds to claims where you are legally liable.
How do I review my limits across all six coverage sections?
When reviewing a homeowners renewal or comparing quotes, check limits across all six sections together. A high Coverage A limit paired with inadequate Coverage C, a low loss of use cap, or a personal liability limit that has not been reviewed in years can each create a gap that only surfaces when it is too late to correct. Your declarations page lists the current limit for each section. A free coverage review at Olive Cover walks through your specific declarations page and flags where your limits stand relative to your home and situation.