P&C Exam Q&A Practice: 5 Homeowners Policy Questions You Cannot Afford to Miss

Homeowners questions are points in the bank - if you know the forms. Here are five in true exam format. Answer each one before you read the explanation.

Question 1

Which coverages does an HO-4 (renters) policy provide? (A) Dwelling and contents (B) Contents, loss of use, liability, and medical payments (C) Dwelling and liability only (D) Contents and dwelling replacement cost.

Answer: B. The HO-4 covers personal property (C), loss of use (D), personal liability (E), and medical payments to others (F). There is no Coverage A or B - renters do not own the building. The exam loves testing which forms drop Coverage A.

Question 2

Under an HO-3, the insured has a detached garage used entirely as a workshop for his side business. A fire destroys the garage. Is the structure covered under Coverage B (other structures)?

Answer: No. The HO-3 excludes Coverage B for structures used in whole or in part for business. A garage that stores one car AND holds business tools is still partly business use - also excluded. The word "business" attached to any structure kills other-structures coverage.

Question 3

The neighbor's child falls off a swing in the insured's yard. Emergency treatment costs $800. The insured was not home and was not negligent. Which coverage responds?

Answer: Coverage F - medical payments to others. It pays for others injured on the insured's premises regardless of fault, up to the stated limit, and it has no deductible. Liability (Coverage E) would require a negligence-based claim. The exam tests that medical payments is a goodwill, no-fault coverage.

Question 4

A windstorm fells a tree onto the insured's HO-3 dwelling. How is the dwelling loss settled?

Answer: Open perils - wind is not excluded for the dwelling, so it is covered on a replacement cost basis subject to the deductible. Under the HO-3 the dwelling is open perils while contents are broad named perils - the mirror image of the DP-3, which is why studying both forms together saves you double the effort.

Question 5

Which statement about the HO-2 and HO-3 is TRUE? (A) Both cover the dwelling on an open-perils basis. (B) Both cover contents on a named-perils basis. (C) The HO-2 is open perils; the HO-3 is named perils. (D) Neither covers theft of contents.

Answer: B. Contents are broad named perils under BOTH forms. The difference is the dwelling: HO-2 is broad named perils, HO-3 is open perils. Eliminating answers by the contents rule alone gets you halfway on form-comparison questions.

How to drill homeowners

• Build one comparison table: HO-2 vs HO-3 vs HO-4 vs HO-6, with dwelling basis, contents basis, and which coverages exist.

• Memorize the three recurring exclusions: business use of structures, neglect, and ordinance-or-law.

• Practice with the "regardless of fault" trigger for Coverage F.

These explanations reflect standard exam content. Real-world policies and state rules vary, so treat this as exam prep, not coverage advice.

Ready to pass on the first try?

Homeowners questions become free points once the forms are second nature. Drill hundreds of them in one place at pandcpacademy.com/pass-your-exam-now