Home Insurance Calculator

A homeowner policy is not one limit. It is a set of them, and almost all of them are calculated as a percentage of the dwelling limit rather than chosen independently. Raise the dwelling figure and contents, other structures and loss of use all rise with it.

This calculator makes that structure visible. It takes the dwelling limit from your declarations page, applies the percentages your policy uses, and shows what each coverage would actually pay.

Result

Total property coverage

$756,000

Personal property limit

$210,000

Dwelling limit: $420,000
Other structures limit: $42,000
Loss of use limit: $84,000
Liability limit: $300,000
Medical payments limit: $5,000
All limits combined: $1,061,000
Contents per room (8 rooms): $26,250

This is an estimate based on the values you entered. Actual premiums, coverage, eligibility and pricing vary by provider and by individual circumstances.

Most homeowner policies derive the other coverage limits as percentages of the dwelling limit. Raising the dwelling limit raises all of them; the percentages themselves can usually be adjusted by endorsement.

The per-room figure is simply the contents limit divided across eight rooms. It is a sanity check, not a valuation - a real inventory almost always produces a different number.

Coverage structure

Coverage	Basis	Limit
A - Dwelling	Stated amount	$420,000
B - Other structures	10% of dwelling	$42,000
C - Personal property	50% of dwelling	$210,000
D - Loss of use	20% of dwelling	$84,000
E - Personal liability	Stated amount	$300,000
F - Medical payments	Stated amount	$5,000

How to use the home insurance calculator

Enter the dwelling limit - Coverage A on most policies.
Adjust the percentages for other structures, personal property and loss of use to match your policy; the defaults are the most common ones.
Enter your personal liability and medical payments limits, which are stated amounts rather than percentages.
Read the derived limits and the total the policy would respond with.

What people use this for

Understanding what the letters on a declarations page actually mean.
Checking whether the derived contents limit is anywhere near what you own.
Seeing how much loss-of-use cover a policy provides before you need it.
Comparing two policies whose percentages differ even though the dwelling limits match.

Worked examples

Every figure below is produced by running this calculator against the example inputs, so the numbers always match the tool.

A standard policy

A $420,000 dwelling limit with the common 10%, 50% and 20% percentages, plus $300,000 liability and $5,000 medical payments.

Total property coverage: $756,000
Personal property limit: $210,000
Loss of use limit: $84,000

After raising contents and liability

The same dwelling limit with personal property endorsed up to 70% and liability raised to $500,000.

Personal property limit: $294,000
All limits combined: $1,345,000

What each coverage letter covers

Coverage A is the dwelling itself - the structure, and usually anything attached to it. Coverage B is other structures: a detached garage, a fence, a shed. Coverage C is personal property, everything inside that is not part of the building. Coverage D is loss of use, which pays additional living costs while the home is uninhabitable.

Coverage E is personal liability, which responds when someone is injured or their property damaged and you are responsible. Coverage F is medical payments, a small no-fault amount for minor injuries to visitors. E and F are stated amounts you choose, not percentages of the dwelling limit.

Why the dwelling limit drives everything

Because the other property limits are percentages, an under-insured dwelling limit quietly under-insures the whole policy. A dwelling limit $80,000 below rebuild cost also removes $40,000 of contents cover and $16,000 of loss-of-use cover at the usual percentages.

That is why the rebuild cost is worth getting right before anything else on the policy. Market value is not the number: a home can be worth far more or far less than it costs to rebuild, depending on land value and local construction costs.

Methodology and assumptions

What this calculator does, and what it deliberately does not do.

Other structures, personal property and loss of use are calculated as the percentages you entered applied to the dwelling limit, which is how most homeowner forms are written.
The per-room contents figure divides the contents limit across eight rooms. It is a sanity check, not a valuation.
All figures are estimates produced from the values you enter. This site has no rate feed and no carrier data, so it cannot quote or price a policy.
Nothing you type is transmitted or stored - the calculation runs entirely inside your browser.

This calculator provides an estimate based on the information you enter. Actual insurance premiums, coverage, eligibility and pricing vary by provider and individual circumstances.

This website is not an insurance company, an insurance agency or a licensed broker. It does not sell insurance, does not provide insurance quotes, and is not authorised to give advice about which policy you should buy.

No result produced here is an offer of insurance or a guarantee of coverage. Only a licensed insurer or agent, working from your verified details, can quote or bind a policy.

Frequently asked questions

Are these percentages the same on every policy?

No. Ten percent for other structures, fifty for contents and twenty for loss of use are common defaults, but they vary by carrier and form, and most can be endorsed up. Use the figures on your own declarations page.

Does the dwelling limit include the land?

No. Land is not insured because it does not burn down. That is the main reason rebuild cost and market value differ.

What is loss of use for?

Additional living expenses while the home cannot be lived in - temporary accommodation, extra food costs, storage. It pays the difference above your normal costs, not the whole amount.

Is the contents limit enough?

Almost everyone under-estimates. A room-by-room inventory with photographs usually produces a much larger figure than the derived percentage.

Related calculators

More property cover tools on HomeInsuranceTools.

Browse all 6 tools →

Your numbers