Basic, Broad, and Special form are three common coverage forms when insuring property.
It all starts with Basic form, this covers these 11 “perils” or causes of loss: Fire or Lightning, Smoke, Windstorm or Hail, Explosion, Riot or Civil Commotion, Aircraft (striking the property), Vehicles (striking the property), Glass Breakage, Vandalism & Malicious Mischief, Theft, and Volcanic Eruption.
Broad form covers the same 11 perils, but adds 6 more: Falling objects, Weight of ice, snow or sleet, accidental discharge or overflow of water or stream from within plumbing or related systems; does not include discharge or overflow of water from a sump, sudden and accidental rupture of heating, air conditioning, fire protective sprinkler, or hot water heating system. Freezing of plumbing or related systems. And Sudden and accidental damage from artificially generated electrical current.
Then the broadest coverage is Special form. It does not specifically list perils, rather it is “all risk” coverage unless otherwise specifically excluded.
I aways advise you to review this part of your policy or quote and see if you can get Special Form if you don’t have it. It can make a huge difference in
having coverage or not during a claims situation. Often when just looking at price on quotes, this is the reason one might be a lot less than the others.