ACORD Forms
ACORD 80: Homeowners Application
The ACORD 80 is the standard homeowners application. It captures the applicant, the property, the coverage requested, and the insurance history a carrier needs to quote a home policy. The current edition (2016/11) runs six pages, and it covers owner-occupied homes, condos, and renters risks.
What it is
The ACORD 80 is the standard homeowners application. It captures the applicant, the property, the coverage requested, and the insurance history a carrier needs to quote a home policy. The current edition (2016/11) runs six pages, and it covers owner-occupied homes, condos, and renters risks.
The form has a history worth knowing. ACORD withdrew the 80 in 2008 in favor of a split application, the ACORD 88 (applicant information section) plus the ACORD 89 (residential section), then announced its return in 2009 after agent demand (Insurance Journal, August 2009). Both approaches are still in circulation, so a market asking for "the homeowners app" may mean a single 80 or an 88 and 89 stack.
When it's used
- New homeowners, condo, or renters submissions where the market takes ACORD paper instead of its own portal application.
- Excess and surplus placements. Wholesalers routinely ask for the ACORD application on hard-to-place homes.
- Remarketing a home policy. One completed 80 carries the risk detail to every market you shop instead of re-keying it into each portal.
Section-by-section walkthrough
Agency and carrier information
Your agency's name and contact details, the carrier or market the submission targets, and the proposed effective and expiration dates.
Watch for: No effective date. Home markets price to a date, and a dateless application sits in a queue.
Applicant information
The applicant and co-applicant: legal names, mailing address, dates of birth, occupations, and contact information.
Watch for: Leaving off a co-applicant when two names are on the deed. Title and named insured should line up, or the claim check gets complicated.
Property location
The address of the home being insured, if it differs from the mailing address.
Watch for: Copying the mailing address for a secondary or seasonal home. The insured location drives rating and inspection, so it has to be the actual property.
Coverages and deductibles
The limits requested for the dwelling, other structures, personal property, loss of use, liability, and medical payments, plus the deductibles.
Watch for: Setting the dwelling limit from market value or the loan balance. Carriers underwrite to replacement cost, and a limit pulled from Zillow gets rewritten at inspection.
Construction and rating information
Year built, construction type, square footage, roof type and age, protection class, distance to the fire station and hydrant, and updates to wiring, plumbing, heating, and roof.
Watch for: Guessing the roof age or the updates. Carriers verify at inspection, and a mismatch reopens underwriting after the policy is already issued.
Protection devices
Smoke detectors, burglar and fire alarms (local versus central station), sprinklers, and deadbolts. These feed credits.
Watch for: Claiming a central station alarm the insured cannot document. The credit gets clawed back and the premium goes up mid-term.
Occupancy and use
Owner-occupied, secondary, or seasonal status, months occupied, and any business conducted on the premises.
Watch for: Leaving occupancy blank on a second home. Occupancy is an eligibility question, not a detail.
Prior coverage
The current and prior carriers, policy numbers, expiration dates, and premium.
Watch for: Unexplained gaps. A lapse in coverage is a question the underwriter will ask; answer it in remarks before they do.
Loss history
Prior losses for the years the form requests: date, type, and amount.
Watch for: Omitting a loss the carrier will find anyway when it orders loss history reports. A missed claim reads as concealment even when it was just forgotten.
General information questions
The yes/no underwriting questions: dogs, pools, trampolines, business use, prior cancellations, and similar.
Watch for: A yes with no explanation. Every yes needs a remark, or the file comes back.
Additional interests
The mortgagee or other interested parties, with name, address, and loan number.
Watch for: An outdated lender after a loan sale. The mortgagee gets the bill and the notices, so errors here surface at escrow renewal.
Remarks and signatures
Explanations for any yes answers, context that helps the underwriter, and the applicant and producer signatures with any state fraud warnings.
Watch for: An unsigned application. Many markets will quote without a signature but will not bind on one.
In Relay
ACORD Generation is live in Relay. It drafts the ACORD 80 from the client record and the documents you already have, and a person reviews every field before anything goes out. See how →
Common errors
- Dwelling limit set from market value or loan amount instead of replacement cost.
- Roof age and system updates guessed instead of confirmed, then contradicted at inspection.
- Co-applicant missing when two names hold title.
- Loss history that does not match the reports the carrier orders.
- Yes answers on underwriting questions with no remark attached.
Common questions
What is the difference between ACORD 80 and ACORD 88/89?
The 80 is a single homeowners application. The 88 (applicant information section) and 89 (residential section) split the same job into modular pieces that also pair with other personal lines forms. ACORD withdrew the 80 in 2008 in favor of the split, then brought it back in 2009. Both are in use, so match whatever the market asks for.
Do I need an ACORD 80 if the carrier quotes in its own portal?
For admitted personal lines, usually not; the portal is the application. The 80 earns its keep on E&S placements, wholesaler submissions, and any market that takes ACORD paper. It is also a clean way to package a risk once when remarketing to several carriers.
Can Relay fill out an ACORD 80?
Yes. ACORD Generation is live in Relay: it drafts ACORD forms from the client record and documents you already have, and a person reviews everything before it goes out.
Related forms
Part of the Relay ACORD form library. Updated 2026-07-11. See how we source content.
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