Mobile homes, or manufactured homes, are a unique type of dwelling. An estimated 22 million people live in modular or manufactured homes in the United States. They are often more affordable than stick-built homes, and their transportability makes them unique. Mobile or manufactured homes tend to be particularly susceptible to wind damage, making tie-downs a necessity. Because mobile homes are in many ways a combination of a home and a vehicle, coverage needs to address these unique features.

Background

Mobile homes are moveable and lack permanent frames. Mobile homes were originally trailers pulled behind vehicles in the 1920s and were popular with vacationers. By the 1930s, the trailers became larger and longer, and people started using them as permanent dwellings even though they still had wheels. In the 1950s, the name changed from trailers to mobile homes; still on wheels, the homes/vehicles were assigned VIN numbers and financed similarly to vehicles.