Condo (HO-6) Insurance: June 2022 Guide – NerdWallet

Key takeaways

• Condo policy, besides known as HO-6 insurance, is designed to cover what your condominium association ’ south chief policy won ’ metric ton .
• A distinctive condominium indemnity policy covers your personal belongings and pays out if you ’ re found responsible for person ‘s wound .
• The median condominium policy cost is $ 512 per year.

  Reading: Condo (HO-6) Insurance: June 2022 Guide – NerdWallet

If you live in a condominium, you can likely count on the condominium or homeowners association to insure the build and common areas, but it won ’ thyroxine serve you if your personal belongings are stolen or destroyed in a ardor. For those and other potential disasters, you ’ ll need a condominium policy policy, besides called HO-6 indemnity.

What is condo insurance?

Condo insurance covers what your HOA won ’ thyroxine. This could include replacing steal belongings or repairing the inside of your unit after a disaster. Condo policy besides offers liability coverage in case your frank bites person or a node is injured in your dwelling. ( notice that not all dog breeds are covered by all insurers. )

What is HO-6 insurance?

HO-6 indemnity is another identify for condominium indemnity. The condition refers to one of several home indemnity policy forms used industrywide. For exemplar, most homeowners are insured with HO-3 policies, while renters have HO-4 policies. An HO-6 policy phase is used to insure condos and co-ops. Although the possession structures of condominiums and cooperative work differently, insurance policies for individual owners work pretty much the lapp way.

Is condo insurance required?

As with homeowners insurance, mortgage lenders by and large require you to purchase condominium insurance to protect their fiscal interest during the length of your loan. tied if you ’ ve paid off your mortgage or purchased the property outright, you might silent be on the hook because many HOAs require it.

What does a condo association’s insurance policy cover?

In many cases, some of your condominium fees go toward a master policy policy that covers certain disasters and indebtedness issues. These may include :

Damage to the building’s exterior

For example, ramp price to the roof or out side would likely be covered.

Common areas

Your affiliation ’ s passkey policy broadly covers damage to places like the lobby, elevators, hallways and tennis courts.

Injuries sustained in common areas

Say a visitor skid on an icy walk outside the front doorway to the building. If she is injured and files a lawsuit, your HOA ’ second indemnity would probable cover the indebtedness costs.

What does condo insurance cover?

Individual condominium insurance broadly covers your personal belongings, exist expenses if you need to relocate after a disaster and damages if person sues you for negligence. Depending on what your condominium association ’ s passkey indemnity policy includes, your person HO-6 insurance policy may besides cover your whole ’ sulfur department of the interior fixtures and appliances. here ’ s a breakdown of each character of condominium indemnity coverage.

Personal property

personal place coverage will replace furniture and other belongings if they ’ ra steal or damaged by a catastrophe listed in your HO-6 policy. These “ named perils ” typically include scenarios like fuel, wreathe and hail. case : A thief breaks into your condominium and steals a television, two laptops and a necklace. Insurance would reimburse you for these losses, minus your deductible. Some valuables such as jewelry or artwork may be covered only up to certain limits by a standard condominium policy. If you have expensive items, you may need to purchase extra coverage. ( An appraisal may be required. )

Nerdy tip:

There are two types of personal property coverage. The more affordable option is “actual cash value,” which means your insurer will pay out the value of your items at the time they’re stolen or destroyed. If you’d rather get enough money to buy a brand-new dining room set in place of your 10-year-old one, upgrade to replacement cost coverage.

Additional living expenses or loss of use

If you can ’ metric ton live in your unit due to a problem covered by your policy, condominium policy may cover hotel bills and early expenses. exemplar : You have to move out of your condominium for a couple of weeks while damage from a outburst pipe is repaired. An HO-6 policy could pay for hotel bills, restaurant meals and laundry expenses that go beyond what you ‘d normally pay while live at home.

Liability and medical payments

Condo policy can help cover liability costs if you ’ rhenium sued for negligence or pay aesculapian bills for person injured inside your unit of measurement. Liability coverage may besides pay for injuries caused by a positron emission tomography or damage you do to person else ‘s property. Example : While a supporter is visiting your condominium, he trips over an extension cord and fractures his wrist. Your checkup payments coverage could help with his repair bills.

Dwelling or building property

You may need to insure your whole ’ s interior with dwelling coverage, besides known as build property coverage, depending on your HOA ‘s overlord policy. Before buying condominium indemnity, check with your association to see which of the be coverage types applies to its victor policy :

All-inclusive or all-in coverage

With this option, your association ’ randomness master policy will cover all items built into your unit, including light fixtures, appliances and cabinets, plus any improvements you make to these elements. If your HOA carries across-the-board coverage, you likely don ’ t need dwelling coverage on your individual condominium policy.

Single entity coverage

Single entity coverage is exchangeable to all-in coverage except it doesn ’ t include any improvements or additions you make to your condominium, only the original fixtures and appliances. If you make significant upgrades to your unit of measurement, you may want to add building place coverage to your policy.

Bare walls coverage

This includes the walls, floors and ceilings of the unit but not anything attached to them, such as carpets, lightly fixtures, appliances or sinks. You ’ ll motivation to seek coverage for these items under your individual condominium policy. This type of coverage is why condominium policies are sometimes called “ walls-in policy. ” As with personal property, your building place coverage broadly applies only to disasters specifically named in the policy such as larceny and fire. exemplar : A fire in the unit following to yours spreads to your kitchen, destroying most of the room before it ’ s brought under control. Your HOA offers entirely bare walls coverage, so you turn to your building property coverage to pay for newly cabinets and appliances.

Loss assessment

If your HOA surpasses the limits of its master policy — say, when repairing major hail damage to the build — each unit owner might need to contribute funds to make up the remainder. If you have loss appraisal coverage on your condominium indemnity, this union may be partially or wholly cover. The master policy could besides have a identical big deductible, and the association might split that price among all unit owners. alternatively, an person unit owner might be charged the entire deductible if the damage originated in their condominium. Example : Your frump knocks over a candle and starts a fire that destroys separate of the build ’ sulfur roof. If the master policy has a $ 10,000 deductible, the association might hold you creditworthy for that amount rather than asking all the construction ’ randomness owners to chip in. Loss appraisal coverage may cover this type of scenario as well. Keep in mind that this coverage typically applies only when the cause of the damage in question is covered by your policy. So if your HOA asks you to contribute to repairs from flood damage, but your own condominium policy doesn ’ thyroxine include deluge policy, passing judgment coverage may not help you.

Which scenarios are covered, and which aren’t?

Below are some common problems that are and aren ’ triiodothyronine included under a typical condominium policy policy. You may be able to purchase extra indemnity for some of the scenarios that aren ’ t included .

Optional condo insurance coverage

If a basic HO-6 policy international relations and security network ’ triiodothyronine sufficient, you can typically buy supernumerary coverage in the form of endorsements, or add-ons to your policy. Below are a few common endorsements you can choose.

Replacement cost for personal property

A standard policy covers your personal belongings on an “ actual cash value ” basis, meaning that you ’ five hundred be paid the depreciate value of older items if you always filed a claim. Upgrading to replacement cost coverage means you ’ ll receive enough of a payout to buy brand-new items if your things are stolen or destroyed.

Water backup

If a clog drain or malfunctioning cesspool pump sends water into your unit of measurement, the body of water backup endorsement pays for any leave damage.

Scheduled personal property

Certain valuable items such as jewelry, artwork and firearms may have limited coverage under the personal property department of your policy. For exercise, even if your total personal property limit is $ 100,000, jewelry may be covered alone up to $ 2,500. If your valuables are worth more than this sublimit, you can purchase extra coverage for them.

Identity theft

Adding an identity larceny sanction may give you coverage for legal bills, lost income or other expenses after an identity fraud incident.

Vacant or unoccupied condo

If you don ’ t live in your unit year-round or it ’ randomness unoccupied while you ’ rhenium waiting to move in, you may need vacant home insurance. ( A standard policy may not cover damage to a home that ’ south left unoccupied for more than 30 to 60 days. )

How much condo insurance do you need?

To figure out the sum of personal place coverage you need to replace all your stuff, take a home stock using the calculator below. Consider rounding up to the nearest $ 10,000 to make certain you have enough coverage. When it comes to the interior of your unit, review your HOA ’ mho victor policy before purchasing an HO-6 policy. The amount of building property coverage you need will depend on whether you have to cover appliances, cabinets, carpets and light fixtures. Liability coverage for condominium insurance generally starts at $ 100,000. To decide how much you need, score up the total measure you stand to lose if person sues you, including the value of your savings and investments, vehicles and other assets. then blue-ribbon enough indebtedness coverage to cover at least that come . Nerdy tip : If a high enough indebtedness limit international relations and security network ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate available, consider buy umbrella indemnity, which offers supernumerary liability coverage beyond your existing policies . Loss assessment is included in some condominium indemnity policies and is an optional accessory for others. even when it is included, the coverage limit is often fairly low ( typically $ 1,000 ). You may wish to add more coverage, specially if your HOA ’ sulfur master policy has a high deductible. Condo policies can be catchy to buy because state laws and HOA bylaws differ from case to case. Talking with a accredited policy agent is often the best way to get coverage suggestions for your position.

How much is condo insurance?

How to buy condo insurance

many companies that offer homeowners policy besides sell policies for condominium. here are a few widely available companies to consider : You can by and large get condominium indemnity quotes on the insurers ’ websites or by calling them directly. If you ’ five hundred rather let person else do the legwork, you can ask an independent agent to compare quotes on your behalf.

How to save on condo insurance

There are three primary coil ways to reduce the price you pay for condominium insurance :

• shop around. We recommend getting quotes from at least three insurance companies to find the best price for the coverage you want .
• look for discounts. You might be able to save if you bundle your condominium and car indemnity with the same company, or if your unit has guard devices like roll of tobacco detectors and bolt locks .
• Raise your deductible. Do n’t do this unless you feel confident you would have adequate savings to pay the higher sum in an emergency .

frequently asked questions What insurance do you need for a condominium ? Condo indemnity, besides known as HO-6 insurance, is a policy designed to complement your association ’ sulfur overcome policy policy. It covers your personal belongings and, in many cases, permanent fixtures in your unit such as built-in appliances. It besides helps with expenses if you ’ rhenium sued for negligence or if you need to relocate while your unit is being repaired after a catastrophe . Does condo policy cover special assessments ? not all condominium policies include passing appraisal coverage, but even if yours does, it probably wo n’t cover every especial assessment. For model, a particular assessment to replace an aging roof would likely not be covered because policy doesn ’ triiodothyronine pay for wear and tear. But if a fire destroyed the roof, your loss judgment coverage would credibly pay out because arouse is a disaster most insurance policies cover . What is the difference between an HO-3 and an HO-6 policy ? An HO-3 policy is the most common homeowners insurance policy, while an HO-6 policy is designed specifically for condominium. An HO-3 policy insures single-family homes with coverage for the integral construction, plus free-standing structures like sheds or fences. Because condominium dwellers don ’ t own their build or the domain it sits on, an HO-6 policy covers only their own unit and its contents. What indemnity do you need for a condominium ? Condo policy, besides known as HO-6 policy, is a policy designed to complement your association ’ mho master policy policy. It covers your personal belongings and, in many cases, permanent wave fixtures in your unit such as built-in appliances. It besides helps with expenses if you ’ ra sued for negligence or if you need to relocate while your unit is being repaired after a catastrophe. Does condo indemnity cover special assessments ? not all condominium policies include loss appraisal coverage, but even if yours does, it probably wo n’t cover every extra judgment. For example, a special assessment to replace an age roof would probably not be covered because insurance doesn ’ thymine pay for wear and tear. But if a fire destroyed the roof, your passing judgment coverage would probably pay out because fire is a calamity most indemnity policies cover. What is the difference between an HO-3 and an HO-6 policy ?

An HO-3 policy is the most common homeowners policy policy, while an HO-6 policy is designed specifically for condominium. An HO-3 policy insures single-family homes with coverage for the integral building, plus free-standing structures like sheds or fences. Because condominium dwellers don ’ t own their build or the farming it sits on, an HO-6 policy covers alone their own unit and its contents .