Bare Walls Coverage
It insures the unfinished structure inside your unit, like drywall and wiring, when the HOA's master policy doesn't cover it.
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Where your coverage starts and the HOA's stops
Your condo association carries a master policy, and most of them are written bare walls, meaning it covers the building's structure but not what was added inside your unit after it was built. That gap is what your HO-6 policy is for. It covers drywall, built-in cabinets, flooring, even the kitchen you remodeled, up to a dollar amount called coverage A, or dwelling coverage. The HOA's governing documents, usually the bylaws or the CC&Rs, spell out exactly where the association's responsibility ends and yours begins, and that line decides how much coverage A you actually need. Ask the HOA for the declaration page of the master policy and check whether it says bare walls or all-in, since that single phrase changes what your own policy has to pick up.
Coverage A set too low leaves a gap you'd pay out of pocket
If your HO-6's dwelling coverage doesn't match what the master policy leaves out, a rebuild after a fire or burst pipe could cost you thousands. Compare quotes to find coverage that fits your unit.
What a loss assessment bill actually covers
When the HOA's master policy doesn't fully cover a loss to the building, the association can bill each owner a share of the difference. That bill is called a special assessment, and it can follow a roof replacement after storm damage, a lawsuit against the HOA, or a loss that was bigger than the master policy's limit. Loss assessment coverage, usually an endorsement added to your HO-6, pays your share of that bill up to the limit you choose. Without it, the assessment comes straight out of your pocket, however large it is.
Most HO-6 policies include a small amount of loss assessment coverage by default, often a few thousand dollars, and that's rarely enough if the HOA's building has a serious gap in its master policy. Ask the HOA how much master policy coverage the building carries and what its deductible is. A board that carries a high deductible, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars, is more likely to pass that cost to owners as an assessment after even a routine claim. That number should shape how much loss assessment coverage you buy, not a guess.
Water from a neighbor's unit is one of the more common disputes in a condo building. If the water started in the unit above you, from a washing machine hose or a toilet supply line, the damage to your walls and belongings is usually your claim to file under your own HO-6, not the HOA's or your neighbor's, unless negligence is proven. Your policy's coverage A repairs the walls and built-ins, your personal property coverage replaces what got ruined, and your insurer may pursue the neighbor's insurer afterward to recover costs. That process, called subrogation, happens between insurers and doesn't require you to do anything.
Townhome coverage usually works differently because a townhome owner typically owns the roof and the exterior walls outright, where a condo owner does not. That means a townhome's HO-6, if the HOA uses one at all, often needs a higher coverage A limit, since there's more structure that isn't the association's responsibility. Some townhome communities carry no master policy for the structure at all, closer to a single-family arrangement, in which case the homeowner needs dwelling coverage closer to what a detached house would carry. Check the HOA's documents before assuming a townhome and a condo need the same shape of policy.
How much coverage A is enough for your unit
There's no fixed number that works for every unit, because it depends entirely on what the master policy leaves out. A board that carries an all-in or single-entity master policy covers more of the building, sometimes down to original cabinets and fixtures, which means your HO-6 needs less coverage A. A bare walls master policy covers only the structural shell, so your own policy has to cover everything added since the building went up, from drywall to flooring to a remodeled kitchen.
The right way to size coverage A is to estimate what it would cost to rebuild everything inside your unit that the master policy doesn't touch. Think about upgrades you or a previous owner made. New cabinets, hardwood floors, built-in shelving, and a finished bathroom all add to that number. A unit with original 1980s fixtures needs less coverage A than the same unit after a full renovation, even though the square footage hasn't changed.
Get this number wrong and the gap shows up exactly when you can't afford it, mid-claim, after a fire or a burst pipe. If coverage A is set too low, you pay the difference between what your policy pays and what the rebuild actually costs. Some insurers will help estimate this based on the unit's size and finishes, but the HOA's documents are still the starting point, since they define what the master policy is responsible for in the first place.
Reviewing this isn't a one-time task. Renovations, HOA bylaw changes, and even a new master policy carrier can all shift where the line falls between the association's coverage and yours. Checking in on coverage A whenever any of those things change keeps the number accurate instead of inherited from whatever the unit's previous owner happened to carry.
Before you renew
Check the master policy's deductible and your loss assessment limit together. If the HOA's deductible is higher than what your endorsement covers, raise the limit before the next bill shows up.
