What Are Condo Docs?
Condo docs are the HOA's governing papers, showing what the master policy covers so you know what your HO-6 needs.
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Where the master policy stops
Most HOA master policies cover the building's structure, common areas, and sometimes the walls, floors, and fixtures inside your unit as they were originally built. Your condo docs say which type it is. That tells you where your HO-6 needs to pick up.
Walls-in coverage, explained
Walls-in coverage is the part of your HO-6 that insures what's inside your unit's walls. That means cabinets, flooring, built-ins, plus any upgrades you made. If your master policy only covers bare walls, you need enough walls-in coverage to rebuild your unit's interior from scratch.
Loss assessment coverage
When damage exceeds what the master policy pays, the HOA can bill every owner a special assessment to cover the gap. Loss assessment coverage, a part of your HO-6, pays your share. Check your condo docs for the master policy's limit to see how exposed you are.
Water from a neighbor's unit
When a pipe bursts next door and water reaches your unit, whose policy pays depends on where the damage lands. The master policy often handles shared structure. Your neighbor's HO-6 covers their belongings, and your own HO-6 covers your interior and possessions.
What your HO-6 actually needs depends on numbers your condo docs give you, like the master policy's deductible and its loss assessment limit, not a guess. If the HOA's coverage is thinner than you thought, the gap falls on your unit's policy. Comparing quotes now lets you size walls-in and loss assessment coverage correctly instead of finding out after a neighbor's pipe bursts.
Finding and reading the condo docs
The condo docs come from the HOA, not from any insurer. When you buy a unit, the seller or the HOA's management company is required to give you a packet that usually includes the bylaws, the declaration (sometimes called the CC&Rs), the rules and regulations, and a copy of the master insurance policy or a summary of it. If you already own and can't find yours, the HOA's management company keeps copies and can send them on request. Some HOAs post them on a resident portal.
The page you actually want is the insurance summary or the declaration page from the master policy, not the full bylaws. Look for a section describing what the association insures, often labeled something like 'bare walls,' 'single entity,' or 'all-in.' Bare walls means the master policy stops at the unfinished structure, studs, and subfloor. All-in means it covers fixtures, built-ins, and sometimes original flooring and cabinets too. The exact wording varies by state and by HOA, so the label matters less than the description underneath it.
The docs should also list the master policy's deductible and, if the HOA carries it, a loss assessment or fidelity coverage limit. Those two numbers are what your HO-6 needs to work around. A high master policy deductible, for instance, means the HOA is more likely to bill owners when a loss happens, since the association absorbs less before owners split the rest. If the docs don't spell out a dollar deductible, that's worth asking the HOA directly, since it changes how much loss assessment coverage makes sense on your own policy.
For a townhome, check whether the HOA carries a master policy at all. Many townhome associations insure only the land, shared fences, and common amenities, leaving each owner to insure the entire structure of their unit, walls, roof, and foundation included, similar to a standalone house. The condo docs or townhome bylaws will say this directly, usually in a section titled 'insurance obligations' or 'maintenance responsibility.' If the structure is on the owner, a standard homeowners policy replaces the HO-6 entirely, and walls-in coverage isn't a separate line item since the whole building is the owner's to insure.
What counts as your unit versus the HOA's structure
Condo docs draw a line between what you own and what the association owns, and that line decides which policy pays first. The declaration usually defines your unit boundary as the interior surface of the drywall, meaning paint and wallpaper are yours but the stud behind it belongs to the association. Some declarations draw the line further out, at the exterior walls, so the unit includes everything inside them. That difference changes what your HO-6 needs to cover, since anything past the boundary is the master policy's job, and anything inside it is yours.
Fixtures sit in a gray area that trips people up. A built-in dishwasher, a bathroom vanity, or central air equipment might be treated as part of the structure under one HOA's docs and as personal property or an upgrade under another's. The declaration's definition section, sometimes just a few paragraphs, spells out how your HOA treats these. Reading that section before setting your HO-6 limits avoids paying twice for coverage the master policy already provides, or worse, leaving a gap neither policy fills.
Upgrades you make after buying complicate this further. If you replaced builder-grade countertops with stone, or converted a den into a third bedroom, the master policy's all-in coverage, if it has one, typically insures only what existed when the building was built or last appraised. Your HO-6 needs a separate coverage amount, often called betterments and improvements, to cover the difference between the original finish and what's there now. The condo docs won't list your personal upgrades, but they'll tell you the baseline the master policy assumes, which is what you're insuring above that baseline.
Common areas raise one more question worth checking. Who insures a limited common element, like a private balcony, a deeded parking spot, or a storage unit attached to your purchase. Some declarations fold these into the unit boundary. Others treat them as association property no matter who has exclusive use. The declaration's exhibit or site plan usually marks these spaces directly, and it's worth confirming before assuming your HO-6 covers something the master policy already handles, or missing something it doesn't.
Before you set your limits
Pull your condo docs and find the master policy's deductible and loss assessment limit. Those two numbers tell you how much walls-in and loss assessment coverage your HO-6 actually needs.
