What Does Master Insurance Cover for a Condo?
Typically the building's structure, common areas, and shared systems, exact limits are set by the HOA's governing documents.
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Check The HOA Documents
The master policy's scope isn't guesswork. The HOA's governing documents, usually the bylaws or CC&Rs, state whether it's a bare walls, single entity, or all-in policy. That document tells you where your own HO-6 needs to pick up, so it's worth requesting a copy before you set your coverage.
What Walls-In Means For You
If the master policy is bare walls, it stops at the studs. Everything inside, cabinets, flooring, built-ins, falls to your HO-6. Under an all-in policy, the master covers those fixtures too. Your HO-6 still needs to cover your personal belongings either way.
Loss Assessment Coverage
When a shared loss exceeds what the master policy pays, the HOA can bill unit owners through a special assessment. Loss assessment coverage on your HO-6 reimburses your share, up to the limit on your policy, so check that limit against the building's deductible and claim history.
Water From A Neighbor's Unit
Whose policy pays usually depends on where the water started. It also depends on whether it's a shared pipe or something inside one unit. The master policy may cover damage to the building's structure, while your HO-6 covers your belongings and any interior finishes you're responsible for.
What your HO-6 actually needs to cover depends on the HOA's documents and the gap they leave behind, so two condos in the same building can need very different limits. A policy priced without reading that gap either leaves you exposed or charges you for coverage you don't need. Comparing quotes against what you now know about your building is how you find the right fit.
How Townhome Insurance Differs From Condo Insurance
Townhomes muddy the line because ownership of the structure often works differently than in a condo building. In a lot of townhome communities, you own the roof, the exterior walls, and the ground under the unit, not just the interior. There may be no master policy at all, or the HOA's policy might only cover shared amenities like a clubhouse or private roads, leaving the entire structure of your unit to you. That changes what kind of policy you need. Instead of an HO-6 built around walls-in coverage, a townhome owner often needs something closer to a standard homeowners policy, HO-3, with dwelling coverage for the full structure.
The governing documents still answer the question, the same way they do for a condo. Some townhome HOAs do insure the building's exterior and roof under a master policy, which shifts the townhome closer to condo-style coverage. Others treat each unit as a freestanding house that happens to share a wall. Reading the CC&Rs tells you which one applies, and it's worth confirming with the HOA directly since the practice varies a lot even among communities that look similar from the street.
Shared walls raise their own question, since a fire or water damage can cross from one unit into the attached one. If each owner carries separate dwelling coverage, damage to a shared wall can turn into a question of whose policy pays for what, and HOA bylaws sometimes spell out maintenance responsibility for that wall even when they don't insure it. Loss assessment coverage still matters here too, since many townhome HOAs can levy special assessments for shared infrastructure like private roads, retaining walls, or community irrigation systems, even without a master policy covering individual units.
Because the ownership split varies so much by community, a townhome owner should not assume HO-6 coverage is the right fit just because the property looks like a condo. Checking whether the roof, siding, and foundation are the owner's responsibility or the HOA's is the first step, and the declarations page of any quote should reflect that split accurately. Getting this wrong in either direction either leaves the structure underinsured or pays for dwelling coverage duplicating what the HOA already insures.
How Much Coverage Does A Unit Need
There's no fixed number, because it depends entirely on what your HO-6 is picking up. If the master policy is bare walls, your dwelling coverage, sometimes called unit or improvements coverage, needs to cover cabinets, flooring, built-in appliances, and any upgrades you made beyond the original construction. If it's an all-in master policy, your unit coverage can be much lower since the HOA's policy already handles those fixtures. The HOA documents tell you which situation you're in, and a rough cost to rebuild your unit's interior from studs out gives you a starting figure to work from.
Personal property coverage works the same in a condo as it does in any home. It's meant to replace your furniture, clothes, electronics, and everything else you own if a covered loss destroys them. A simple way to land on a figure is to estimate what it would cost to replace everything in the unit at today's prices, room by room, rather than guessing at a round number. Most insurers also cap certain categories, like jewelry or electronics, so check those sublimits if you own anything valuable enough to exceed them.
Liability coverage is the part owners most often underestimate. It pays out if someone is injured inside your unit and sues, or if you're found responsible for damage to another owner's property, like the water-from-a-neighbor situation working in reverse. Because lawsuits and medical costs vary so widely, a higher liability limit than the policy's default is often worth the small difference in price, particularly for owners who rent out their unit or host guests often.
Loss of use coverage rounds this out. It pays for temporary housing and related costs if your unit becomes unlivable after a covered loss while repairs are underway. Rebuilds in multi-unit buildings can take longer than they would for a standalone house, since repair work often depends on the HOA's contractors and claim timeline, not just your own. A limit that assumes a few weeks away from home may fall short if the damage affects shared systems the HOA has to coordinate repairs for.
One Document To Pull Before You Quote
Get a copy of the HOA's master policy declarations, or at minimum its CC&Rs, before setting your limits. It tells you where the building's coverage ends and where your own needs to begin.
