What Type of Insurance Is Needed for a Condo?
An HO-6 policy, covering your unit's interior, belongings, and liability where the HOA's master policy leaves off.
Free to compare
The master policy usually covers the building's structure, roof, and common areas, stopping at your unit's walls. Your HO-6 picks up from there. It covers drywall, floors, cabinets, and any upgrades inside your unit, plus your furniture and personal liability. If a pipe bursts in the unit above and water comes through your ceiling, your HO-6 typically pays for your damage first. Whether the neighbor or the HOA owes anything back depends on fault. Check your HOA's governing documents to see exactly where the master policy stops, since that line determines how much coverage your unit needs.
Find out what your HOA's policy doesn't cover
Two HO-6 policies can look alike and still leave different gaps once you compare them against your master policy and your loss assessment limit. Get quotes and see what each one actually covers.
What happens when the HOA sends a special assessment after a loss
When a loss hits the building, like a fire in a stairwell or wind damage to the roof, the master policy pays first. If the damage costs more than the master policy covers, or the HOA's deductible is high, the association can bill every owner a share of the difference. That bill is a special assessment, and it can run into the thousands even when you had nothing to do with the damage.
Loss assessment coverage, part of your HO-6, pays that bill up to the limit on your policy. A standard HO-6 usually includes some loss assessment coverage by default, often a modest amount like a few thousand dollars, but it can be raised for a relatively small added cost. If your HOA's master policy has a high deductible, carries low limits, or the building has had expensive claims before, a higher loss assessment limit is worth checking into. Your declarations page shows what you currently carry.
Loss assessment coverage typically responds to property damage and liability, like an injury in a common area, but it usually excludes assessments tied to earthquake or flood damage unless a policy says otherwise, since those perils often sit outside both the master policy and a standard HO-6. It also doesn't cover assessments for things unrelated to a covered loss, like a special assessment to repave the parking lot or fund a reserve shortfall. Reading the HOA's claim history and asking how the master policy's deductible is funded gives a clearer sense of how exposed owners are.
Townhome insurance works differently when the HOA's master policy covers common areas only, like landscaping and shared walkways, and each owner insures their own structure the way a detached homeowner would. In that setup, the policy looks more like a standard homeowners policy than an HO-6, covering the roof, exterior walls, and foundation along with the interior. Some townhome communities fall in between, with the master policy covering some exterior elements and not others. The HOA's governing documents and insurance requirements spell out which structure applies, and that determines whether an HO-6 or a standard homeowners policy fits the unit.
How much coverage does a unit actually need
There's no fixed number, because it depends on what the master policy leaves out and what's inside the walls. Start with the interior itself. The relevant figure is the cost to replace drywall, flooring, cabinets, and fixtures if the unit were gutted by fire or water. Someone who renovated a kitchen or added built-ins needs more coverage than the unit's original condition would suggest. Those upgrades usually aren't covered by the HOA's policy, so they need to be accounted for separately, sometimes with an endorsement if the renovation was substantial.
Personal property coverage works the same way it would in any home. It should reflect what it would cost to replace the furniture, electronics, and belongings inside the unit, not what they're currently worth after years of use. A unit with a lot of high-value items, like jewelry or art, may need added coverage for those categories specifically, since standard HO-6 policies cap how much they pay for certain types of property.
Liability coverage matters more in a condo than people expect. Shared walls and shared systems mean more chances for one owner's problem to become another's. A standard liability limit covers most situations, but a unit owner with more assets to protect, or one who rents the unit out, may want a higher limit or an umbrella policy on top of it.
Loss of use coverage, which pays for temporary living costs if the unit becomes uninhabitable after a covered loss, is worth checking too. Condo repairs after major damage can take months, especially when the master policy's claims process and the owner's own claim both need to resolve. Matching that coverage to realistic rent in the area, rather than accepting a default limit, avoids a gap if the unit is out of commission longer than expected.
One thing worth checking today
Pull your HOA's governing documents and find the line where the master policy stops. That single detail tells you how much HO-6 coverage, and how much loss assessment protection, your unit actually needs.
