CONDO & CO-OP INSURANCE
What is Condo (HO6) Insurance? What Does it Cover?
Also known as an HO-6 insurance policy, condo insurance protects condo units while also providing both personal liability coverage and living expense coverage if a condo becomes uninhabitable. HO-6 policies are also called walls-in coverage because they protect your individual unit, while your condo association’s master policy covers the building’s common areas.
However, standard condo insurance doesn’t apply in certain situations, such as floods. You may want to consider additional policies depending upon where your condo is located and how much time you spend there.
What Does Condo Insurance Cover?
A typical condo insurance policy provides coverage for the following categories:
- Building property: the unit itself, including walls and fixtures
- Personal property: furniture, electronics and other movable goods
- Personal liability: legal expenses from claims or lawsuits against you
- Loss of use: costs of lodging/transport if unit is uninhabitable
- Loss assessment: your portion of any losses shared out by the association
The main difference between a condo owner’s HO-6 policy and regular HO-3 homeowners insurance policies is that HO-6 policies only cover the interior structure of a unit from the “walls-in”. Otherwise, HO-3 and HO-6 policies are quite similar in how they cover personal property, liability and additional living expenses.
Usually, the dwelling and property coverage for a condo will cover a defined list of “named perils” such as fire, hail, theft and vandalism. Any hazards that are not named are not covered, which means you’re financially responsible for those damages.