Condo Insurance
The association insures the building and the shared areas. Your policy covers the part of the unit the master policy was never written to reach.
Owners of a unit rather than a building.
- Owners who have renovated, where the value of the improvements appears nowhere in the master policy.
- Owners who have not read the master policy and do not know how far into the unit it reaches.
- Owners in buildings where water travels, since damage that starts in one unit and ends in another is the classic condo claim.
A condo policy is not a smaller home policy. It is the contract that starts where the association master policy stops.
The association's insurance generally covers the structure and the common areas, and it may reach the shell of your unit. What it usually does not reach is anything added to the unit and everything kept inside it. That is why this coverage sits between a landlord policy and a renters policy rather than being a version of either.
What your own policy generally covers
- Improvements and fixtures added to the unit rather than built into the original structure.
- Personal property inside the unit, against causes including theft, fire, severe wind, lightning and frozen pipes.
- Liability, including medical expenses for a guest injured in the unit up to the limit you select, and damages if you are held responsible for harm to another unit.
- Additional living expenses such as hotel bills, a temporary rental and meals while the unit is repaired.
Flood is not part of a condo policy and has to be arranged on its own.
The decisions that shape the policy.
Each of these is answered by reading your unit against the association master policy, which is why the two documents belong side by side.
- Find out where the master policy stops. Associations differ in how far into a unit their coverage reaches, and your own limits should be set against that boundary rather than guessed at.
- Insure improvements at what they cost you. A renovated unit needs a coverage amount for the improvements themselves, and that is the figure most often left wherever it sat when the unit was bought.
- Choose the medical expenses limit deliberately. It is the small line on the policy most likely to be used, and it pays only up to the limit you selected.
- Arrange flood separately if it applies. A condo policy does not include it, and lower-level units in particular are worth a specific conversation.
Condo questions we hear most
Does the association's insurance cover my belongings?
No. The master policy is generally there for the building and the shared areas. Personal property inside the unit, and any improvements you made to it, are covered by your own policy.
If water from my unit damages the unit below, whose insurance responds?
Yours, as liability coverage, because you are the party being held responsible for damage to another unit.
Do I need to insure improvements I have made to the unit?
Generally yes. The association's master policy typically stops at the original structure, which leaves improvements and fixtures you added as yours to insure. They are best insured at what they actually cost to put in, not at a nominal figure.
Does a condo policy cover flood damage?
Flood is normally arranged separately rather than included, so if the building or the unit has any flood exposure it has to be addressed as its own policy. It is worth settling before a storm rather than after one.
- Home Insurance
- Renters Insurance
- Mobile Home Insurance
- Flood Insurance
- Auto Insurance
- Classic Car Insurance
- Motorcycle Insurance
- RV Insurance
- Off-Road & Recreational Vehicle Insurance
- Boat & Watercraft Insurance
- Umbrella Insurance
- Life Insurance
- High Net Worth Insurance
- Pet Insurance
- Event & Special Event Insurance
Let's put the right policy in place.
Oxford Risk LLC is an independent agency. We represent you rather than a single carrier, which means we can place your coverage with the company whose appetite actually fits your risk. Tell us what you need to protect and an advisor will take it from there.
- Call (330) 315-3081
- Hours Monday - Friday: 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
- Offices Fairlawn, OH, Cranberry Township, PA, Columbus, OH, Livonia, MI