by Guest » Tue Jun 12, 2007 03:40 am
Many individuals think that since the association owners have purchased insurance on the association they don't need insurance to protect their home. While it is true that the association owner will cover if your condo roof flies off, it will, however, not cover damage to any item inside your condominium. So, you need to get a separate coverage for your own safety.
What does HO-6 insurance cover?
A typical condominium insurance covers damage to your condominium, your belongings from perils like lightning, explosion, hail, windstorm, fire, civil disturbance, vandalism, theft, damage from falling objects, aircrafts or other vehicles and smoke.
How much condo insurance do you need?
To be able to determine how much condo insurance you need you must make a checklist of things you have to insure. You can begin by reading the master policy for the association. By reading the master policy you can find out what it covers and how much your condominium will be protected in case of any damage.
You can make a list of the things you would be responsible for like the flooring of your condo or the wall coverings, the plumbing fixtures, cabinets, any built-in appliances, lighting fixtures and any improvements made to your condo. Take some time out to add everything up to get an idea of home much condominium insurance you need.
Making a list of the personal property that you own would be a good idea to assess properly the amount of insurance you need to buy. Ask your agent for a content replacement option and how much it would cost you. Set your personal liability at a high limit to get a good amount of coverage. You could do the same for 'Loss Assessment' to cover you for big losses.
You can make a list of the things you would be responsible for like the flooring of your condo or the wall coverings, the plumbing fixtures, cabinets, any built-in appliances, lighting fixtures and any improvements made to your condo. Take some time out to add everything up to get an idea of home much condominium insurance you need.
Making a list of the personal property that you own would be a good idea to assess properly the amount of insurance you need to buy. Ask your agent for a content replacement option and how much it would cost you. Set your personal liability at a high limit to get a good amount of coverage. You could do the same for 'Loss Assessment' to cover you for big losses.
What you need to know before buying condominium insurance?
Master policy: Go through your master policy for the condominium to find out how much you are covered under that policy. Based on that you could assess what you need to cover to protect your condominium and your possessions from any damage due to a peril.
Deductibles: There is usually an association deductible in condominium insurance. So in case of a disaster be prepared to pay the deductible that will be divided amongst the unit owners.
Coverage required: Determine what you need to cover in your condominium and based on that draw up an assessment of the amount you need to invest in insuring your property.
Cash value or replacement cost: Find out which one you are opting for. A cash value will give you only the current value of an item minus the depreciation costs while a replacement cost would offer the total cost of replacing the item.
Interior structure and contents: Your association will not cover your personal property and the contents inside your condominium. You need to purchase coverage for the structure of your home and the contents inside your condo separately.
Flood and wind coverage: Make sure you buy flood if you live in a flood prone zone. Wind coverage is generally included in a typical policy.
Deductibles: There is usually an association deductible in condominium insurance. So in case of a disaster be prepared to pay the deductible that will be divided amongst the unit owners.
Coverage required: Determine what you need to cover in your condominium and based on that draw up an assessment of the amount you need to invest in insuring your property.
Cash value or replacement cost: Find out which one you are opting for. A cash value will give you only the current value of an item minus the depreciation costs while a replacement cost would offer the total cost of replacing the item.
Interior structure and contents: Your association will not cover your personal property and the contents inside your condominium. You need to purchase coverage for the structure of your home and the contents inside your condo separately.
Flood and wind coverage: Make sure you buy flood if you live in a flood prone zone. Wind coverage is generally included in a typical policy.
Related reading:
- Home owners insurance for condominium and single families
- Do you need more insurance than the master policy for a condo?
- Why do you need condo insurance?
I have a question about ho-6 insurance. I need to purchase an ho 6 insurance policy which will, among other things, cover replacement cost for internal real property (drywall, wall coverings, carpet, window treatments, etc.). What's the rule of thumb on how much coverage to get for internal real property? The purchase price of my condo was $115k.
Posted: Wed May 18, 2011 10:15 pm Post Subject: HO-6 Insurance
Just FYI - most condo associations do not cover bursting pipes and this is also not covered under contents coverage of an HO-6 policy. The only way to be covered in the event that your pipes burst and flood your unit or an adjacent unit is to add some dwelling coverage as well. You can also add special causes of loss instead of named (fire, wind, hail, theft, etc.) so that you are covered regardless of what caused the loss unless it's specifically excluded from the policy (like earthquake).
Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 12:51 pm Post Subject: who pays for condo water damage to my unit caused by unit ow
both unit owner above me in condo caused much more than 5000 of water damage to my unit 2 days ago.We both have Allstate insurance and my Allstate agent says I will have to pay the $250 deductible and then my agency will file a liability to the above owner above who also had damage but to a lesser degree than I have.I (tubing for his ice maker was installed by him in faulty way it went halfway around his kitchen), so I have much damage to kitchen, dinning room and living room-floors, walls, and maybe cabinets. Our association mgr had trouble getting access to above condo by owner so the damage continued until he could get access to that unit. My condo is a wreck...moving furniture ourselves mostly and flooring torn up to dry condo, etc in all room.. I'm covered for $5000 and so is he, I think.
I'm having trouble getting an Allstate Adjuster appointment to come to my condo to access the damage. What can I do about that also?
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 08:31 pm Post Subject: CONDO INSURANCE
HOW MUCH INSURANCE DO I NEED ON PERSONAL PROPERTY FOR A 2 BEDROOM CONDO?
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 10:15 pm Post Subject:
How much personal property do you have? That's how much coverage you need.
Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 04:15 am Post Subject: Condo HO6 Illinois insurance questions
Hi,
I had a fire sprinkler system leak that caused damage to my condo/townhome from a licensed workman that put a screw threw the pipe. Their company wouldn't pay for it and to matters worse, another company that did remediation took the screw out of the pipe while it was on and caused more damage. Anyways, I had to make a claim with my insurance company.
The question I have is, my insurance company says my association is liable for inside structural walls as per Illinois Condo Act for an HO6 policy. My association says, they didn't cause the damage, and therefore aren't liable. This is my townhome, and the damage was to inside walls.
My insurance after much work, is going to pay for the drywall, but said that my association should really pay for that. I don't understand, isn't the inside of my place the insurer's responsibility or am I wrong? Please let me know, and where it says that in the IL Condo Act.
But, I had to pay for the fire sprinkler to be fixed.
Thanking you in advance.
Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 05:13 am Post Subject:
As far as I know, association is responsible for building and all common areas.
The walls inside your townhouse damaged by your fire sprinkler is your responsibility and should be covered under your insurance. So, your insurance should be paying for it not association.
Your fire sprinkler fixing costs would be borne by you, but the damages may be recovered through the insurance.
Talk to your insurer or insurance advisor about this.
Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 05:16 pm Post Subject:
My association says, they didn't cause the damage, and therefore aren't liable.
The fire sprinkler system needs to be inspected and maintained according to law. Do you pay for that with your own money or does the association pay for that with the fees they collect from you and all the other owners?
The answer to that question will tell you who is responsible for the damage done to and by the sprinkler system.
I'm betting that the association pays and is responsible, and that your insurance company was correct to begin with. It should not have been your responsibility to order and pay for the initial problem, and certainly the contractor that created the additional damage bears liability for the aftermath of his shoddy workmanship.
You need to get the state contractors licensing authority involved in this, and you may need to file a direct written claim for all your losses against the COA, which they will deny, and then you take them and the contractor to small claims court, where you should win.
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 12:28 am Post Subject: Fire Sprinkler, Insurance, Association and contractors
Thanks for your feedback. I pay for fire sprinkler inspections, not the association because these are townhomes.
My adjustor cites IL Condo Act Section 12 1a that the association is liable for bare walls, floors, ceiling, etc. Basically, they say they aren't liable for the fire sprinkler pipes, because that is structural too and the association says they didn't cause the problem so not liable (and that it would be different if it was one big building with centralized sprinkler pipes). I got my insurance to pay for drywall reluctantly (because they say under the IL Condo Act Section 12 a 1) that that is structural and the association's responsibility. And this is INSIDE walls in my unit. So, I said I basically don't own my unit then? He said I do, but I don't. And I was told because I made a claim with my insurance, I can't go after the contractors now...my insurance will for themselves.
And again, I had to pay for the fire sprinkler pipes.
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 09:03 pm Post Subject:
Are all the units in your association sprinklered? If so, then, like the primary structure, the sprinklers belong to them not to you, even if you are paying for the inspections. According to Section 12(b) (paragraph 2):
Common elements include fixtures located within the unfinished interior surfaces of the perimeter walls, floors, and ceilings of the individual units initially installed by the developer.
That would certainly sound like the sprinkler system -- if it was not a subsequent addition to your unit specifically.
As a condo owner, you don't own the structure, you own a revocable "right to occupy". That's why you don't have to carry coverage on the structure itself. You are responsible for covering the interior walls inward.
Also, you should take note of Section (f):
(f) Primary insurance. If at the time of a loss under the policy there is other
insurance in the name of a unit owner covering the same property covered by the policy, the association's policy is primary insurance.
I guess you'll have to go through the CC&Rs to see what is specifically said about the space between the interior walls and the exterior walls. But something sounds fishy to me, and your Association is shirking its responsibility to you as the unit owner (probably trying to avoid a premium increase).
Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 12:45 am Post Subject: Fire Sprinkler, Insurance, Association and contractors
Thanks again for your replies, all the help I can get on this is appreciated.
Yes, all the units in the development came with by law per village ordinance, with sprinkler systems included. As far as Section 12 b: Common elements include fixtures located within the unfinished interior surfaces of the perimeter walls, floors, and ceilings of the individual units initially installed by the developer. I have a question about this phrase. What do they mean by unfinished interior surfaces of the PERIMETER walls, etc? I thought perimeter means outer which would be shared with common area, i.e., like inner wall of outside walls. This fire sprinkler pipe was in an inner wall inside my unit, not part of perimeter walls...even though the sprinkler goes throughout the whole place. So, does perimeter walls, floors, ceilings, etc. have another meaning here???
Also, my property management firm which seems to tell my association what to do, says they didn't cause the problem so they aren't liable. They said it would be different if 1. either their workers caused it, or 2. It was one big condo/apartment like building with sprinkler systems throughout. They said they aren't liable. Would that be in my by laws? Where would I look for that? Is that what you mean by CC&Rs? They told that to my adjustor and when he read back that they should be paying for it, the owner of the property management firm said that there is a $2,500 deductable anyway. The fire sprinkler system repair cost me over $500. And the management firm said the drywall they wouldn't pay because of the $2,500 deductable too, so I got my insurance reluctantly to pay for it.
Thanks for pointing me to Section F. I don't totally understand that though. Does that mean any damages done in a unit who has condo insurance that wasn't caused by the association or property management firm, that the association is required to pay as primary insurance? If this is true, everytime a claim is filed, someone would give it to the association and then the premiums would be skyhigh. Need your feedback on this.
Yeah, my association is really the property management firm, and they are really difficult to deal with.
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