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 Sep 12, 2012 04:07 pm Post Subject:
Any property and casualty agent in Florida should be able to help you obtain an HO-6 condo owner's policy. But this would provide more coverage than you require. You could not make any claims for personal property that is not yours (and in which you have no insurable interest), even though the policy declarations would provide coverage for it, unless specifically excluded by endorsement.
Alternatively, you should also be able to obtain a Dwelling form policy that more specifically meets your needs. The same agent or broker can obtain this for you.
As a last resort, limited coverage is available through the FAIR plan, and any licensed agent can assist you with applying for a FAIR plan policy. It may not meet all of your coverage needs.
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 05:22 am Post Subject: H06 condo insurance in Florida
I purchased a 936 sq. ft. 2/2 condo in Boca Raton, FL approximately 10 years ago thru Chase Bank. I am refinancing my condo to get a lower interest rate and now they are asking me to purchase the H06 condo insurance which I had never had or ever told was required until now. There is a master insurance policy the association has but is this type of insurance mandatory by the State of Florida or does this depend on the condo association enforcing it? Do all the Lenders require this with all condo loans now? If so, how much would be considered adequate amount of coverage?
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 08:28 am Post Subject:
Having an HO-6 policy is not mandatory under state law.
Do all the Lenders require this with all condo loans now? If so, how much would be considered adequate amount of coverage?
If a lender wants to make it a condition of borrowing money, then so be it -- there is no law that prevents them from doing so. Although you might not think so, the lender is doing you a favor by requiring it. If you fail to maintain the coverage, they may "force place" coverage on you, and it will be A LOT MORE EXPENSIVE if you let them do that.The Association's property and liability policy does not cover the inside of your dwelling under most circumstances. An HO-6 covers your property from the inside walls, in, and the association's policy covers from the inside walls, out. If someone/something else (other than you) causes a loss, while the Association's policy would replace the drywall, they won't be responsible for painting or wallpapering it.
But liability losses for damage to the Association's (and other persons') property you cause through negligence are a different matter.
If you cause damage to the outside walls from the inside, your HO-6 liability policy will cover that loss up to whatever limit you purchase. The Association's CC&R's may describe how they must purchase insurance with a $10,000 deductible, perhaps. If that's the case, you would want to purchase at least $10,000 of property liability coverage in order to indemnify them for any loss you cause. But that could be very much insufficient. Carrying $100,000 or more of total property and personal liability protection wouldn't cost you that much more per year in premiums -- your negligence (or that of a member of your household, like a child) could cause losses to your neighbors' personal property for which you could be held separately liable.
Review your CC&Rs and/or talk to a local insurance professional who has better "local" knowledge of your need. Compared to the possible out of pocket expense in the event of a loss -- which might never happen, of course -- the annual premium expense is tiny. You've dodged a big bullet up to this point, but now that you know the gun is loaded and pointed in your direction, you need to get some protection . . . for your own well being.
Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2013 05:44 pm Post Subject: HO-6 condo insurance
Need quote for HO-6 condo insurance required by my condo association to renew parking on property.
Posted: Mon Apr 01, 2013 04:29 am Post Subject:
Talk to a local insurance agent or broker. This is not an insurance company website.
Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2013 06:08 pm Post Subject: HO6 Condo Insurance
I live in Miami. Is this really mandatory to have HO6 Insurance? In your experience what will be an approximately monthly cost for this?
The purchase price of the condo is $239k .
Where I can read about this issue and the law on it?
Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2013 05:31 am Post Subject:
Condo insurance isn't federally required, nor by the states. But your mortgage lender may ask for it since in 2009, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac began mandating condo insurance on all condo loans.
But as you are saying that you purchased the Condo, you can avoid having one. However, getting insurance for your home/Condo is always a wise step since this provides coverage for all sorts of property and personal liabilities. Get in touch with a local agent to know about the costs.
Check out this .pdf file by Florida Department of Financial Services to know more:
http://www.myfloridacfo.com/consumers/Guides/Property/docs/Homeowners Insurance Overview.pdf
Posted: Thu May 09, 2013 04:45 pm Post Subject: allstate condo insurance
Does Allstate HO 6 condominium insurance provide coverage for assessments charged to home owners?
Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 05:05 pm Post Subject: HO6 Policy
I am interested in obtaining an insurance quote for an HO6 Condo policy. My current police covers Dwelling (interior) $35,000, Personal $15,000, Loss of Use $6,000, Liability $300,000, medical $1,000, Fungus/mold $10,000 and water damage $5,000. The residence is is Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida please advise if you would write a police effective 30th Oct 2013. Please respond via email to: Email id deleted due to privacy issues
Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 08:22 pm Post Subject:
First, never post your email address online like you did unless you want someone to try to hack into it. Second, we are not an insurance company. If you are in the market for insurance we recommend that you work with a local independent agent/broker who can accurately assess your situation and needs. The coverage you have listed may not be appropriate for your current circumstances -- you could easily have more than $15,000 in personal property and your dwelling coverage may only be the minimum required and probably needs to be higher. Liability appears to be OK.
If you want responses via email, we recommend creating an account and including your email address in your profile so that your posts/replies will include an email link.
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