How Much Is Condo Insurance?

Condo insurance is also referred to as HO-6 policy and protects your condo unit. The average cost for condominium insurance is affected by a wide variety of factors. Condo owners need to choose coverage limits individually to make sure they’re sufficiently covered. 

Do You Need Homeowners Insurance For a Condo?

What is Covered by Condo Insurance?

What’s Not Covered by Condo Insurance?

The national average for condominium insurance in 2018 was around $430 but also varies greatly by location and the insurer. In the report released by NAIC, we learn that the average condo insurance cost per year was as follows:

The cheapest condo insurance cost can be found in:

• Utah ($269)
• Wisconsin ($280)
• Iowa: $295

The most expensive condo insurance premium is in:

• Florida: $964
• Texas: $790
• Louisiana: $748

Do You Need Homeowners Insurance For a Condo?

HO-6 insurance and standard homeowners insurance (HO-3) are a bit different. Home insurance typically covers your home, land, and other structures within your property (like a garage, or fence). As a condo owner, you need to take care of the interior of your condominium and your belongings. The exterior of the building and other common spaces will be covered by your condo association’s master policy.

What is Covered by Condo Insurance?

First of all, you need to check your condo association’s master policy type as it will determine how much condo insurance you should purchase. There are three types of master policies:

• All-in master policy – meaning ‘all inclusive’, covers both interior and exterior surfaces of your condo, but doesn’t cover your personal belongings.
• Bare walls master policy – provides bare walls coverage for your condo unit (meaning its exterior walls). Personal property coverage and liability coverage are not included (a condo owner needs to take care of that). Meaning you’ll have to pay any damages to your bathroom, belongings, appliances.
• Single entity – this type of master policy covers the majority of the condominium structures, including built-in property within like walls, or fixed appliances. Single entity coverage doesn’t protect any adjustments or improvements. You would need to buy personal property coverage and building property coverage (provided that you made extensive improvements to your condo unit).

Once you find out your master insurance policy type, you can decide on the amount of coverage that you need to purchase to fully protect your condo unit. Here’s what condo insurance covers: 

Dwelling coverage

Also known as building property coverage, dwelling coverage covers your condominium’s interior (floors, walls, and permanent fixtures like tiles, cabinets). It needs to compensate for the costs you would bear if you need to renovate your condo after the damage caused by a covered peril (like fire, hail, theft, or vandalism). 

Personal property coverage

This type of coverage protects your personal belongings (the ones that are not permanently fixed to the structures of your condo unit), meaning: furniture, clothing, portable devices, and appliances. You need to assess the replacement cost of your belongings to purchase a sufficient amount of personal property coverage. 

You can choose between an actual value or a replacement value type – the first one would reimburse you for an actual cash value if your personal property was stolen or damaged due to a covered peril, while the latter will pay out the amount needed to buy the same thing.

Liability coverage

Liability protection is an important part of condo insurance as it extends beyond the walls of your condo unit. It covers you and your family member if you are sued for property damage or bodily injury but your vehicle can’t be involved (your car is covered under an auto insurance policy).

Liability insurance will also protect you in case your dog bites someone (however, some dog breeds may be excluded by your insurance company).

Loss of use (Additional living expenses)

This type of coverage covers any additional expenses you need to bear, such as food or hotel bills, if your condo becomes uninhabitable due to a covered peril.

Medical payments

Medical payments will cover the costs (like medical bills) if your guest gets injured on your property, regardless of who was at fault.

Loss assessment coverage

As a condo unit owner, you may be charged for expenses related to damages that affect common areas in the condominium association (it may, for example, cover damages to the building caused by the wind).

What’s Not Covered by Condo Insurance?

Certain perils are not included in an HO-6 policy, namely:

• Flood – you’ll need separate flood insurance to get coverage in case water from this type of natural disaster damages your condo. However, if the flooding was caused by a burst pipe, you’ll be covered (provided that the burst’s reason wasn’t maintenance negligence)
• Earthquake – as with flooding, you have to purchase additional earthquake insurance (both of them are available at Gabi, sign up here to get insurance quotes from the best insurers)
• Routine wear and tear – if you fail to carry out proper maintenance and repair any damages in your condo, your insurance company may reject your claim
• Pests and other insects
• Intentional injuries to others

Looking for the best and most affordable condo insurance coverage? Sign up on Gabi and get insurance quotes from the nation’s top condo insurance companies, along with assistance from our licensed insurance agents. All for free!