Condos Need Insurance Too!

Condo owner insurance, a special form of traditional home insurance, is an essential part of protecting the personal possessions of condo owners.  While most condos owners have a minimal amount of insurance through their condo association, condo owner insurance is needed to adequately protect your personal belongings.

What is Condo Owner Insurance?

Condo owner insurance, which is a special form of homeowners insurance, is also referred to as “Homeowners Form 6″ or “unit-owner” insurance. The major difference between condo owner insurance and homeowners insurance is that most condo owners have insurance through their condo association that covers the unit’s structure.  Condo owner insurance covers what the condo association’s insurance doesn’t: personal property, liability, the owner’s portion of the building and loss of use.

Condo Owner Insurance Fills in the Coverage Gap

There’s a significant coverage gap between a condo association’s insurance coverage and your personal condo owner insurance policy.  The condo association’s insurance usually covers the common areas you share with others in your building such as the roof, basement, elevator, boiler or walkways for both liability issues and physical damage.

Coverage of personal possessions and personal liability likely will not be covered under the condo association’s insurance policy.  It is the responsibility of the owner to cover their home with a condo owner insurance policy.

What Does Condo Owner Insurance Cover?

Condo owner insurance, insures a condo owner for direct damage to personal property, personal liability coverage and medical payments coverage as outlined in the policy.  It may also provide additional living expenses if you are the victim of fire, theft or other loss listed in your policy.  Most condo associations only provide insurance to the structure of the unit, so it is the owner’s responsibility to protect their investment with a condo owner insurance policy.

Additional Condo Owner Insurance Coverage Options

There are also additional condo owner insurance coverage options that you should ask your agent about:

1) Water back-up coverage insures your property for damage caused by the back-up of sewers or drains.  Water back-up may not always be included in a condo owner insurance policy.  Check to see that it is included.

2) Umbrella liability is an inexpensive way to get more liability protection and broader coverage than is included in a standard condo owner insurance/co-op policy.

3) If you own expensive jewelry, furs or collectibles, you might consider getting additional coverage since there is generally a $3,000 limit for theft of jewelry on a standard policy.

4) If your condo has a loss which is not covered by the master policy and the association has to do a special assessment to pay for the damages, your condo insurance policy’s loss assessment coverage will cover the portion of that loss that is your responsibility.

5) If you improved your condo a significant amount over and above what the developer originally delivered, you can insure those improvements and betterments with an endorsement.  In the event of a total loss, most master policies will only replace the unit back to the original developer standard.

Condo owner insurance is simply a special form of a traditional home insurance policy. A home insurance quote from Antietam can help you find a cheap condo owner insurance policy that fits your needs.