What Your Master Policy Leaves to You

Condo insurance, written on an HO-6 form, fills that gap. Depending on your building, it may cover the unit interior, your improvements, belongings, liability, and your share of a special assessment.

We place condominium insurance for unit owners across New York City. We compare carriers rather than selling one, and we read your master policy so your limits match what the board leaves to you. See our full range of personal insurance services.

Three Master Policy Arrangements, Three Different Limits

Before picking a limit, find out which arrangement your building uses.

Arrangement

• Master policy generally covers
• You generally insure
• Bare walls
• Structure and common property
• Unit finishes, fixtures, improvements
• Single entity / original specs
• Structure plus original unit fixtures and finishes
• Your improvements and betterments
• All-in
• Structure, original interiors, generally improvements
• Mainly belongings and liability

The difference is money. An owner carrying $20,000 of interior coverage after a $150,000 renovation is badly exposed under bare walls, and fine under all-in.

Request the master policy declarations and governing documents before you buy. Send them over and we will read them with you.

What a Condo Insurance Policy Covers

Your unit interior and improvements

Flooring, cabinets, countertops, built-ins, and the renovation you paid for, to the extent the master policy does not.

Personal property

Furniture, electronics, and clothing may be covered for losses from perils such as fire, theft, and vandalism. Ask for replacement cost rather than actual cash value, which accounts for depreciation.

Personal liability

If you are found legally responsible for covered bodily injury or property damage, this may help pay damages and defense costs, subject to policy limits. A guest injured in your unit, or water reaching the unit below.

Loss assessment

When the association charges a special assessment after a covered loss, this covers your share. Default limits are often small next to a NYC master deductible.

Loss of use

If a covered loss makes the unit unlivable, this helps with a hotel and living elsewhere.

What Your Lender May Ask For

A lender may require a unit owner policy depending on what the master policy covers and how its deductible is structured. Your declaration or bylaws may set their own.

Under Fannie Mae's current Selling Guide, a borrower must carry an HO-6 when the master policy does not cover all or part of the unit interior or improvements, or when the master has a per unit deductible. Coverage must be a replacement cost, at least the greater of the cost to restore the unit or that deductible.

Closing on a set date? Tell us when you request your condo insurance quote and we will work to it.

Flood and Water Backup

Flood is excluded from standard unit owner policies. Many associations carry flood coverage that can satisfy a lender's requirement, so check what the building has before assuming you need your own. Where a gap remains, coverage comes through FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program or a private policy. Drain and sewer backup is a separate exclusion, solved by endorsement.