Your one stop for condo insurance.
Stop calling agent after agent for one quote each. One call, and a licensed agent shops your HO-6 with several insurance companies, A-rated options included, then lays the offers side by side. You pick.
You are in the right place. Keep reading for the answer, or call and let the shopping start now.
Condo owners and buyers
Condo Insurance vs Homeowners Insurance
The licensed agent behind this site puts it simply: condo insurance belongs to the homeowners family, but it is built for a unit, not a whole house. You still need a policy on a condo; it insures your unit's interior, your belongings and your liability, while the association's master policy usually handles the building.
Below, from an owner's seat: what you own, what drops off, what gets added, what stays put and what a lender wants to see.
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- Several companies shopped for you
- No obligation: a quote never binds
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Center City Philadelphia skyline and Delaware River waterfront towers seen from the Camden waterfront. Photo: Bronzeage10, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Do I need homeowners insurance on a condo? Yes, the unit kind
You need a policy from the homeowners family, just not the version written for a house.
- Buy a unit-owner (HO-6) policy, not a house policy
- The association insures the shared building
- Your loan or bylaws may require one
Shopping for homeowners insurance on a condo usually lands on the same product: a unit-owner policy. It reads like a house policy, with coverage letters, limits and deductibles. What it protects is smaller, and the building's paperwork shapes it.
Washington's insurance regulator puts it plainly: condo owners typically live under two policies, the HO-6 they buy themselves and a community master policy funded through dues, and the pair work together on losses inside and outside the unit1.
A whole-house policy assumes nobody else insures your roof. In most condos somebody does, so a house form would aim at the wrong target.
Go deeper: who actually makes you carry a condo policy
In most cases the push comes from two places: your mortgage, and the insurance section of the association's declaration or bylaws. Some boards require owners to carry certain coverage; read that section before you shop.
Even with no loan and no bylaw rule, the unit-owner policy is the piece that answers for your belongings, your liability and whatever the master policy skips inside your walls. The HO-6 insurance guide walks through each part.
What you own decides what you insure
A house owner holds a building and its lot. A condo owner holds a unit plus an undivided slice of everything shared.
- House: structure, yard, outbuildings
- Condo: your unit and a share of the common elements
- The declaration draws the boundary
Owning a house under homeowners insurance
The deed reaches the structure and the ground beneath it. Roof, siding, foundation, fence and shed are yours to fix, so the policy has to be able to rebuild all of them.
Owning a condo unit
You hold the space the declaration calls your unit, plus a shared interest in the lobby, roof, grounds and pipes that serve every owner.
Townhouse ownership
A townhouse can follow either pattern. The legal setup, not the look, decides; the townhouse insurance guide sorts it out.
North Carolina's consumer guide says unit owners normally belong to an association that buys the insurance on the structure and shared property, and that a condo owner does not own the outside of the structure2.
Go deeper: where your unit ends and the common elements begin
Each declaration describes unit boundaries in its own words. Some stop at the unfinished face of the walls; others reach the paint, the drywall or beyond. That line tells you which surfaces are yours and which belong to all owners together.
Ask the manager for the page that defines a unit and keep it with your policy. It answers more claim questions than any brochure.
The roof over your unit sits on someone else's policy
In most condos the association insures the roof, outer walls and shared spaces, and your dues help pay for it.
- The master policy covers the shared building
- Its type sets where your coverage begins
- Ask the manager for the summary
That changes your job. A house owner sizes coverage to rebuild a home from the slab up. A condo owner sizes it to what the master policy leaves inside the unit, which may be a thin layer or most of the finishes.
Florida's consumer toolkit says the HO-6 covers the owner's personal property, certain building items the association's policy does not insure and personal liability, and generally reaches structural features inside the unit's four exterior walls3.
Go deeper: the master policy is the association's, not yours
In Maryland the association must buy the master policy, its cost is a common expense, and it covers the structures and common areas against risks of direct physical loss commonly insured against4.
Your dues help fund the master policy, but the board chooses the limits, the deductible and the policy type. Your own policy has to be built around those choices, so read them first: how to get and read the master policy.
What a condo policy leaves out that a house policy carries
Two big pieces of a house policy mostly fall away on a condo: separate structures and the outside of the building.
- No Coverage B line for other structures
- Roof and exterior usually stay with the association
- Something you alone own may still need coverage
On a house, Coverage A is the dwelling itself. New Jersey's model homeowners summary says most policies there include Dwelling coverage, which pays when the house itself is damaged or destroyed by a covered loss5. On a condo, the same letter shrinks to the inside of the unit.
That same New Jersey summary lists six common homeowners coverages, Dwelling (A) and Other Structures (B) among them6. Its condominium summary lists A, C, D, E and F, and no Other Structures line appears7.
North Carolina's guide shows the same gap on the unit-owners form, Coverages A, C, D, E and F with no Coverage B, and describes limited property coverage for wall, floor and ceiling coverings and alterations to the original unit8.
Go deeper: a garage, storage room or patio that is yours alone
The standard unit-owners form posted by Maine's insurance bureau lets Coverage A reach structures the owner solely owns at the same location, while leaving out land9.
Many parking spaces, storage rooms and patios are limited common elements instead, which the association may insure or may hand to you. The declaration says which; check your policy before you assume either. For the forms side by side, see HO-6 vs HO-3.
Two lines a house owner rarely meets: the master deductible and loss assessment
Shared ownership brings shared bills, and a condo policy has a line built for them.
- The association's deductible can reach owners
- Loss assessment pays toward covered bills
- Upkeep assessments are not losses
When the building has a covered loss, the association claims on its master policy. Whatever that policy does not pay, its deductible included, can be divided among owners as a special assessment.
Loss assessment coverage on your own policy may help with that bill, for instance after a storm tears up several roofs and the repair cost runs beyond what the master policy pays, provided your own policy covers that cause10.
See how condo special assessments work, then size the limit with the loss assessment calculator.
Go deeper: what loss assessment will not pay
Maryland's insurance regulator says the coverage pays, up to the limit you bought, when all owners are specially assessed for a loss from a covered peril, and that an assessment for something like maintenance is not covered11.
Ask in writing whether your form pays an assessment for the association's deductible. Wording differs from one company to the next.
What carries over from a house policy: belongings, liability, a place to stay
The parts that protect you, rather than the building, look much alike on both forms.
- Coverage C: the things you own
- Coverage D: extra costs if you must move out
- Coverage E and F: claims from other people
Texas, describing the standard unit-owners form, says it carries the same loss of use, additional coverages and liability provisions as the HO 00 03 homeowners form12.
- Personal property. Furniture, clothing, computers and TVs in the unit are covered when a covered loss damages or destroys them, or when they are stolen13.
- Loss of use. If covered damage leaves the unit unlivable, it pays living costs above your normal ones while you stay somewhere else14.
- Liability. It pays to defend you against certain lawsuits and covers you if you are held legally responsible for another person's injury or property damage15.
- Medical payments. It pays medical bills for people hurt on your property16.
Go deeper: same questions, closer neighbors
The questions you asked about a house policy still apply: does the contents limit match what you own, and does the liability limit match what you could lose? How much condo insurance you need helps with both.
What changes is the setting. In a shared building, a leak or fire that starts in your unit can reach the people below and beside you, which makes the liability line worth a fresh look.
Open perils vs named perils: how the structure part differs
On a typical house form the building is covered for any cause not excluded. On a typical condo form, only for the causes listed.
- House structure: often open perils
- Condo Coverage A: often named perils
- An endorsement can widen it
North Carolina's guide says the HO-3 insures the dwelling and other structures on an open perils basis, covering direct physical damage unless the policy excludes it17. Florida's toolkit describes the HO-3 in similar terms, covering the home for all causes of loss not specifically excluded18.
For the unit-owners form, the North Carolina guide says the perils insured against are named in the policy itself19. Florida's insurance regulator adds that condo insurance usually runs on named perils, though some insurers let the coverage be extended to open perils20.
Go deeper: why the difference shows up at claim time
North Carolina's glossary defines an all-risk or special form policy as one that covers loss from any peril except those the contract specifically excludes21.
In broad terms, a named-perils form pays when a listed cause did the damage; an open-perils form pays unless an exclusion applies. Personal property is often on named perils under both forms. Ask whether a broader Coverage A is available for your unit: unit-owners Coverage A special coverage explains the option.
Comparing condo vs home insurance prices tells you little
A house quote prices a whole building. A condo quote prices your slice of one, so the two figures measure different things.
- Different property, different form
- The master policy shapes the condo figure
- Compare condo quotes with condo quotes
Your old house premium cannot tell you whether a condo quote is fair. The condo figure turns on how much the master policy leaves you, your contents and liability limits, your deductibles and how the unit is used. The condo insurance cost factors page takes each in turn.
What does work: line up several companies on identical condo limits. One company's quote shows one company's answer; several side by side show whether another treats your unit differently. Ask each which discounts or credits apply.
Go deeper: fix your limits before you compare anything
Set Coverage A to the gap the master policy leaves, then count your belongings room by room, then pick a liability limit and a deductible you could pay without strain. With those settled, every quote answers the same question.
What a lender asks for when you finance a condo
A mortgage on a house asks for one policy on the house. On a condo, the lender usually looks at two.
- The association's master policy
- Your own unit-owner policy, in many cases
- Get the lender's rule in writing
Under Fannie Mae's Selling Guide, a borrower needs a unit owners policy when the master policy leaves any part of the unit interior or its improvements uncovered, or when the master policy carries a per-unit deductible22 (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B7-3-0422).
The same guide requires a master policy on a condo's common elements and residential structures, unless the project's legal documents have each unit carry its own property policy23.
Other loan programs set their own terms, so ask your lender for them in writing. Then send a quote request with your declarations page and the master policy summary. Asking for a quote does not bind coverage; nothing is in force until you accept a policy and the company issues it.
Condo insurance vs homeowners insurance questions
Is condo insurance the same as homeowners insurance?
Same family, different job. Condo insurance uses the unit-owner form, which protects the inside of your unit, your belongings and your liability, and relies on the association's master policy for the building. A standard homeowners policy expects you to insure an entire house and the structures on its lot yourself.
Do I need homeowners insurance if I own a condo?
You need a policy from the homeowners family written for a unit. A whole-house policy rarely fits, because the association insures most of the structure. Your lender, and often your bylaws, may require a unit-owner policy, and even without a rule it is the policy that covers your things, your liability and the interior the master policy skips.
Could the owners in a small condo drop the master policy and each buy a regular homeowners policy?
Not on their own say-so. The declaration and bylaws usually decide who insures the building, and changing that can take an owner vote and an amendment. A lender may still expect a master policy for the loan. Have a licensed agent and the association's attorney read the documents before anyone cancels coverage.
My HOA's policy covers the building. Do I need a walls-in condo policy or a regular homeowners policy?
If the property is a condominium and the association's policy insures the structure, a walls-in unit-owner policy is the usual fit. Size Coverage A to what the master policy leaves inside the unit (see how much condo insurance you need), then add contents, liability and loss assessment. Own a townhouse and its lot? Read the townhouse guide first.
Does condo insurance cover the outside of my building?
Usually not directly. The roof, exterior walls and shared areas generally sit on the association's master policy. Your policy comes in through loss assessment when a covered loss to those areas leaves owners with a bill, and through Coverage A for anything your documents make yours. Check your declaration and your policy.
Does a condo policy have other structures coverage like my house policy did?
Usually not as its own line; the common unit-owner coverage lists skip Coverage B. On the standard unit-owners form, Coverage A can reach a structure you alone own at the same location9, so tell the insurer about a garage or shed that is yours and include its value. Check your policy.
Home insurance vs condo insurance: which costs more?
This site prints no averages, and the two are not the same product. A house policy rebuilds a whole home; a condo policy covers your share of a building. The useful comparison is several condo quotes on the same limits, which shows how each company treats your unit.
Before you renew, make one call.
A licensed agent compares several companies on the same limits. Asking changes nothing on your policy, and a quote never binds you.