Condo insurance that starts where the master policy stops
Your association insures the building. What it does not insure is your problem, and the dividing line sits in documents most owners have never opened.
What the master policy actually covers
Every condo association carries a master policy, and the single most useful thing you can know about yours is where it stops. There are broadly three arrangements, and which one you have changes what your own policy needs to do.
Bare walls-in. The association covers the structure and common areas and essentially nothing inside your unit. Cabinets, flooring, fixtures, built-ins, often even the drywall surface — yours. This is the one that catches people, because the gap is enormous.
Single entity. The association covers the original fixtures and finishes as built, but not improvements or upgrades. If the kitchen was redone after closing, the upgrade is generally yours to insure.
All-in. The association covers fixtures and finishes including upgrades. The broadest of the three, and the least common.
Your association's master policy declarations and its governing documents decide which applies. Send us both and we will read them — it takes us a few minutes and it is the difference between a policy that fits and one that guesses.
- Interior finishes and improvements the master policy leaves to you
- Personal belongings — furniture, clothing, electronics, valuables
- Personal liability if someone is injured inside your unit
- Loss assessment — your share of certain association shortfalls
- Additional living expenses if the unit becomes uninhabitable
- Water damage starting in your unit that reaches a neighbor
Where condo owners get caught
The loss assessment limit is usually too low. Most policies include it automatically at around $1,000. When an association takes a loss that exceeds its coverage and bills every owner for a share, $1,000 does very little. Raising this limit is typically one of the cheapest endorsements on the policy.
The master policy deductible can land on you. Association deductibles have climbed sharply, and many governing documents allow the association to assess unit owners for their share of it. Some carriers will cover that assessment and some will not, and the limit is often separate from ordinary loss assessment. It is worth asking about by name.
Renovations quietly outgrow the coverage. A new kitchen, refinished floors or an upgraded bathroom can add tens of thousands to what it would cost to put your unit back. Under a single-entity master policy in particular, that upgrade is yours, and the dwelling limit you set years ago will not stretch to it.
Flood is a separate policy, always. Ground-floor and garden-level units carry real exposure, and so does anything near the shore or a tidal river. A unit owner can buy flood coverage for both the unit's building property and its contents, independently of whatever the association carries. If you are on a lower floor anywhere in New Jersey, ask.
Condo Insurance questions we hear a lot
Doesn't the association's insurance cover all this?
It covers the building, and how far inside your unit it reaches depends entirely on the master policy form and your association's documents. Under a bare walls-in arrangement it may stop at the studs, leaving every cabinet, floor and fixture to you. Under an all-in arrangement it may cover finishes and upgrades. Neither one covers your belongings, your liability or your cost of living somewhere else while the unit is repaired. Those are always yours.
What is loss assessment coverage, and how much should I carry?
If the association suffers a loss its own insurance does not fully pay for, it can assess the owners — each of you gets a bill for a share. Loss assessment coverage on your policy responds to certain of those assessments. Most policies include about $1,000 by default, which rarely matches what a real assessment looks like. Higher limits are usually inexpensive. The right number depends on the size of your association and the shape of its master policy, which is a conversation worth having rather than a number to guess at.
Do I need flood insurance for a condo?
Possibly, and it is a separate policy either way — no condo policy covers flood. The association may carry flood coverage on the building, but that does not automatically protect your unit's interior or your belongings. Ground-floor, garden-level and basement-level units have the most exposure, and plenty of New Jersey flood claims come from heavy rain overwhelming drainage rather than from the ocean. Tell us your address and floor and we will look up the zone.
I rent my condo out. Is this the same policy?
No. Once a unit is tenant-occupied it is a rental exposure and needs a landlord form rather than an owner-occupied condo policy. The coverage is structured differently, including loss of rental income and liability arising from the tenancy. If you are renting it out, even seasonally, tell us — a claim on the wrong form is an unpleasant way to find out.
What do you need from me to quote it?
The association's master policy declarations page and, ideally, the section of the bylaws that describes who insures what. Plus the basics: address, unit, square footage, what you have upgraded since you bought it, and whether you have a mortgage. If you cannot lay hands on the association documents, send what you have and we will work from there — the property manager will usually provide them on request.