Condo Insurance

Every condo has two policies, and the interesting question is where one ends and the other begins. Read the association’s master policy first; everything on your own schedule is written to fit around it.

Bare walls, or walls in?

• A bare walls master policy covers the structure and common areas only. Everything from the drywall inward — floors, cabinets, fixtures, appliances — is yours to insure.
• An all-in or walls-in master policy includes the original fixtures, so your policy only needs to cover upgrades and contents.

Getting this wrong in either direction is expensive: one way you are uninsured for a kitchen, the other you are paying twice for the same drywall.

What a condo policy covers

1. Interior and improvements — the finishes and anything you have upgraded.
2. Personal property — belongings, inside the unit and away from it.
3. Personal liability — injury to a guest, or damage you cause to another unit.
4. Loss of use — accommodation while the unit is being repaired.
5. Loss assessment — your share of a claim the association charges back to owners when the master policy’s limit or deductible falls short.

Loss assessment is the line most owners have never heard of and the one that most often turns into a five-figure bill after a roof or a boiler fails.

Water is the common claim

In a stacked building, most claims travel. A supply line behind a dishwasher on the fourth floor becomes three claims on three schedules. Shut-off valves, braided hoses and a leak sensor under each appliance cost less than one deductible, and some insurers discount for them.