Condo insurance usually covers the damage of stolen items, or liability costs if some guest at your condo breaks a leg! When you are living in a condo, you do not own it. You’re just living in a unit rented out to you in the whole condo.
There are some laws and policies based on condo insurance in Albuquerque, NM. There is a master policy that covers the building under insurance and pays for the damages and accidents that occur on the property. There are two types of insurance policies involved in a condo.
CONDO ASSOCIATION:
The association of the condo covers this policy. It is also called an HOA policy (homeowner policy).
CONDO INDIVIDUAL:
This policy is of the individual in the unit. All the belongings are under the condo individual insurance policy. It is also called the HO-6 insurance policy.
There are a few types of HOA policies:
BARE WALL
This insurance policy only covers the structure and the fixing of common areas. It also includes other properties that are owned by the condo association. It is the most limited insurance policy and will not cover anything in the unit. If your plumbing, electric wires, or anything besides the underlying wall structure is damaged, it will not come under insurance of bare wall policy.
SINGLE ENTITY
This is an extending of bare wall policy and will cover minor fixtures in the individual’s apartment. So, you can expect it to include small damage coverage like plumbing and electric wires.
ALL-IN
This covers all the property owned by the condo association, excluding the individual’s assets. It is the most comprehensive master insurance policy. It will cover all the damages and liabilities of the condo and the apartments. Only the belongings of the individual owner will need to be insured by themselves.
The HOA or master policy directly affects the type of condo policy that you need. If the condo association is providing the bare-wall insurance, then all the coverage must be done by you. And it decreases further. The more insurance you have to get, the more money it costs.
So, the master policy is crucial when getting personal condo insurance. The individual insurance policy in a condo is known as an HO-6 policy. This is the individual policy that you need to get to ensure the protection of your belonging and so on. If a guest falls and gets injured in your stairs, the HOA policy might not pay for his medical bills, or if they choose to sue you, pay for the liability. Therefore it is better to get a comprehensive HO-6 policy (in-wall policy) to protect yourself from such mishaps.
You should consider getting HO-6 insurance if:
DAMAGE TO UNIT
You only own a unit in the condo, not the whole condo. If your HOA policy doesn’t cover the plumbing, electricity, cabinets, and other things, so you should consider getting individual insurance to cover the in-wall damaged units. If the HOA policy is “bare walls,” then everything should be insured by you. If you see there is damage to the interior of the unit, you should undoubtedly get personal insurance.
THEFT
The HOA insurance policy will never cover your belongings. There is a potential of having your belongings stolen in the condo apartment. Therefore you should get HO-6 insurance for yourself. Your computers, laptops, mobiles, clothes, everything will be covered in the HO-6 policy.
LOW ASSESSMENT
If the HOA is offering low assessment coverage, then, you might have to pay partially for the damages that are covered by the HOA policy. HOA will not pay for it completely. It will be preferable if the HO-6 policy should be considered in this case.
The business insurance policies will cover the following major things:
DAMAGE TO EXTERIOR BUILDING
The HOA policy will cover all the damage to the exterior of the condo building.
COMMON AREAS
The common areas come under the coverage of the HOA policy.
ACCIDENTS IN COMMON AREAS
If any guest gets hurt in the common area, which is under HOA jurisdiction, the medical bills and liabilities will be paid by the HOA insurance.
Most condo insurances will cover the following:
- Fire and smoke
- Lightening
- Burst pipe
- Wind and hail
- Explosions
- Theft
- Vandalism
Therefore depending on the master policy of the insurance, you need to devise and decide the HO-6 individual plan for your belongings in the unit.
