What Is Condo Insurance (HO-6)? 2026 Guide

Condo insurance, also called an HO-6 policy, is the homeowners' insurance designed specifically for condo and co-op unit owners. It covers the interior of your unit, your personal belongings, your personal liability, and additional living expenses if you cannot stay in your unit after a covered loss. If you just bought a condo or are shopping for one, your lender will almost certainly require it. But even without a mortgage, the gap between what your condo association's master policy covers and what happens inside your unit can cost you tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket. This guide explains exactly what HO-6 condo insurance is, what it covers, how it works alongside the master policy, and how to make sure you have enough of it.

What Is Condo Insurance (HO-6) and Who Needs It?

Condo insurance (HO-6) is the standard homeowners policy for condominium and co-op unit owners that covers the interior of the unit, personal belongings, personal liability, and loss of use — the four things the condo association's master policy does not cover. "HO-6" is the Insurance Services Office (ISO) policy form designation for unit-owner coverage, distinguishing it from HO-3 (single-family home) and HO-4 (renters). Any condo or co-op owner needs it.

Who Is Required to Have HO-6 Insurance

Mortgage borrowers. Lenders require condo insurance before closing on any condo with a mortgage. Conventional loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac specifically require coverage from the interior walls of the unit inward. FHA and VA loan programs have similar requirements. Without evidence of HO-6 coverage, the loan cannot close.

Owners under HOA bylaws. Many condo associations require unit owners to carry their own HO-6 policies as a condition of the governing documents — the CC&Rs (covenants, conditions, and restrictions) — regardless of whether there is a mortgage. Check your association's documents before closing.

Who Should Have It Even When Not Required

Any condo owner who could not comfortably absorb a $30,000 to $100,000+ out-of-pocket loss — whether from interior damage, a liability lawsuit, or a special assessment from the HOA — needs HO-6 insurance. That is most condo owners. The annual premium is small compared to the exposure.

Co-op owners use a similar policy, sometimes called an HO-6 or a co-op unit owner policy, that covers their proprietary lease interest and personal belongings rather than a deed-based ownership structure.

What Does an HO-6 Condo Insurance Policy Cover?

An HO-6 condo insurance policy covers five main things: dwelling coverage for the interior of your unit, personal property, personal liability, loss of use, and medical payments to others. Together, these cover what happens inside your unit — everything the condo association's master policy does not.

Dwelling Coverage: The Interior of Your Unit

HO-6 dwelling coverage (called "improvements and betterments" in ISO form language) pays to repair or replace interior finishes and improvements in your unit after a covered loss. That includes:

• Interior walls, flooring, and ceilings
• Cabinets, countertops, and built-in fixtures
• Plumbing and electrical systems inside the unit
• Any upgrades you made to the original finishes

The amount of dwelling coverage you need depends heavily on your condo association's master policy type — covered in the next section. In a bare walls situation, you are responsible for all interior finishes from the sheetrock in. In an all-in situation, the master policy covers most original finishes, and your HO-6 dwelling coverage handles only your own upgrades.

For a deeper look at how dwelling coverage works, visit our guide on dwelling coverage.

Personal Property

Personal property coverage pays to replace your furniture, clothing, electronics, and appliances after a covered event like fire, theft, or a burst pipe. Like renters insurance, HO-6 personal property coverage extends beyond the unit — belongings stolen from your car or damaged on a trip are generally covered, subject to policy limits.

Sub-limits apply to specific categories: jewelry is often capped at $1,000 to $2,500, firearms at $2,000 to $2,500, and cash at $200. If you own items that exceed these limits, ask about a scheduled personal property endorsement.

Actual cash value (ACV) vs. replacement cost (RCV): ACV pays what your item is worth today after depreciation. RCV pays what it costs to buy a new comparable item. According to the Insurance Information Institute, RCV typically adds only 10% to 15% to your premium and pays out dramatically more at claim time. For most condo owners, RCV is the better choice for personal property.

Personal Liability

Personal liability coverage (Coverage E) pays legal defense costs and damages if someone is injured inside your unit or if you are found responsible for damage to someone else's property. A guest who slips on your floor, a water leak from your unit that floods the apartment below, your dog that bites a visitor — all of these can trigger a liability claim that Coverage E handles up to your policy limit.

Standard liability limits in HO-6 policies start at $100,000 and can be increased to $300,000 or more. Given that a single personal injury lawsuit can easily exceed $100,000, $300,000 is a more defensible baseline for most condo owners.

Loss of Use

Loss of use coverage (Coverage D) pays for hotel stays, temporary rentals, restaurant meals above your normal food budget, and similar additional living costs if your unit becomes uninhabitable after a covered loss. It pays only the increase in your costs — not your regular rent or mortgage, which you continue to owe — and typically covers the period needed to make your unit habitable again.

Medical Payments to Others

Medical payments coverage (Coverage F) pays small medical bills for guests injured in your unit, typically $1,000 to $5,000, without requiring a finding of negligence. It functions as goodwill insurance — handling minor incidents before they escalate into formal liability claims.

How Does the Condo Association Master Policy Differ From Your HO-6 Policy?

The condo association's master policy covers the building's exterior, roof, common areas, and shared systems. It does not cover what is inside your individual unit, your personal belongings, or your personal liability. Understanding what the master policy already covers is the most important step in buying the right amount of HO-6 insurance.

What the Master Policy Is

The master policy is the insurance the condo association carries on the building as a whole, funded through HOA dues. It protects the structure and shared elements: exterior walls, the roof, hallways, lobbies, elevators, the pool, and other common areas. Every condo has one. Most unit owners have never read it.

The Three Master Policy Types

The master policy type determines how much HO-6 dwelling coverage you need. There are three standard types, confirmed by the Insurance Information Institute and industry guidance:

Bare walls (studs-in). The master policy covers only the building structure to the bare drywall or studs — nothing on the interior of your unit. All flooring, cabinets, fixtures, countertops, appliances, and interior improvements are the unit owner's responsibility. This is the most common master policy type and creates the largest gap for HO-6 buyers. If you have a bare walls master policy, your HO-6 dwelling coverage needs to reflect the full cost of rebuilding your unit's interior from scratch.

Single entity (original specifications). The master policy covers the original fixtures and finishes inside each unit as they were originally built. Flooring, cabinets, and appliances that came with the unit are covered. Upgrades you made — upgraded counters, custom flooring, renovated bathrooms — are not. You need HO-6 dwelling coverage for your improvements and betterments, but less than you would under bare walls.

All-in (all inclusive). The most comprehensive type. The master policy covers original finishes and unit owner improvements. This is the least common. Even with an all-in master policy, it does not cover your personal property, your liability, or your loss of use — you still need HO-6 for those.

How to Find Out Which Type You Have

Before you close on a condo, request the master policy certificate or declarations page from the HOA. Your real estate agent or the HOA management company can provide this. Look for language describing the coverage scope — "bare walls," "single entity," or "all-in." If the language is unclear, ask the association's insurance agent directly.

Do this before buying HO-6 insurance, not after. The master policy type determines your dwelling coverage target.

The Master Policy Deductible Problem

The master policy deductible matters to unit owners even when the master policy does cover a loss. In high-risk markets, master policy deductibles for wind and hail can run $25,000 to $100,000 or more. When the building sustains a covered loss, the association typically distributes that deductible cost among all unit owners through a special assessment. This is where loss assessment coverage, covered in its own section below, becomes critical.

How Does HO-6 Condo Insurance Compare to an HO-3 Homeowners Policy?

An HO-3 policy covers a standalone home including its structure, exterior, and land. An HO-6 policy covers only what the condo unit owner is responsible for: the interior of the unit, personal property, and liability. The building exterior and structure are covered by the condo association's master policy, not the HO-6, which is why HO-6 policies generally cost less than HO-3 policies.

What HO-3 Covers That HO-6 Does Not

An HO-3 homeowner is responsible for the entire structure — roof, exterior walls, foundation, detached garage, shed, fence. They insure all of it under Coverage A (dwelling) and Coverage B (other structures). A condo owner owns only the interior of their unit. The exterior is the association's responsibility and covered by the master policy.

This structural difference is why homeowners insurance costs significantly more than condo insurance. Dwelling coverage on an HO-3 reflects the cost to rebuild an entire home. Dwelling coverage on an HO-6 reflects the cost to rebuild only the unit's interior.

What HO-6 Has That HO-3 Does Not

Loss assessment coverage — the provision that pays your share of an HOA levy when the association incurs a large loss — is specific to the condo context. Single-family homeowners have no master policy and no association to levy assessments against them, so this coverage type doesn't exist in HO-3.

Cost Difference

The national average HO-6 premium is $531 per year ($44/month) based on NAIC data, compared to an average homeowners insurance premium of $2,400 or more per year for a comparable dwelling coverage amount. The HO-6's lower cost reflects its narrower scope — no building exterior, no land, no detached structures.

More recent quote data from Quadrant Information Services puts the HO-6 average at $656/year for a policy with $60,000 in personal property coverage, $300,000 in liability, and a $1,000 deductible. Costs vary significantly by state: Wisconsin averages around $272 per year; Florida averages over $1,000.

The Townhouse and Planned Unit Development (PUD) Question

Townhouse owners sometimes assume they need HO-3 because they own the exterior walls of their unit. Whether you need HO-6 or HO-3 depends on your ownership structure, not your building type. If your property is structured as a condominium regime — meaning the condo association holds ownership of the building shell — you need HO-6. If you own your unit on a fee-simple basis (like a detached home) with no master policy covering the exterior, you need HO-3.

Your deed and the HOA documents determine which applies. If you're unsure, ask your title company or real estate attorney before buying a policy. Getting this wrong creates either a coverage gap or duplicate coverage.

If you rent rather than own, you need renters insurance — which functions similarly to HO-6 but without the dwelling coverage.

What Is Loss Assessment Coverage in an HO-6 Condo Insurance Policy?

Loss assessment coverage in an HO-6 policy pays your share of an HOA-levied special assessment when the association incurs a covered loss that exceeds the master policy limits or deductible and distributes the cost among unit owners. It is one of the most underappreciated and financially dangerous coverage gaps in condo ownership.

What Triggers a Loss Assessment

The most common scenario: the condo building sustains storm damage. The association files a claim on the master policy. The master policy deductible is $50,000 — not unusual in coastal markets or newer high-rise master policies. The association distributes that $50,000 deductible among all unit owners based on their ownership percentage. In a 20-unit building, each owner's share is $2,500. In a 10-unit building, it's $5,000. In a luxury condo with a deductible equal to 5% of the insured value, individual assessments can run $10,000 to $25,000 or more.

Without loss assessment coverage in your HO-6 policy, that bill is entirely out of pocket.

What Loss Assessment Coverage Pays For

Loss assessment coverage pays your proportional share of a covered HOA assessment, up to your policy's loss assessment limit, when the assessment results from:

• A covered peril causing damage to the building or common areas that exceeds the master policy limits
• The master policy deductible being levied against unit owners

What it does not pay for: assessments for building maintenance or repairs that aren't tied to an insured loss event, fines, assessments for capital improvements, or assessments resulting from perils not covered by the master policy (such as flood damage in a building without flood coverage).

How Much Loss Assessment Coverage to Buy

Standard HO-6 policies include a default loss assessment limit of $1,000. This is almost never enough. The Insurance Information Institute and most condo insurance specialists recommend significantly higher limits.

The right target: match your loss assessment coverage to the master policy deductible, which you should know before closing. If the association's master policy has a $25,000 wind/hail deductible, buy at least $25,000 in loss assessment coverage. If the deductible is 5% of insured value on a building insured for $10 million, your share of that deductible in a 100-unit building could be $5,000 — and you'd want more than $1,000 in coverage.

Loss assessment endorsements are available in amounts up to $50,000 and higher, and the premium difference from $1,000 to $25,000 is typically modest — often $50 to $100 per year more.

The Action Step Before Closing

Before you close on a condo, ask the HOA for the master policy deductible amount and whether the building carries any wind, hail, or named-storm deductible that is expressed as a percentage of insured value rather than a flat dollar amount. That number is your minimum loss assessment coverage target.

How Much Does HO-6 Condo Insurance Cost and Is It Worth Buying?

HO-6 condo insurance costs $500 to $700 per year on average for most unit owners, though coastal condos, high-value units, and higher-risk states can cost significantly more. Based on NAIC data, the national average is approximately $531 per year. More recent market rate data from Quadrant Information Services puts the average at $656 per year for $60,000 in personal property coverage, $300,000 in liability, and a $1,000 deductible.

It is almost always worth buying. A single liability claim, interior loss, or loss assessment can far exceed the annual premium.

What Drives HO-6 Premium

Location. The single biggest factor. Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, and Mississippi have the highest average HO-6 premiums due to hurricane, tornado, and catastrophic storm risk. Wisconsin, Wyoming, and several Midwestern states have the lowest. Within a state, your specific building's construction type, age, and proximity to the coast affect your rate.

Amount of dwelling coverage. Higher interior replacement cost requires more coverage and costs more.

Personal property limits. Increasing from $30,000 to $60,000 in personal property coverage raises your premium, but typically modestly.

ACV vs. RCV. Replacement cost value policies for personal property add roughly 10% to 15% to your premium and pay dramatically more at claim time.

Deductible. Higher deductibles mean lower premiums. A $2,500 deductible saves meaningfully compared to a $500 deductible — but only choose a deductible you could pay without financial strain.

Loss assessment coverage limit. Increasing from the default $1,000 to $25,000 adds a modest amount to your premium — typically $50 to $100 per year — but can save you thousands in an assessment situation.

Credit score. Most states allow insurers to use credit-based insurance scores. Better credit generally means lower premiums. California, Massachusetts, and Maryland restrict credit use in insurance pricing.

Claims history. Prior claims raise your rate. A claims-free history helps keep it lower.

How to Lower Your HO-6 Premium

• Bundle with your auto insurance for a typical 5% to 20% discount
• Raise your deductible if you have savings to cover it
• Install smoke detectors, fire sprinklers, or a security system — many insurers offer discounts for these
• Maintain a clean claims history
• Shop multiple carriers; HO-6 pricing varies significantly between insurers

For a full breakdown of cost reduction strategies, see our guide on how to lower condo insurance costs.

A Note on Flood Insurance for Condo Owners

HO-6 does not cover flood damage from external water sources. If your condo is in a flood-prone area, or even if it's not — FEMA reports that more than one in three flood claims come from outside high-risk zones — you may want to consider a separate flood insurance policy. Under NFIP, condo unit owners can purchase building and contents flood coverage separately from the association's flood coverage.