Condominium Insurance

What You Need To Know

Condominium Insurance Coverages

Personal and “Master Policy”

If you have purchased a condo or co-op, the bank will require insurance to protect its investment in your home. You may, however, need more insurance to cover your personal items, liability or fees that may be charged to you regarding shared areas of the building like the lobby. You will need two separate policies to protect your investment:

YOUR OWN INSURANCE POLICY

This provides coverage for your personal possessions, structural improvements to your apartment and additional living expenses if you are the victim of fire, theft or other disaster listed in your policy. You also get liability protection.

A “MASTER POLICY” PROVIDED BY THE CONDO/CO-OP BOARD

This covers the common areas you share with others in your building like the roof, basement, elevator, boiler and walkways for both liability and physical damage. To adequately insure your apartment, it is important to know which structural parts of your home are covered by the condo/co-op association and which are not. You can do this by reading your association’s bylaws and/or proprietary lease. If you have questions, talk to your condo association, insurance professional or family attorney. Sometimes the association is responsible for insuring the individual condo or co-op units, as they were originally built, including standard fixtures. The individual owner, in this case, is only responsible for alterations to the original structure of the apartment, like remodeling the kitchen or bathtub. Sometimes this includes not only improvements you make, but those made by previous owners. In other situations, the condo/co-op association is responsible only for insuring the bare walls, floor and ceiling. The owner must insure kitchen cabinets, built-in appliances, plumbing, wiring, bathroom fixtures etc.

Additional Coverages

Assessment, water back-up, and more

Many factors can play a role in determining what your insurance costs will be such as your age, your driving record, where you live and the type of motorcycle you own, or being a graduate of a rider-training course. Keep in mind that the type, style (such as a sports bike vs. a cruiser) and age of the motorcycle, as well as the number of miles you drive a year and where you store your bike may also affect how much you pay for your premium.

UNIT ASSESSMENT

This reimburses you for your share of an assessment charged to all unit owners as a result of a covered loss. For instance, if there is a fire in the lobby, all the unit owners are charged the cost of repairing the loss.

WATER BACK-UP

This insures your property for damage by the back-up of sewers or drains. Water back-up may not always be included in a policy.

UMBRELLA LIABILITY

This is an inexpensive way to get more liability protection and broader coverage than is included in a standard condo/co-op policy.

FLOOD OR EARTHQUAKE

If you live in an area prone to these disasters, you will need to purchase separate flood and earthquake policies.

FLOATER OR ENDORSEMENT

If you own expensive jewelry, furs or collectibles, you might consider getting additional coverage since there is generally a $1,000 to $2,000 limit for theft of jewelry on a standard policy.