Master policy vs HO-6

You usually need two property policies in a condo or attached HOA, not one. The association buys a master (blanket) policy. You buy an HO-6 unit-owners policy — or whatever your declaration and lender require. The split between those two policies is not a national rule. It lives in your declaration, the master policy form, and, in some states, a statute. Do not assume a neighbor's claim story is your coverage.

This page does not promise that any peril is covered. Read the declaration pages, the master policy, and your HO-6. Ask a licensed agent in your state to map the gap before you close.

What the master policy is for

The master policy is the association's property and, typically, general-liability coverage for common elements — roofs, hallways, elevators, boilers, exterior walls, and similar shared building parts, plus the association's own liability. Premiums are a common expense, paid through assessments.

What the master policy does not automatically cover is just as important. Typical gaps, which you still have to confirm on the actual form, include:

• Your personal property (furniture, clothing, electronics).
• Your personal liability for something that happens inside your unit.
• Living expenses if you are displaced.
• Interior finishes the declaration assigns to you.
• Flood, unless the association bought a separate flood policy.
• Earthquake, unless separately purchased.
• The association's deductible, which can be large, especially for windstorm.

Florida's condominium statute is one of the few places the split is written into statewide law rather than left entirely to the declaration. Under Florida Statutes section 718.111(11), every residential condominium association must have adequate property insurance. Every property insurance policy issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2009, to protect the condominium must provide primary coverage for all portions of the condominium property as originally installed, or replacement of like kind and quality per original plans, plus association-approved alterations. The same subsection requires the policy to exclude personal property within the unit or limited common elements, and floor, wall, and ceiling coverings, electrical fixtures, appliances, water heaters, water filters, built-in cabinets and countertops, and window treatments located within the unit and serving only that unit. Those items, and insurance on them, are the unit owner's responsibility. A Florida condominium unit-owner policy must conform to section 627.714. That is a Florida condo rule. It is not the national HOA rule, and it is not automatically the rule for a Florida homeowners' association under chapter 720.

"Bare walls" vs "walls-in" (industry language, not a guarantee)

People use shorthand for how far the master policy reaches into your unit:

• Bare walls (or studs-out): The association insures the structure to the unfinished interior. You insure drywall inward — or even the drywall — plus finishes, fixtures, and contents. The exact boundary is whatever the declaration and the policy say.
• Walls-in / single-entity / original installations: The master policy covers the unit as originally built, often including drywall and builder-grade finishes, leaving you to insure upgrades, contents, and liability.
• All-in: Broader master coverage of unit interiors; your HO-6 is mostly contents, liability, loss of use, and loss assessment.

Those labels are industry slang. They are not ISO form names. Two buildings that both call their program "walls-in" can still exclude different items. The only reliable method is to read (1) the insurance article in the declaration, (2) the master-policy declarations and endorsements, and (3) your HO-6 Coverage A (dwelling) limit.

What an HO-6 is for

ISO's Homeowners 6 — Unit-Owners Form (HO 00 06) is the standard industry form written for condominium and cooperative unit owners. Contract analyses of the current ISO edition describe it as covering the structural parts of the unit the insured owns, personal property, additional living expense, personal liability, and additional coverages that include loss assessment. ISO has updated the form more than once (including an HO 00 06 03 22 edition). Your issued policy may be an ISO form, an ISO clone, or a proprietary company form. Coverage follows your form.

Practically, you use the HO-6 to fill whatever the master policy and the declaration leave with you: interior betterments, contents, liability, loss of use, and loss assessment. If the master policy is bare walls, Coverage A needs to be large enough to rebuild the interior. If the master policy is original-installations (as Florida condos generally require by statute), Coverage A may be smaller but you still need enough for the statutory exclusions listed above and for any upgrades you added.

Loss assessment coverage — read the limit, then raise it

Loss assessment is the part of an HO-6 that reimburses you for your share of an assessment the association levies after a covered loss to collectively owned property — for example, after a fire in a lobby when the master policy's limit or deductible leaves a shortfall that the board assesses to every unit.

Analyses of the ISO HO 00 06 form describe a built-in additional coverage, often $1,000, that can be increased by endorsement (commonly discussed as ISO HO 04 35, Supplemental Loss Assessment). The $1,000 figure is a typical ISO default, not a promise that your policy contains it or that $1,000 is enough. A master-policy wind deductible allocated across a high-rise can exceed that on day one. Ask your agent for the actual loss-assessment limit, whether assessments for the master deductible are sublimited, and whether the assessment must arise from a peril your HO-6 covers. Assessments for uninsured maintenance, code upgrades, or construction defects often fall outside this coverage. Governmental assessments are typically excluded on ISO homeowners forms.

Florida's condo reconstruction rules also matter after a storm. Under section 718.111(11)(j), property the association must insure that is damaged by an insurable event is reconstructed by the association as a common expense, and deductibles and damages above insurance are generally common expenses — with listed exceptions, and with a membership opt-out. That is a reconstruction-and-allocation statute, not an HO-6 promise.

What the association policy usually does not cover

Without pretending your policy matches a neighbor's, master programs commonly do not cover:

• Your stuff, your guests' injuries in your unit, or your additional living expense (HO-6 territory).
• Interior finishes the declaration or a statute (in Florida condos, section 718.111(11)(f)3) assigns to you.
• Flood, unless a separate NFIP or private flood policy exists. The association's building flood policy, if any, does not automatically pay for your contents.
• Earthquake, unless endorsed or separately purchased.
• Wear-and-tear, deferred maintenance, and construction defects — insurance is not a reserve study.
• The full master deductible, unless your HO-6 loss-assessment coverage actually responds and is large enough.

Fidelity or employee-dishonesty coverage on association funds is a master-policy / association-bond issue, not something your HO-6 replaces. Florida homeowners' associations must maintain insurance or a fidelity bond for all persons who control or disburse association funds, covering the maximum funds in custody at any one time, unless members waive that requirement by majority vote of voting interests present at a properly called meeting (section 720.3033(5)). Florida condominium associations have a parallel fidelity requirement in section 718.111(11)(h).

Before you close

Get the master-policy declarations, the deductible schedule (especially wind/hurricane), any flood policy information, and the declaration's insurance article. Match Coverage A on your HO-6 to the actual gap. Buy loss-assessment limits that could absorb your share of a large deductible. If you are using FHA or VA financing, the lender will also screen the project's hazard, liability, and (often) fidelity coverage — that is a loan screen, not extra coverage for you.

Coverage questions belong to a licensed insurance professional reading your forms. This site will not invent a coverage rule that your policy does not contain.

This is general information from an AI helper, not legal advice. Confirm it against your documents and your state's law. If a deadline or hearing is coming up, talk to a licensed lawyer.