Condo Insurance

Condo insurance is designed to cover the inside of your unit, including the walls, against numerous threats, including fire damage, vandalism, and more. Condo insurance coverage can reimburse for repairs or replacements to your personal property, like clothing if it gets stolen, damaged, lost, or destroyed. Some of your unit's built-in components, such as the flooring and cabinets, are protected against damage and destruction as well. Getting the right condo insurance policy starts with obtaining a condo insurance quote, and an independent insurance agent can help you with that. Having condo insurance can help protect you against having to pay for costs of damage or destruction to your condo out of your own pocket.

What Is Condo Insurance?

Condo insurance is essentially an agreement between the condo owner/renter and an insurance company, where the insurer agrees to cover financial losses for damage and liabilities in exchange for the premiums you pay. Condo insurance is designed to help protect owners from losing their home should disaster strike, as long as they are within the boundaries of the covered perils laid out in their policy.

What Is HO6 Insurance?

HO6 insurance is another name for condo and co-op insurance. In comparison, homeowners insurance is often referred to as HO3 insurance, and renters insurance is referred to as HO4 insurance. Condo insurance and HO6 insurance cover the interior of your unit, or the part not covered by your landlord or condo association's master policy. From the walls to your personal belongings, this coverage can reimburse for theft, damage, or destruction by listed disasters. It also covers your personal liability if you get sued by a third party.

How Is Condo Insurance Different from Home Insurance?

Condo insurance operates very similarly to homeowners insurance, but it’s customized to work specifically for the unique needs of condominiums. While the building itself is owned and insured by the condo association, your personal space needs insurance coverage in order to adequately protect you from the unexpected.

The term “condo” is a legal distinction for the type of property, and certain declarations are added to owners’ contracts to dictate what percentage of the “common elements” they’re responsible for (e.g., AC units, pools, etc.). As a condo owner, you're responsible, not only for your own personal property, but also for a few select elements of the main building and its common elements.

Obviously, since a condo owner has unique responsibilities that other homeowners don’t, the insurance policy is designed to cater more specifically to their needs. An independent insurance agent is exactly who you need to walk through your condo's contract and clear up any remaining questions you may have.

What Does Condo Insurance Cover?

Beyond your personal spaces and any shared spaces you're responsible for, condo owners also need protection for friends, family, and other guests who may visit their home, which means having legal or liability coverage.

The more complex your condo and your individual responsibilities are, the more coverage you may need. But here are the three major coverage areas included in standard condo insurance policies available.

• Dwelling coverage: This covers your unit’s structural components like the walls, ceilings, and floors.
• Personal property coverage: This covers your personal belongings like furniture, clothing, electronics, knickknacks, silverware, etc., that are stored within the unit against perils such as fire or theft. This coverage also protects the building elements you’re responsible for, like toilets, showers, flooring, etc.
• Liability coverage: This covers legal expenses, like attorney fees, court fees, and settlements, if you are sued for bodily injury or property damage to a third party.

These three components make up the core of condo insurance packages. Working together with an independent insurance agent is a great way to get the right amount of coverage in each category for your unique home.

Condo Coverage	Basic	Extra
Dwelling, walls in
Personal property actual cash value
Liability
Loss of use
Debris removal
Association loss assessment
Fire dept service charge
Medical payments to others
Ordinance or law
Sewer backup
Flood
Workers' compensation
Earthquake
Other structures
All perils
Scheduled personal property
Personal property replacement value

What Doesn't My Condo Insurance Cover?

Like every other kind of insurance out there, condo insurance comes with a list of specified covered perils as well as non-covered perils. Becoming familiar with what your condo insurance policy doesn’t cover can save you the hassle of filing claims that are bound to get denied, and in the event of certain non-covered natural disasters, help you find the right kind of policy to protect your home.

Condo insurance does not cover the following:

• Certain natural disasters (i.e., floods, earthquakes, and mudslides)
• Maintenance-related losses
• Wear-and-tear damage (i.e., failure of the condo owner to maintain upkeep of the home)
• Insect damage or infestations
• Damage from war or nuclear fallout
• Business-related liability

Also, if you run a business out of your condo, your insurance won’t cover any liability-related mishaps. Further, as far as natural disasters go, to protect your unit against flood or earthquake damage, you’ll need a flood insurance or earth movement policy. Flood insurance policies are only available through the National Flood Insurance Program, which is a part of FEMA. Condo owners located in areas prone to flooding may want to seriously consider getting a policy.

How Condo Insurance Rates Are Calculated

Insurance companies determine the cost of condo insurance by reviewing a few factors, including your condo's location and its unique risks. Whether you have HOA coverage will also affect your premiums, as will the construction and value of your condo. The bigger and more expensive your condo is, the higher your condo insurance premiums are likely to be. 

How Much Does Condo Insurance Cost? 

Many factors influence the cost of a condo insurance policy, including the size and location of your condo, the value of the structure and its contents, and any upgrades you’ve made. Condos located in areas prone to severe weather or other risks like crime will come with more expensive insurance policies than those in calmer, safer areas.

While it’s hard to offer an exact figure without knowing your unique living situation, a general range for condo insurance usually falls between $200 and $2,000 annually ($488/year being the average). Unless you’re buying a particularly expensive unit in a major city, though, you can typically expect to pay toward the lower end of the range for coverage. An independent insurance agent can help find more exact quotes for you.

Average condo insurance rates by state

State	Monthly Insurance Rate	Annual Condo Insurance Rate
Alabama	$41	$490
Alaska	$33	$390
Arizona	$53	$640
Arkansas	$44	$530
California	$58	$690
Colorado	$32	$380
Connecticut	$41	$495
D.C.	$35	$425
Delaware	$33	$395
Florida	$117	$1,400
Georgia	$64	$765
Hawaii	$42	$505
Idaho	$31	$370
Illinois	$34	$410
Indiana	$39	$470
Iowa	$27	$325
Kansas	$35	$415
Kentucky	$30	$355
Louisiana	$59	$705
Maine	$25	$305
Maryland	$37	$445
Massachusetts	$45	$535
Michigan	$31	$370
Minnesota	$31	$375
Mississippi	$51	$610
Missouri	$37	$445
Montana	$33	$400
Nebraska	$33	$400
Nevada	$48	$575
New Hampshire	$31	$370
New Jersey	$38	$455
New Mexico	$28	$340
New York	$41	$495
North Carolina	$55	$660
North Dakota	$29	$345
Ohio	$28	$330
Oklahoma	$52	$625
Oregon	$35	$420
Pennsylvania	$30	$365
Rhode Island	$59	$710
South Carolina	$38	$460
South Dakota	$30	$360
Tennessee	$38	$455
Texas	$60	$715
Utah	$37	$440
Vermont	$21	$255
Virginia	$30	$365
Washington	$35	$425
West Virginia	$21	$255
Wisconsin	$22	$315
Wyoming	$29	$350
US Average	$38	$455

How Much Condo Insurance Do You Need?

Condo insurance provides coverage for more than just your belongings. It also protects you, your family, and your guests. To calculate how much coverage you need, you'll first consider your condo's specific protection requirements. The main coverages found in standard condo insurance policies are for the building's structure, your personal property, and your liability exposures.

Our quick quote calculator at the top of the page or an independent insurance agent can help you calculate how much condo insurance coverage you need. You'll need to go through each main coverage area and assess your needs in every category. You may need to increase coverage in one place, such as the contents section, if you have a lot of personal property.

How HOA Coverage Affects Condo Insurance Rates

If your Homeowners Association provides its own coverage for part of your building, you won't have to pay for as much coverage yourself. If your HOA offers all-in coverage, you'll pay only about 60% of what a condo owner without any HOA coverage would. If your HOA only provides bare walls coverage, you'll pay about 88% of what someone without any HOA coverage would. 

How Value Affects Condo Insurance Rates

The value of your condo is also an important factor in determining your coverage rates. Owners of condos valued between $400,000 and $500,000 can pay nearly 1.4 times the average cost of coverage, while condos valued at less than $150,000 can pay about 2.25 times less. The more valuable your condo, the more expensive it is to insure.

Average Condo Insurance Rates Per Month

The current national average cost of condo insurance is $488 annually, which breaks down to about $40.67 monthly. While you can expect to pay somewhere in this general range for your coverage, the cost of your specific policy depends on many different factors. Your specific location is just one of them.

Factors Impacting Condo Insurance Costs 

The cost of your coverage depends on a few factors, like your condo's location and value, your credit score, and more.

Factors that determine the cost of condo insurance and how:

Factor	Description	Impact on Condo Insurance Costs
Average annual premium	Across the US and DC	The national average cost for condo insurance is $488 annually, but rates vary by location and other factors.
Condo location	Including all 50 states and DC	Your condo's location impacts the cost of your coverage by factoring in your area's risk of crimes and storm damage and overall property values.
Condo value	The appraised value typically ranges from less than $50,000 up to $500,000	Your condo's value impacts the cost of your coverage since more expensive units would cost more to repair/replace, so insurance rates are higher.
Age of building	The building's age, measured in years	Buildings more than 30 years old have much higher premiums due to the increased risk factor.
Deductible amount	Refers to the amount you have to pay out of pocket before the insurer covers a claim, ranging from less than $2,500 to more than $7,500	Higher deductibles mean lower condo insurance premiums and vice-versa.
Type of HOA coverage	Homeowners Association Coverage varies from "bare walls" to "all in," etc.	The more comprehensive your HOA coverage, the smaller the condo insurance premium will be.
Security features	Installed security and safety features like burglar alarms, fire alarms, sprinklers systems, security arrangements with professional companies, etc.	More security/safety features can lead to lower premiums, and likewise, the absence of these features can increase premiums considerably or even lead to a rejection of a coverage application by the insurer.
Location exposures	If the property is located in a crime-prone or flood-prone area or is otherwise exposed to threats based on its location	Premiums for condo insurance can more than double if the building's location is considered hazardous.
Credit score	Your credit score, ranging from "poor" to "excellent"	Though not always a factor that impacts premiums, a "poor" credit score can lead to premiums up to double the usual amount. In contrast, "excellent" scores can reduce premiums by about 15%.
Insurance company	Condo insurance rates and premiums vary considerably by the insurer, as do the factors the insurer considers when determining premium rates	An insurance company awards additional discounts on condo insurance coverage if you have other coverages with them already.

How to Lower Condo Insurance Costs

Many insurance companies offer several discounts on condo insurance to help lower the cost of your premiums. Here are just a few standard condo insurance discounts.

• Sprinklers discount: Many insurance companies will reward you with a discount on condo insurance if your unit has a built-in sprinkler system to guard against fire damage. 
• Bundling discount: Many insurance companies offer discounts if you bundle your condo insurance with another policy, such as auto insurance.
• Protective device discount: Many insurance companies offer lower rates on condo insurance if your unit is equipped with a security device like a burglar alarm.
• Claims-free discount: Many insurance companies will reward you over time if you remain claims-free through condo insurance for a couple of years.
• Paid-in-full discount: Many insurance companies lower your overall premium if you pay for your entire year's coverage up-front.

Your independent insurance agent can assist in helping you find any discounts you qualify for on condo insurance, no matter where you're located.

Condo Insurance FAQ Answered

We've got the answers to some of your most frequently asked questions about condo insurance.

Your Independent Insurance Agent Has Answers for All Your Condo Insurance Questions

Whatever you need, your agent has your back. With a brief intro into the terms, discounts, and process of your condo insurance, you now know the kinds of questions to be asking. Your agent will ask you all about your condo, its use, and your future goals to help find the perfect blend of coverage at the right cost for your budget.