Condo Insurance · HO-6

Condo insurance matched to your HOA’s policy.

HO-6 coverage for the inside of your unit, your belongings, liability and loss assessments, set up around what your association’s master policy does and doesn’t cover.

By Sam Alishahi · CA Insurance License #4348151 · Reviewed November 2026 · How this page is researched

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How it works

Where the HOA’s policy stops, yours starts

Your homeowners association insures the building and common areas under a master policy. What it covers inside your unit depends on your HOA’s governing documents and that policy.

An HO-6 policy fills in the rest. Getting it right starts with reading what your association is responsible for.

Your unitInterior walls, floors, fixtures and improvements the master policy doesn’t cover.
BelongingsFurniture, clothing and electronics, with valuables scheduled separately.
Loss assessmentYour share if the HOA assesses owners after a covered loss or a shortfall in its policy.
Liability and loss of useClaims from injuries in your unit, and housing if the unit can’t be lived in.

What to check

Condo coverage gaps

Walls-in vs. bare walls

Whether your HOA covers original fixtures or only the structure changes how much unit coverage you need.

Upgrades you made

Remodeled kitchens and bathrooms usually fall on the owner’s policy.

HOA deductible

A large master policy deductible can be passed to owners; loss assessment coverage helps.

Earthquake

Master policies may not include it, and earthquake loss assessments can be large. Earthquake insurance

Renting it out

A condo you rent to tenants usually needs a policy written for rental use. Landlord insurance

Water damage

Leaks between units are common and often disputed between policies.

Before you call

What underwriters will ask

Having these ready means I can go to market on the first call. The quote form asks for the same things, and anything you don’t know yet can wait.

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The unit: address, unit number and square footage.
HOA documents: the insurance section of your CC&Rs and the master policy certificate.
Upgrades: improvements you or prior owners made.
Use: owner-occupied, second home or rented.
Belongings: rough value, and any jewelry or art.
Claims: any in the last five years.

Two Davis-Stirling rules that shield owners

California's Civil Code 5300 requires the association's annual budget report to summarize its property, general liability, earthquake, flood and fidelity policies, with the insurer, type of coverage, limit and deductible for each. Two other Davis-Stirling sections make its liability limits matter to you personally.

Civil Code 5805, owners as co-owners of the common area. Where owners hold the common area as tenants in common, a tort claim against an owner that arises solely from that shared ownership must be brought against the association, not the individual owners. That rule applies only if the association has general liability coverage in effect for the claim of at least $2,000,000 for 100 or fewer separate interests, or $3,000,000 for more than 100.
Civil Code 5800, owners who volunteer on the board. In a residential or mixed-use development, a volunteer officer or director is not personally liable, beyond the insurance the section specifies, for tortious acts or omissions within the scope of their duties, done in good faith and not willful, wanton or grossly negligent. It applies only if the association carries general liability and officers and directors liability coverage of at least $500,000 for 100 or fewer separate interests, or $1,000,000 for more than 100. It covers volunteers who rent a residential separate interest or own no more than two, all residential.

When I review a condo file I compare the summary's limits with both thresholds. If either falls short, that statutory protection does not apply, and a claim can reach owners or volunteer directors personally, or come back to everyone as an assessment. Board members should ask whether their umbrella includes association volunteer activities; IRMI notes it does not replace the board's D&O policy. Outside California, owner protections like these vary by state. More on the association side: what insurance an HOA needs.

Special assessments: what limits loss assessment

Loss assessment is the part of an HO-6 that answers when the association bills owners for a loss to property everyone owns together. The built-in amount is small and can be raised by endorsement, but four other things decide how far it reaches:

Your policy's perils, not the association's. IRMI points out that loss assessment applies to assessments arising from perils your own HO-6 covers. Broadening your perils broadens loss assessment too, and adding sewer and water backup coverage brings that peril into loss assessment.
Who the association bills. IRMI reports that more associations now assess uninsured or underinsured losses against the affected unit or units rather than association-wide. Read your CC&Rs for how a master deductible is allocated.
How your insurer treats deductible assessments. Per IRMI, some insurers have a specific endorsement for this, while others cover the owner's responsibility for the full association deductible under Coverage A when the association documents clearly spell that responsibility out. I confirm which approach your carrier uses before a claim, not after.
Earthquake and flood. IRMI notes most increased loss assessment endorsements do not automatically include earthquake, and if the association buys no flood insurance, there is no flood deductible assessment coverage available.

IRMI suggests sizing deductible coverage to the higher of the current master deductible and the maximum the declaration allows,. The loss assessment guide covers the endorsement options, and master policy gaps covers where assessments usually start.

The CEA condo policy: inside the unit and your assessment share

The California Earthquake Authority sells a separate condo-unit earthquake policy through participating insurers, and you do not have to wait for your condo policy's renewal to add it. CEA says that if your HOA has earthquake insurance, it covers only the outside of the buildings and the common areas, not the inside of your unit. CEA's condo-unit coverages:

Building Property (Coverage A). Designed to repair or replace permanently attached items such as flooring, fixtures and windows. Limit options are $25,000, $50,000, $75,000 or $100,000. Building code upgrade coverage of $10,000 is paid as additional insurance, and $1,500 for emergency repairs is included within the limit.
Loss Assessment (Coverage E). Designed to help pay your share of certain assessments levied by your association. Limits are $25,000, $50,000, $75,000 or $100,000, but the $25,000 limit is available only when the unit's fair market value is $135,000 or less. Its $10,000 of building code upgrade coverage sits inside the Coverage E limit, not on top of it.
Personal Property (Coverage C) and Loss of Use (Coverage D). Optional, but each must be bought with the other. Loss of Use has no deductible.

Coverages A, C and E each carry a deductible you pick at 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 percent of that coverage's limit. If your association has no earthquake policy, Coverage E is the piece I look at hardest; see whether an HOA should buy earthquake insurance. CEA's policy form controls the exact terms; read the sample policy before choosing limits.

Renting your unit: the policy and the CC&Rs

An HO-6 is written around an owner who lives in the unit. ISO has an endorsement for owners who rent instead: HO 17 33, Unit-Owners Rental to Others. In the 04 91 edition I reviewed, it applies, for an additional premium, while the unit is "regularly rented or held for rental to others." It removes the theft exclusion for the part of the residence an insured rents out and rewrites the liability exclusion for rental activity so it does not apply to renting the insured unit itself, while keeping theft limits on items like money, securities and jewelry. Editions and carrier forms differ, so I confirm the form and tell the insurer exactly how the unit is used before binding.

In California, the CC&Rs have limits on what they can stop:

Civil Code 4741. On and after January 1, 2021, a governing document cannot prohibit or unreasonably restrict renting a unit, and cannot cap rentals at less than 25 percent of separate interests. The association may still prohibit transient or short-term rentals of 30 days or less.
Civil Code 4740. An owner is not subject to a rental prohibition unless it took effect before the owner acquired title. Before renting, the owner must give the association verification of the date title was acquired and the tenant's name and contact information.

Read your CC&Rs before listing a unit by the night. Rental rules vary by state outside California. For the association's side, see HOA insurance.

Questions

Condo insurance, answered

What’s the best homeowners insurance for condos?

Condos need an HO-6 policy rather than a standard homeowners policy. The best one is the HO-6 whose walls-in coverage, loss assessment limit and liability match what your HOA’s master policy leaves to you. I compare HO-6 options across carriers against your HOA documents.

Do I need condo insurance if my HOA has a master policy?

Usually yes. The master policy covers the building and common areas as your HOA documents define, but typically not your belongings, liability or everything inside your unit.

What is loss assessment coverage?

It pays your share when the HOA charges owners for a covered loss, such as a master policy deductible, up to your policy’s limit.

Does a condo policy cover earthquake?

Not by default. Earthquake coverage for condo units is a separate policy.

Is my mortgage lender going to require HO-6?

Many lenders require it for condo loans. Ask your lender for their specific requirements.

Can my HOA ban short-term rentals in California?

Yes, for stays of 30 days or less. Civil Code 4741 lets a common interest development prohibit transient or short-term rentals of 30 days or less, even though it cannot prohibit or unreasonably restrict longer rentals or cap them below 25 percent of separate interests.

Does HO-6 loss assessment cover an earthquake assessment?

Check before you count on it. IRMI notes most increased loss assessment endorsements do not automatically include earthquake; in California, the CEA condo-unit policy offers a separate Loss Assessment coverage (Coverage E).

Do you offer condo insurance outside California?

Yes. Clients across the country send the same quote form. Sam Alishahi is licensed in all 50 states and Washington, DC and places policies there directly. The shopping across carriers works the same way. Rules, minimums and markets differ by state — see insurance requirements by state or high-value home insurance by state.

Official sources

Often placed alongside this

Coverage

Earthquake insurance

CEA and private options, with the deductible explained.

See coverage Coverage

Umbrella insurance

Liability limits above your home, auto and rental policies.

See coverage Question

HOA master policy vs condo HO-6

Where the association’s cover stops and the owner’s begins.

Read the answer Tool

Coverage review

Upload your declarations page; see what it covers, what to double-check and what it leaves out.

Review my policy

Questions people ask: What is loss assessment coverage? What is an insurance binder? What does earthquake insurance cover in California? Should an HOA buy earthquake insurance in California?

Also covered with this: Condo association insurance Earthquake insurance in San Francisco HOA insurance in San Diego Home warranty vs. homeowners insurance Earthquake insurance in Los Angeles Earthquake insurance in Oakland HOA insurance in Los Angeles Renters insurance HOA insurance

By state: Insurance requirements by state High-value home insurance by state

Condo insurance

Send your HOA’s insurance section. I’ll match it.

The address and your master policy certificate are enough to start.

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Alishahi Insurance · Saman Alishahi, independent insurance broker, California License #4348151. General information, not a quote or a promise of coverage; coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.

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