Personal Insurance
The master policy stops at the drywall.
Condo insurance covers what your association’s policy does not: your interior, your belongings, your liability, and your share of a building-wide loss.
Why An Independent Agent
The most misunderstood policy we write.
Condo owners often hear “the building is insured” and assume that covers them. It is a fair guess, and it is wrong. The association’s master policy only covers the structure up to a set line. Everything inside that line is yours to insure, and so is your share of some losses that happen outside it.
Coverage
What we commonly place
Not every item applies to every situation. Part of our job is telling you which ones actually matter for you.
- Dwelling / building property (walls-in)
- Personal property
- Personal liability
- Loss assessment coverage
- Loss of use / additional living expenses
- Medical payments to others
- Water and sewer backup endorsement
- Scheduled valuables
- Earthquake endorsement
- Improvements and betterments
In Detail
The parts worth understanding
Associations generally carry one of two forms, and which one you have changes what you need.
Bare walls-in: the master policy covers the structure only. Interior finishes, flooring, cabinetry, fixtures, and appliances are yours to insure.
All-in / single entity: the master policy covers original fixtures as built, but not your upgrades and not your belongings.
Ask your association for the master policy declarations page and send it to us. Reading it is a ten-minute job that prevents most condo coverage surprises.
This is the coverage condo owners most often carry at too low a limit, and it is the one that produces the unpleasant letter.
When a loss goes past the association’s coverage, a large water event, a liability claim in a common area, an earthquake, the association can assess unit owners for the shortfall. Loss assessment coverage pays your share.
Default limits are often $1,000 or $5,000. In a serious building loss that is not close. Raising it is usually inexpensive.
Master policy deductibles on larger buildings can run into the tens of thousands, and many associations pass that deductible through to the unit owner whose unit was the source of the loss.
If your washing machine hose fails and damages three units, you can be looking at the association’s deductible personally. Some policies extend loss assessment to cover it. Worth confirming before you need it.
Local Knowledge
Downtown, the Pearl, and the older conversions.
Portland condos range from new towers to converted warehouses to small older buildings. The older and smaller the association, the thinner the master policy and the smaller the reserve fund tend to be. That is exactly when loss assessment coverage stops being a theory and starts being real money.
Bundle & save. Condo insurance pairs with auto just like a homeowners policy does, and the discount is usually about the same. Ask us to price it both ways.
Lisa and Keith answer the phone here. No call center, no robots. Just North Portland neighbors helping neighbors.
The Process
Is this difficult? Not with us.
Tell us about your situation
A few quick details about what you are insuring and what you have now.
We compare carriers
We shop multiple companies to find the best combination of coverage and price.
You get a clear recommendation
Straight answers, in plain language, and often same-day coverage.
Questions
Condo insurance questions
What does an HO-6 condo policy cover?
Your interior finishes and improvements, personal property, personal liability, loss of use, and loss assessment for your share of certain association losses.
What is loss assessment coverage?
It pays your share when the association assesses unit owners for a loss that goes past the master policy's coverage. Default limits are often too low.
Do I need condo insurance if the HOA has a master policy?
Yes. The master policy stops at a defined boundary, generally leaving your interior, belongings and personal liability uninsured.
Can I be charged the association's deductible?
Often yes, if your unit was the source of the loss. Some loss assessment coverage extends to this; confirm before you need it.
Related coverage
Get your free condo insurance quote.
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