Condo Insurance Coverage

Perils and Events

• Fire
• Theft
• Water damage from plumbing, heating or a cooling system**
• Power surges to electronics and appliances you own

Example: If a fire occurred in your building and damaged your personal property, your condo association would be responsible for the damage to the structure of your unit, but not for replacing any of your belongings.

Temporary Living Expenses

• Additional living expense
• Fair rental value (purchased separately)

Example: If your condo is damaged by a fire and you can’t live in it during repairs, your condo insurance helps cover the cost of hotel and other living expenses, like food.

Your Unit

Condo associations are typically responsible for insuring common areas, such as the building exterior. But as a condo owner, you may be responsible for items such as flooring, cabinetry, built-ins and similar features of your home considered to be a permanent part of your condo unit.

Have you made any upgrades to your unit, such as a kitchen remodel or bathroom upgrades? Keep in mind, in the event of a loss, your condo association is only responsible for replacing the property it’s required by the condo bylaws to insure, which may not include any expensive upgrades you’ve made. So if there’s a fire in your condo, it’d be your condo insurance that would replace your personal property and the additions you’ve made to the property.

Your agent can help you determine what you’re responsible for under the bylaws of your condo association and how much coverage you should have.

Example: If a pipe burst and damaged the wooden floor you just put in, your condo association might pay to fix the pipe (depending on what caused the burst), but they won’t pay for the damage to your floor.

Condo Liability Protection

Liability

Accidents happen and, as a condo owner, you can be held liable for injuries to visitors that occur in your home. A condo policy helps provide financial protection for covered liability claims and lawsuits brought by others for accidental bodily injury or damage to their property that are caused by you, your children or pets.

Liability protection can also provide medical payments coverage — regardless of your legal responsibility — when an accident involves bodily injury to others.

For example: if a friend is visiting and they fall on your wet floor and break their leg, resulting in medical bills and lost wages because they can’t work, condo liability coverage helps cover the cost.