Condominium Insurance

Condominium insurance policies may be one of the most misunderstood personal insurance policies available today. Because the unit owner does not own the building itself, many unit owners believe that they are not responsible for damage to the structure and that they only need be concerned with insuring their personal property and liability. It is this kind of thinking that can lead to a significant gap in coverage when an accident happens in the unit damaging the structure. Make sure you are familiar with the insurance requirements as outlined in your condominium association agreement. Just because the association has a master policy insuring the building and premises does not mean that you are not responsible for damage to any portion of the structure.

Most association agreements state the unit owner's responsibility as "studs in". This means that the unit owner is responsible for damage to everything inside of the studs within the walls. This includes drywall, paint and wall coverings, kitchen cabinets and countertop, carpet and tile, and any other permanently installed item within your unit.

With this in mind you may be able to place a more accurate figure on the amount of building insurance that you carry on your condiminium policy. In addition to property damage that you may be responsible for, you can also be assessed a portion of a loss to a common area of the association. Be sure your condo policy provides you with an adequate amount of loss assessment coverage.