Posted by John Coyle on Mon, Jun 30, 2008
If you are considering moving to a condominium, you may be wondering whether you need a standard homeowner’s policy or something more.There are a lot of perks to condo living in Texas. You don't have to deal with tending to your lawn all summer long. You never have to paint a house again. Your utilities bills are cut dramatically. For those of you who are interested in low-impact living, you may even find yourself in a "green" condo! There are many benefits, no doubt. Nevertheless, there is one piece of business that you still need to take care of -- condo insurance. No, you don't need your homeowners’ policy any more, but you do need to protect your property and investment. John Coyle knows how to help you get the coverage you need at a price you can live with. Tri-Star Insurance offers these tips about buying insurance for your condominium.
HO-6
Condominium insurance is different from standard homeowners insurance. The policy you need for a condo is referred to as an HO-6. An HO-6 protects your personal property from damage and loss from things like fire, smoke, vandalism, theft, storms, lightning, theft, explosion, broken glass or volcanic eruptions. However, it does not cover earthquakes, floods or hurricanes. You will need separate coverage for these types of disasters.
Condominium insurance pays for things like your personal belongings, electronics, clothes, furniture and the other items in your home that you own. You will probably need extra coverage, however, for jewelry, art, baseball card collections or other personal luxury items.
Master Policies
Your condo association will have a master policy. This policy covers damage to the structure of the building, as well as things like elevators, stairwells, basements and other common areas. It is very important that you clearly understand everything that is and is not covered by the master policy, because whatever that policy does not cover is your personal responsibility. The premiums for the master policy will come out of your condo association’s dues, but unless the master specifically says otherwise, tenants need to pay the deductible on the policy before coverage kicks in. That deductible will be split evenly among all of the individual owners, so you need to know how much that is. Make sure you have an emergency fund, if you need one, to be able to contribute your required share.
There are two main categories of master policies. One is known as “bare walls in” and it covers damage to everything between the exterior framing and the walls of your condo. Fixtures and installations are not covered in a “bare walls in” policy. Neither are floors and ceilings of individual units. If your building has a “bare walls in” policy, you need to be sure you have extensive coverage in your HO-6 policy and its addendums. The other type of policy is known as an “all in.” This “all-in” is a sure bet because you won’t need individual coverage for the floors, ceilings, fixtures and installations.
Call a Pro
It can be easy to be confused about condominium coverage. Tri-Star Insurance Professionals, owned by John Coyle, provides condominium insurance that you need for your new North Dallas, Frisco or Plano home. To learn more about condo insurance, call them today at 214-387-0600 or toll-free at 1-800-990-4600.
Related Links
CondoAssociaton.com
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