Condo insurance, written as an HO-6 policy, covers the part of your condo the HOA master policy does not: the interior, your belongings, your liability, and your share of a loss the association passes back to owners. Getting it right starts with one question almost nobody asks before they buy: what does your association’s master policy actually cover? Call (405) 509-9433 or start a quote online and we will read the master policy with you.
Read the master policy first
Associations buy one of two broad arrangements, and the difference decides how much HO-6 you need:
- Walls-in, sometimes called all-in. The master policy covers the original fixtures, cabinets, flooring and built-ins inside your unit. Your HO-6 then mainly covers your belongings, your liability and anything you upgraded.
- Bare walls, sometimes called studs-out. The master policy stops at the unfinished walls. Everything inward is yours to insure: drywall, paint, flooring, cabinets, countertops, fixtures, appliances. This needs a much larger dwelling limit on the HO-6, and it is where underinsured condo owners usually are.
The association’s declaration page and bylaws say which one you have. Send them to us and we will size the policy to them rather than guessing. Buying an HO-6 without knowing this is the single most common mistake in condo insurance.
Loss assessment: the Oklahoma coverage that actually gets used
This is the one to pay attention to in this state. When a hail storm damages the roofs across an entire condo development, the association files one claim and pays one master-policy deductible. That deductible is frequently very large, and the association is entitled to divide the shortfall among the owners. Your bill arrives as a special assessment.
Loss assessment coverage on your HO-6 is what responds to that bill. Policies often include a small default amount that bears no relationship to a real Oklahoma hail assessment, and raising it is usually inexpensive. Two things to check: the limit itself, and whether the coverage applies to your share of the master policy deductible specifically, because some forms exclude exactly that. Given how Oklahoma hail behaves, an owner in a multi-building development should assume this will happen eventually rather than treating it as a remote risk.
What else the HO-6 carries
- Personal property. Everything you own inside the unit. Choose replacement cost rather than actual cash value, and schedule jewelry, firearms, cameras or instruments by name, because those sit under low sub-limits.
- Personal liability. Someone injured inside your unit, or damage you cause that travels into a neighbouring unit. A bathroom supply line that lets go at two in the morning is the classic condo claim.
- Loss of use. Pays for somewhere to live while the unit is repaired. Worth a real limit, because condo repairs wait on the association’s contractor and their schedule, not yours.
- Building property or dwelling. Your interior finishes and any improvements you made. On a bare-walls association this is the limit that matters most.
What an HO-6 does not cover
The building structure and common areas belong to the master policy. Flood is excluded and needs a separate flood policy. Earthquake is excluded too, which is a live consideration in Oklahoma rather than a theoretical one; see earthquake coverage. If you rent the unit out to a tenant, you do not need an HO-6 at all, you need landlord insurance, and your tenant should carry renters insurance of their own.
What drives the price
The dwelling limit your association’s arrangement forces on you, your personal property limit, the deductible you choose, your loss assessment limit, the age and construction of the building, claims history, and whether you bundle with auto. Because bare-walls associations require far more interior coverage than walls-in ones, two owners in similar units across town can price very differently for reasons that have nothing to do with the units themselves. That is also why the master policy is the first document we ask for.
Your mortgage lender will require the HO-6 and will want to be listed, and many associations require owners to carry minimum liability limits and to name the association as an additional interest. Send us any requirement letter along with the master policy so we build to it the first time.
How to get quoted
Send the association’s master policy declarations, the unit address, roughly what your interior finishes and belongings would cost to replace, and any requirement from your lender or HOA. We are independent, so one application goes to several carriers instead of one. Start a quote or call (405) 509-9433.
We write across the Oklahoma City metro and statewide, including Edmond, Yukon, Mustang and Piedmont, plus Norman, Moore, Midwest City and Tulsa. Own a house instead? See home insurance or work with an independent Oklahoma home insurance broker.