HO6 Condo Insurance Policy

The HO6 insurance Policy is the most common type of policy used to insure townhouses and condos in the United States. It is commonly referred to as HO6 Condo Insurance or HO6 Townhome Insurance.

The H06 townhouse insurance policy lists 16 perils as named perils. The following list shows what is considered a named peril in a standard HO6 policy:

Three of the named perils above are only covered if the damage is caused as a result of a sudden and accidental event. Those are (1) the discharge and/or overflow of Water or Stream, (2) Cracking, Bulging, Burning or Tearing Apart, and (3) Artificially Generated Electrical Current.

Other than that, if a peril from the list above damages your stuff, the H06 insurance policy should cover it.

Condo and townhome insurance is very similar to traditional home insurance, but with a few key differences. Those differences are primarily around the amount of coverage offered for the dwelling in which you live. Condo insurance policies offer significantly less coverage for the dwelling than a standard home insurance policy.

One of the biggest differences between a standard home insurance policy and the HO-6 insurance policy is in the amount of Dwelling coverage that is required.

When someone owns a home, she is responsible not only for the upkeep of her home (the actual dwelling), but also for the grounds (front yard, back yard, etc.) and all the other buildings on the property (pools, fences, mailbox, etc.).

With the possible exception of a fence (fences may be co-owned by neighbors), a detached single family home owner bears all the responsibility for upkeep and repair for everything in or on the property, and for the entire structure of the home.

When someone owns a condo, he is responsible only for the upkeep and repair of the portion of the condo he fully owns.

Although a condo owner typically has full access to – and pays monthly or annual amounts for – amenities (the pool, weight room, etc.), he doesn’t technically have full ownership of these areas.

Most condo owners only fully own the interior of the condo. The floors, walls, ceilings, and “studs-in” are all part of the condo owner’s responsibility. The roof, the community pool, the mailbox areas are all typically community owned, thus the community is responsible for upkeep and repair.

Thus, the owner of a 1,500 square foot condo or town home needs to have enough coverage to replace the portion of the dwelling he fully owns. This typically will not extend to exterior walls, roof, central air, heating, etc. These are typically insured by the condo or townhouse associations.

As a result, the amount of dwelling coverage on a HO6 insurance policy is significantly less than what you would see on a traditional home insurance policy.

The amount of Other Structures coverage in HO6 insurance is calculated similarly to Dwelling coverage. The main difference is that condo owners usually won’t have any other structures that need coverage.

Mailboxes, pools, fences, light posts, etc. are all typically owned by the condo and townhouse associations, so it is very rare that condo and townhouse owners will have a need for Other Structures coverage.

Condo and townhome owners is have only one policy type available to them – the ho6 insurance policy. Homeowners get to pick between varying degrees of coverage and many different types of insurance policies; the HO1, HO2, HO3, HO5, and so on.

Unfortunately, condo and townhouse owners don’t have that same luxury. If a condo owner doesn’t like the coverage the HO6 offers, he has very few others options. Despite this limitation, the HO6 is a good insurance policy and is typically sufficient coverage for most condo owner’s needs.