Condo insurance is required to protect your personal belongings and any loss of use you may have. Some people think that the condo associations’ insurance policy will cover their personal belongings in the event of loss or damage. That is not the case. Every condo association has different insurance policies, you need to know what type of policy they have and what it covers. This will help you to make the best decision when looking for condo insurance for yourself.
First, determine which of these three types of insurance the condo association maintains:
• Coverage for the primary buildings and common areas only
• Coverage for ALL buildings and their contents OTHER than personal property
• Coverage for ALL buildings, each individual unit and ALL fixtures within each unit
Once you determine the condo association type of coverage, you can begin to customize the best policy for your needs. Standard condo insurance policies cover certain perils, such as fire, lightning, theft, wind and hail. Be sure to know exactly what perils are and are not covered when choosing a policy. There are also policy limits which come standard, as well as additional coverage that can be purchased and added to your policy to cover specific personal belongings. Some of these “Special Limit” items may include jewelry, fine art, electronics, antiques and furs.
If your condo suffers a loss due to a covered peril, you may find the insurance claim process is two-fold. First, there may be portions of the claim that fall under the condo associations’ policy, while others fall under your individual condo insurance policy. You may also want to consider adding a personal liability policy to protect your assets in the event a visitor gets injured while on your property.