Condo Insurance

A common misconception regarding condo units is that the association's insurance policy covers your personal assets. While the association's policy may cover the condominium building and commonly owned property, it doesn't cover you in the event of a break-in, personal liability, or water damage due to a leaking faucet. Unlike homeowner's insurance, you are not insuring the property as a whole, but rather the interior of the unit and the contents of the unit. Like homeowner's insurance additional, add-on coverages exist, such as:

Loss of Use
Coverage C
Should a fire, explosion, tornado or other insured loss severely damage your unit, you could need a substitute place to stay. Loss of Use coverage will cover the necessary increase in cost to maintain living conditions during the period of repair. The amount of coverage may be limited to a dollar value or your actual costs for up to a specified time. You should review your limit with your agent.

Loss Assessment
Coverage D
This valuable condo insurance coverage is uniquely designed for owners in condominiums/ associations. It recognizes the potential for owners to be assessed for certain kinds of loss. Here are examples of circumstances that might require the condominium association to assess all unit owners:

• Someone is seriously injured on common property (perhaps at a swimming pool) and the courts award a judgment that's higher than the amount of liability coverage provided by the condominium/association policy.
• Major damage occurs to commonly owned buildings and it is not fully covered by insurance.
  
• For covered losses, loss assessment coverage would pay your share, up to the limit of coverage you select. You should review the need for this coverage with your agent and buy an appropriate amount of coverage.
  

Personal Liability
Coverage L
Personal liability coverage protects you if others make a claim or bring suit against you for bodily injury or property damage for which you or a member of your family are responsible, either in your home or elsewhere and to which coverage applies.
In addition to settlement costs, this coverage may pay defense costs and court costs -- even if a suit brought against you is groundless.

It is essential that you select liability limits high enough to protect your assets.

If you need more protection than your regular policy limits, consider a personal liability umbrella policy. It adds an extra layer of personal liability protection for exposures you may have from your car policy, your boat policy (if you have one) and your condominium unit owners (homeowners) policy.

Medical Payments to Others
Coverage M
This coverage pays medical expenses up to the limits in the policy for people who are on your premises with your permission and are accidentally injured. The coverage also extends to people accidentally injured by your activities. However, the coverage does not pay for medical expenses for you or members of your family that live with you.