HO-6 Insurance: What It Is, What It Covers, and Costs

HO-6 insurance is the condominium unit-owner form of homeowners insurance. It covers the interior of your unit, your belongings, your personal liability, and your share of association loss assessments — the specific gaps a condo or HOA master policy is designed to leave open.

Owners who skip HO-6, or buy the wrong size, are the most common source of uninsured losses in a condo building. This guide walks through what the policy covers, how to size each part, what it typically costs, and where the non-negotiable add-ons are.

Why condos need their own insurance form

Condo insurance is not one policy. It is two — the association’s master policy on the outside and your HO-6 on the inside — and they are supposed to meet without a gap. Our deeper explainer on condo association insurance covers the seam between them in more detail.

An HO-3 (standard homeowners) policy assumes you own the whole structure. In a condo, you do not. The association owns and insures the shell and the common areas through the master policy. Buying an HO-3 on a condo would double-insure things the master already covers and still miss the pieces only HO-6 covers.

HO-6 exists because the risk profile is different. You need coverage for the interior finishes you touch, the belongings you own, the liability that happens inside your walls, and the share of a loss the association can pass through to you.

The six coverage sections of a standard HO-6

A standard HO-6 policy is built from six main coverages. Every carrier uses the same labels, though limits and endorsements vary.

Coverage A — Dwelling (walls-in / interior)

Coverage A pays to repair or rebuild the interior of your unit after a covered loss. That typically means drywall inward — cabinets, flooring, fixtures, built-ins, plumbing and wiring inside the unit, and any upgrades you have made.

The right Coverage A limit depends on how much of the interior the master policy already covers. A bare-walls master leaves almost everything to you. An all-in master picks up more of the original finishes. Under-insuring here is the single most common HO-6 mistake.

Coverage B — Other structures

Coverage B is minimal for most condos. In detached-condo or townhome-style communities, it may pick up things like a private detached garage or fence. In a stacked condo it is usually not applicable.

Coverage C — Personal property (belongings)

Coverage C pays for your furniture, clothing, electronics, appliances you own, sporting equipment, and other belongings. It is typically written on a replacement-cost basis, not depreciated actual cash value, but confirm the form on your declarations page.

Sub-limits apply to specific categories. Jewelry, watches, and furs are often capped around $1,500 total. Cash is usually capped near $200. Firearms have their own sub-limit. If you own high-value items in any of these categories, schedule them as separate riders rather than assume the base policy covers them.

Coverage D — Loss of use (additional living expenses)

Coverage D pays for hotel, meals, and other reasonable extra costs if the unit becomes uninhabitable after a covered loss. It applies whether the damage is in your unit or a common area you depend on.

Loss-of-use limits are usually expressed as a percentage of Coverage A. A higher dwelling limit automatically raises this one.

Coverage E — Personal liability

Coverage E pays if you are legally responsible for someone’s injury or property damage. Typical limits run $100,000 to $500,000 per occurrence, and raising the limit is one of the cheapest changes you can make. Umbrella policies stack on top for owners with more assets to protect.

Coverage F — Medical payments to others

Coverage F is a small, no-fault medical benefit for guests hurt in your unit. Typical limits run $1,000 to $5,000. It is not liability coverage — it pays regardless of fault to help defuse minor incidents before they turn into claims.

Loss assessment coverage — the piece most owners under-buy

Loss assessment is a separate part of the HO-6 that reimburses your share of an assessment the association levies for a covered loss. It sits alongside the six main coverages and is the most under-bought piece of the policy.

Here is the common scenario. The master policy has a large deductible — many associations now carry $25,000, $50,000, or more, and named-storm deductibles in coastal markets can run a percentage of insured value. When a covered event happens, the association pays the deductible and then passes each owner’s share through as a special assessment. Your loss-assessment coverage is what pays that bill.

The default sub-limit on many HO-6 policies is $1,000. In today’s hard market that is nowhere near enough. A realistic range in most markets is $10,000 to $50,000 or more, depending on your master deductible. The endorsement is usually a small annual add-on relative to the exposure it covers.

Our full guide to loss assessment coverage walks through how to size this one number against your building’s actual master deductible.

What the HOA master policy does NOT cover

Even the most generous “all-in” master policy leaves several things to the owner. HO-6 is designed to fill exactly those gaps.

• Personal belongings — nothing you own is on the master policy.
• Personal liability inside your unit — a slip inside your unit is yours, not the association’s.
• Loss of use — the master will not pay your hotel bill.
• Upgrades and improvements — the granite counters and hardwood you installed are not on the master, even under all-in forms.
• The master policy deductible — usually passed through to owners as an assessment.
• Your share of a special assessment — see loss assessment above.

If you skip HO-6, every one of these becomes an out-of-pocket cost.

How to size Coverage A correctly

Coverage A is where most HO-6 policies are mis-sized. Three practical approaches work together.

1. Get the master declarations page. Ask the association’s manager or broker for the current declarations and a plain-English description of the policy type — bare walls, single entity, or all-in. This tells you what the master picks up inside the unit.
2. Use a per-square-foot rule as a sanity check. Interior finishes generally rebuild in a range that varies by market and finish quality. Multiply your unit’s square footage by a local per-square-foot rebuild estimate to get a floor. A licensed broker or contractor can supply a current per-square-foot figure for your area.
3. Get a replacement-cost estimate from a licensed insurer. Any HO-6 broker can run one. Bring the master declarations to the appointment so the estimate targets the actual gap, not a generic condo assumption.

The mistake to avoid is picking a round number without reading the master policy. A bare-walls master with a low HO-6 dwelling limit leaves the owner paying tens of thousands to rebuild after a covered loss.

Lender requirements — what the mortgage company usually wants

Most lenders require an HO-6 as a condition of closing on a condo. The common rule is Coverage A equal to at least 20% of the unit’s purchase price or an amount sufficient to rebuild the interior finishes — whichever the lender’s letter of instruction specifies.

Separately from any lender requirement, many associations’ governing documents also require every owner to carry HO-6 coverage. See can an HOA require homeowners insurance? for how that obligation works and what happens if you skip it.

The lender’s letter is the source of truth. Underwriting rules move around, and a broker who has not seen the letter is guessing. Send the letter to your HO-6 agent before binding coverage.

Lenders also usually specify a personal-liability minimum, a maximum deductible, and language requiring the policy to be primary over the master for interior finishes. Read the letter line by line.

Typical HO-6 costs

HO-6 premiums typically run $150 to $600 per year in most markets. Several things push the price up or down.

• Location — Florida, coastal Carolinas, and coastal California run well above the national range. Hurricane and wildfire exposure are the main drivers.
• Building age and construction — older buildings and wood-frame construction generally rate higher.
• Unit value and finish level — high-value units with premium finishes raise Coverage A and therefore the premium.
• Deductible — moving from a $500 to a $2,500 deductible often lowers the premium meaningfully.
• Loss-assessment limit — going from $1,000 to $50,000 typically adds a small annual amount and covers a much larger exposure.

Treat every dollar figure here as a typical range, not a quote. A licensed broker will give you a real number after seeing your building, your master policy, and your unit.

Endorsements and riders worth considering

The base HO-6 handles the common cases. Several endorsements handle the predictable edge cases.

• Scheduled personal property — for jewelry, art, watches, firearms, and other items that exceed base sub-limits. These are itemized on the policy.
• Water backup — covers backup of sewers and drains, which is often excluded from the base form.
• Service line coverage — pays to repair a damaged service line running to the unit if you are responsible for it.
• Ordinance or law — pays for code-required upgrades after a covered loss. Older buildings and older units benefit most.
• Earthquake — a separate policy or endorsement in most markets. A standard HO-6 excludes earthquake.
• Flood — a separate NFIP or private flood policy. A standard HO-6 excludes flood. If your building sits in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area or has federally-backed mortgages, flood coverage is often required at the master level, but that does not protect your unit’s interior finishes automatically.

Ask your broker which of these are common in your building and your climate. A five-minute review usually surfaces one or two obvious add-ons.

HO-6 vs. standard homeowners (HO-3)

The short version: HO-3 covers the whole structure of a single-family house. HO-6 covers the interior gap of a condo. Both cover personal property, liability, loss of use, and medical payments in largely the same way.

• HO-3 is written for detached, owner-occupied homes. Coverage A pays to rebuild the entire structure.
• HO-6 is written for condo unit owners. Coverage A pays for interior finishes only, because the association’s master policy covers the shell.

Buying the wrong form is not a small error. An HO-3 on a condo double-pays for the shell and typically has no loss-assessment coverage. An HO-6 on a detached home leaves the exterior wildly under-insured.

Renting your unit — HO-6 usually is not enough on its own

A standard HO-6 assumes the policyholder lives in the unit. If you rent the unit to a tenant, the base policy usually excludes tenant-occupied risks. You may need an HO-6 rental endorsement, a DP-3-style dwelling fire policy, or a separate landlord policy depending on the carrier.

Tenants should carry their own renters (HO-4) policy for their belongings and liability. Your policy does not cover their stuff.

Tell your broker before you rent, not after. Non-disclosure can void coverage at claim time.

Practical steps to buy or review an HO-6

Whether you are buying for the first time or reviewing at renewal, the same short checklist covers most of what matters.

1. Request the master declarations page from the association’s manager or broker.
2. Ask what the master deductible is — including named-storm and wind deductibles if they differ.
3. Discuss required Coverage A with a licensed HO-6 broker who has read the master declarations.
4. Set loss-assessment coverage at a level that realistically covers your share of the master deductible passed through as an assessment.
5. Confirm the lender’s letter — the letter, not the loan officer’s verbal, is the requirement.
6. Add the obvious endorsements — scheduled items, water backup, ordinance or law, and flood/earthquake where relevant.
7. Re-review every renewal. Master policies, deductibles, and market pricing all move fast.

Where to go next

Once your HO-6 is right-sized, the next thing to understand is the master policy behind it and what the association pays for. Our guide on what HOA insurance covers breaks down the master policy in detail. If you are comparing carriers for the association side, the roundup of best HOA insurance companies can help.

For the full picture of how the two policies fit together — including how loss assessments actually flow to owners — start with the condo association insurance explainer.

This guide is educational only. Every dollar figure is a typical range, not a quote. Confirm coverages, limits, and pricing with a licensed insurance broker who has read your association’s master policy.

For related guides on association coverage, reserves, and the professionals who work on them, browse the HOA insurance, reserves & professionals hub.