When you are insuring a traditional home you are concerned about the structure first and then the contents. Withcondo insurance your priority is the contents before the structure. This is because the common property and structure will be insured through a master policy held by the condo board or owner company as these areas are jointly owned by the residents of the condo. Therefore insuring a condo is a little bit different than a traditional home.
What type of insurance will I need for my condo?
Essentially what you want to focus on is the interior of your structure and its contents. Make certain that you have a limit sufficient to cover the cost to replace everything you own within your condo including furniture appliances clothing electronics artwork and more. Creating ahome inventorywill help you know how high of a limit you need. Keep in mind that most policies only provide “replacement cost ��? as in the amount you would need to replace a particular item (you will not necessarily be reimbursed for what you paid for something originally).
If you have a claim you will have to pay thedeductible. This is the same as traditional home insurance. The deductible can be varying amounts (i.e. $500 $1000) but is determined when you purchase your policy.
You may also be required to contribute to the deductible of the condo corporation’s master policy if there is a claim on the building or communal areas.Talk to your brokerabout the impact this may have and if your policy will help cover any of this amount.
Will my condo insurance cover liability?
Yes. As with traditional homeowner’s insurance your policy should cover you for liability or damage. So if for instance someone gets hurt within your condo and you become liable for things like medical expenses lost wages or legal fees etc. the insurance policy will kick in here. However as far as liability you typically will not need to be covered for incidents that might happen in the common areas.
Additionally some policies also may also cover things such as additional living expenses—the key to understanding your condo insurance coverage is todiscuss it with your broker. Find out what you need versus what might be included in the master policy.