Do I need additional condo insurance other than what I pay in HOA fees?

Question

I pay about $800 every three months in HOA fees. Do I need to carry additional condo insurance if I have a mortgage with Countrywide or do I just call them and give them the condo assoc. insurance info?

Answer 1

The HOA would have had to provide Countrywide with a copy of their blanket insurance on the condos before you would have ever closed on the condo. You don't have to carry additional insurance basically on a condo all you would carry is renters insurance which would cover the interior and contents only. the HOA's insurance policy would cover building the outside of the unit if a fire occurred, your insurance would cover rebuilding the inside and replacing all of your items lost. My HOA covers not only the outside but rebuilding the interior of the unit to the condition I purchased it at. I still carry additional renters insurance for this along with content insurance to replace what I lose.

If you choose to get renters insurance you do not need to provide this to countrywide as it's irrelevant to them.

Answer 2

Yes, you need to get content insurance through a major carrier. It's called an HO-6 policy.

An HO-6 policy is NOT the same as renter's insurance. Be sure your insurance company knows that you will own the place.

What your HOA carries on you is for STRUCTURAL damage and liability insurance only. It WILL NOT pay for you a place to stay while your home is being rebuilt, and it will not place a single item of your belongings.

In all due respect, the other posters are incorrect in stating that the Master Policy will not rebuild the unit...it will. It covers common areas and liability also, just not content insurance.

This is a common underwriting requirement....if someone has never underwritten loans, then they generally don't know how to read the Master Policies.

My advice is to go with a major carrier, like State Farm, Nationwide, etc....if you go cheap, you'll pay for it later.

The rates are similar to rental insurance, so there is simply no reason not to get the best insurance you can find.

Countrywide will call the HOA management company and get a COPY of the Master Policy but Countrywide will NOT require you to carry content insurance because they don't care if you get it or not....because a bank could care less if you ddon't have your personal belongings covered in the event of a total loss.

Answer 3

I'm surprised you don't have fire insurance demanded by your lender. HOA fees are not insurance, they just pay for common area things that are shared by all owners in the development. Think of the HOA as a little government and the fees as property tax. Insurance is separate--you should get homeowners insurance to cover fires and other casualties.

Answer 4

Any insurance that the HOA has covers public liability and common areas only. YOU must provide homeowners insurance for your unit. This is a lender requirement. You must provide the lender with a copy of the binder or the paid insurance receipt. If you don't they will purchase insurance to protect their own interests. That will cost quite a bit more than what you'd pay yourself and it will NOT cover your interest or any of your possessions.

Answer 5

You might want to consider having personal property insurance, similar to renters insurance. Should your unit be destroyed, you would compensation for your belongings.