An HO-6 is the policy form built for condo and co-op owners. It covers the inside of your unit and your personal life within it, while your association's master policy covers the building around you.

Who this is for: anyone who owns a condo or co-op unit. If you pay HOA dues and hold a deed, this is your form.

The master policy split

Condo insurance is a two-policy system. Your homeowners association carries a master policy on the building: the roof, exterior walls, hallways, elevators, and shared spaces. Your HO-6 picks up where the master policy stops. The tricky part is that where it stops varies. Master policies generally come in a few flavors:

  • Bare walls. The association covers the structure only. Everything from the drywall inward, including cabinets, flooring, and fixtures, is on you.
  • Single entity. The association covers the unit as originally built, including standard fixtures, but not upgrades you or previous owners added.
  • All-in. The association covers fixtures and improvements too, leaving mainly your belongings and liability to your policy.

Before buying or adjusting an HO-6, read your association's governing documents or ask the property manager which type you have. That one answer determines how much dwelling coverage you actually need.

What "walls-in" coverage means

The dwelling portion of an HO-6 covers the interior of your unit: drywall, flooring, cabinetry, countertops, built-in appliances, and improvements. People call it walls-in coverage because it starts at the interior walls and works inward. If a kitchen fire guts your unit, this is what rebuilds the kitchen.

The rest of the package

Alongside walls-in coverage, an HO-6 includes personal property (your belongings, typically on a named-perils basis), personal liability, medical payments to others, and loss of use if a covered event forces you out of your unit while repairs happen.

Loss assessment coverage

This one is easy to overlook and very condo-specific. When the building suffers a covered loss that exceeds the master policy's limits, or the association gets hit with its own large deductible, the association can bill each owner a share. That bill is called a special assessment. Loss assessment coverage pays your share of qualifying assessments up to your limit. Base policies often include only a small amount, and raising it is usually inexpensive, so it's worth asking about.

What it doesn't cover

The building exterior and common areas (the master policy's job), plus the standard exclusions: flood, earthquake, wear and tear, and pests. Flood and earthquake need separate coverage, and in some regions your association's master deductible for those events makes loss assessment coverage even more relevant.

Once you know your association's master policy type, comparing HO-6 quotes is quick, and matching the coverage to that split is where the real savings hide.