Condos
The master policy and your HO-6: two policies, one insured building
By the Wholesale Mortgage Lending editorial team · Last reviewed August 18, 2026
The short answer
Condo insurance is split by law and by lender requirement: the association's master policy covers the building as originally built — structure, common elements, and most systems — while the unit owner's HO-6 policy covers the interior 'walls-in' property Florida law assigns to owners, such as flooring, cabinets, appliances, and improvements. Lenders require both layers to meet coverage standards, and in flood zones a building-level flood policy as well.
Where the master policy ends and yours begins
Florida draws the boundary in statute. Under section 718.111(11), the association's property insurance must cover the condominium property as originally installed — the structure, roof, common elements, and building systems — while unit owners are responsible for items within their units such as floor, wall, and ceiling coverings, electrical fixtures, appliances, water heaters, built-in cabinets and countertops, and window treatments, plus anything the declaration assigns to them.
That statutory line is why the unit owner's policy is called walls-in coverage. Your HO-6 policy picks up where the master policy stops: the interior finishes, your improvements and betterments, your personal property, your liability, and — critically — the master policy's deductible share that can be passed to owners after a building loss.
The declaration can move the boundary for particular items, so the master policy, the declaration, and your HO-6 have to be read together. An insurance agent who works Florida condos will reconcile the three; the association's management company can supply the master policy summary your agent needs.
What lenders require from the association's coverage
Mortgage lenders check the building's insurance before they check yours. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide section B7-3-03 requires the master property policy to be written on a special or equivalent coverage form, to insure the project's improvements at full replacement cost, to settle losses on a replacement-cost basis, and to keep deductibles within the guide's published limits. Liability and, where equipment warrants it, boiler and machinery coverage round out the package.
In Florida's insurance market, these requirements do real work. Associations facing steep premiums sometimes accept high wind deductibles or coverage below replacement cost, and either choice can make every unit in the building ineligible for agency financing until the policy is corrected. The certificate of insurance the lender collects from the association is where this surfaces.
If the building sits in a special flood hazard area, a building-level flood policy is part of the picture as well. The National Flood Insurance Program's FloodSmart resources are the plain-language starting point for what flood policies cover; note that standard property insurance does not cover flood, and building coverage and contents coverage are separate purchases.
What lenders require from your HO-6
Your own policy is not optional decoration. Fannie Mae's section B7-3-04 requires a unit owner's policy whenever the master policy leaves interior portions of the unit uncovered or carries a per-unit deductible, sized to restore the uncovered interior, written to settle at replacement cost, and with the deductible held within the guide's limits.
Practically, your insurance agent will calculate the walls-in replacement value — what it would cost to rebuild the interior finishes and improvements the statute and declaration assign to you — and set the dwelling coverage on the HO-6 accordingly. Loss assessment coverage, which responds when the association passes part of a large loss to owners, is an inexpensive add-on worth discussing given Florida's deductible structures.
Your lender will collect proof of the HO-6 before closing and require it to stay in force. If your unit is in a flood zone, expect a conversation about contents or unit-level flood coverage too, depending on what the association's flood policy covers.
Florida-specific pressure points
Wind is the recurring stress. Hurricane deductibles on master policies are typically expressed as a share of the building's insured value, and a large building's deductible after a storm can be a very large number that the association must collect from owners — which is exactly the scenario loss assessment coverage and a properly sized HO-6 exist for.
Premium volatility is the second. Associations shop coverage at every renewal, and a renewal that arrives with a much higher premium often becomes next year's dues increase or a special assessment. When you read an association budget, the insurance line deserves particular attention: an insurance line that has not moved in years may mean the coverage has quietly thinned.
The state publishes genuinely useful consumer material here. The Florida Department of Financial Services maintains plain-language guides to property insurance for consumers, and its resources are a sensible companion when you compare what the association carries against what you need. For the financing itself, Wholesale Mortgage Lending arranges condo loans and coordinates the insurance documentation lenders require — the association's certificates and your HO-6 — so the pieces arrive verified before closing week.
Questions people ask
What does an HO-6 policy cover that the master policy does not?
The interior property Florida law and your declaration assign to the unit owner — typically flooring, wall and ceiling coverings, cabinets and countertops, appliances, water heaters, fixtures, and improvements — plus your personal property, personal liability, loss of use, and optionally loss assessment coverage for your share of association deductibles or uninsured common losses.
Does my lender really check the association's insurance?
Yes. Agency guidelines set requirements for the master policy's coverage form, replacement-cost coverage, loss settlement, deductibles, and liability insurance, and lenders collect certificates from the association to verify them. A master policy outside those limits can make units in the building ineligible for agency loans until the coverage is corrected.
Who buys flood insurance in a Florida condo building?
In a special flood hazard area, the association carries building-level flood coverage, and unit owners can add their own coverage for contents or gaps depending on what the master flood policy includes. Flood is always a separate policy from standard property insurance; FEMA's FloodSmart program explains the building-versus-contents split.
What is loss assessment coverage and do I need it?
It is an HO-6 add-on that pays your share when the association assesses owners after a covered loss — commonly a large hurricane deductible. Given how Florida master policies structure wind deductibles, many owners carry it. Whether and how much is a conversation for your insurance agent against your building's actual master policy.
Sources
This guide is written against the primary sources below, which is where the current figures live when a figure has deliberately not been quoted here.
- Selling Guide B7-3-03, Master Property Insurance Requirements for Project Developments — Fannie Mae
- Selling Guide B7-3-04, Individual Property Insurance Requirements for a Unit in a Project Development — Fannie Mae
- Section 718.111, Florida Statutes — The association; insurance — Florida Senate
- FloodSmart — Flood insurance basics — FEMA National Flood Insurance Program
- Understanding Insurance — consumer resources — Florida Department of Financial Services
Put this to work on your own numbers
Reading is the easy half. Run your own scenario through the planner, or ask a licensed mortgage professional the question this page could not answer for your exact situation.