Your condo unit is not just any other space—it’s your home. And it’s only natural to protect it along with your belongings and the unit improvements you’ve made.
That said, you may have asked the question of “what is a condo insurance” and to what extent can it do to secure your condo home. Here are all the details you need to know from our expert team.
What Is Condo Insurance: A Closer Look
Condo insurance or condo dwelling coverage is comprehensive property insurance for your own unit’s contents and improvements.
It’s a type of home insurance bought by the unit owner to finance expenses due to injury or property damage, personal property getting stolen, or ruined by perils like fire or vandalism.
Purpose of a Condo Insurance Policy
First, you need to understand there are two types of condominium insurance which are:
- Commercial condominium insurance policy (a.k.a. condominium association) bought by the condo corporation; and
- Personal condominium insurance purchased by unit owners themselves.

Commercial policies or association insurance cover only the exterior of the condominium building and common areas like the swimming pool or parking garage.
This policy is meant to protect the condo’s property, not yours. Most condo owners have to (yet often fail to) realize they need protection far more than what the condo corporation’s policy provides.
Example
Here’s an example to convince you. What happens when your storage locker gets burglarized or if your space suffers from water damage and a visitor slips on your kitchen floor?
This is where your personal condo insurance comes in: to cover what the condo association can’t. Unit owners need their own insurance to protect personal belongings and to cover any improvements you’ve made in your unit.

Some are even extensive enough to cover damages caused by another person’s unit or when someone injures themselves while inside your condo.
Personal condo insurance is home insurance that shields you from immense financial distress due to untoward events. It allows you to transfer the risk of loss to your trusted insurer instead of bearing the expense on your own.
Condo Insurance Coverage: What It Covers
Insurance policies and coverages differ from one policy to another.
You need to ask the right questions to get information as to what areas or instances aren’t covered by the condo association. This is how you will know the kind of liability coverage you still need.

But essentially, your typical condo insurance should cover the following:
Personal Liability Insurance
Imagine you’re hosting a soiree in your unit. Then, a guest suddenly slips on your bathroom floor and a claim is filed against you.
This coverage will help you pay for necessary medical bills and related legal expenses.
This coverage may also include expenses for damaged property sustained by others should you or covered residents of your household be found legally responsible.
Building Protection Coverage
This coverage is designed to help pay for repairs to the interiors of your unit should they sustain damage due to a covered peril.

Depending on your condo policy, the coverage may include:
- Wall coverings
- Flooring
- Built-in furniture and fixtures
Personal Property Coverage
This coverage (a.k.a. Contents Coverage) is for personal belongings like appliances, electronics, and clothing in the event of a fire, water leakage, or any other loss.
There are several types of Contents Coverage. Depending on your assessments, you get either:
- Reimbursement of actual cash value of the damaged belongings in your condo unit; or
- Replacement Cost Reimbursement Coverage will pay you the repair cost for the damaged personal belonging.
Theft Protection
Your condo policy may also include this to help mitigate losses due to theft and/or robbery. Depending on the said policy, theft coverage may also include your storage locker or your parking space.
Loss Assessment Coverage
Certain situations will require a condo owner to pay for repairs and maintenance of common areas in the building.

For example, a plumbing issue causes flooding in the lobby. Now, the condo corporation is charging a certain percentage of the expense incurred to all the condo owners.
Coverage for loss assessments will pay for your share of the expense if the amount billed exceeds what is already covered by the condo association’s policy.
Additional Living Expenses Coverage
Additional Living Expenses Coverage will help when your unit is damaged and you have to move out while it’s being repaired.
This policy will help pay for additional living expenses that you might incur while you’re away. Of course, this is subject to different terms and conditions depending on your condo policy.
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Costs
The average cost of condo insurance varies and depends on several factors such as:
- The improvement value made on the condo's original fittings, e.g., kitchen renovations
- The value you have within the condo, e.g., jewelry, art paintings
- If you get additional coverage such as liability protection

The average estimate for personal condo insurance ranges around $20 to $40, but it still largely depends on the coverage.
The payment method may vary from cash to credit cards, depending on your insurer.
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Difference Between a Commercial and Personal Condo Insurance
- Personal Condo Insurance protects the financial interests of individual owners, which includes upgrades due to unit improvement and the personal effects contained within.
- Commercial Policy or Condominium's Master Insurance Policy insures the condominium itself and the common areas inside and outside of the building where no one person could be held accountable.
FAQ
How Does Condo Insurance Work?
When you get a condo and have a mortgage, you will be required to obtain a personal policy on top of the master policy.
Both these policies have two distinct coverages. They work together to give you holistic coverage. A standard personal policy might be insufficient. So, consider getting an umbrella policy to provide additional coverage once your standard coverage has been exhausted.
You can get information as to which areas remain vulnerable and should be subject to personal condo insurance from the master policy itself.
Conclusion
Hopefully, by now, you now understand what is condo insurance and how it’s beneficial to you and your home.
It’s equally significant as your health [1] and auto insurance. With flexible policies and payment terms, from checks to credit cards, you will indeed find one tailored fit to your lifestyle.
Now that you have the necessary information to understand how this works, you don’t have to feel doubtful or skeptical anymore and make a decision if a condo insurance policy is for you.
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