What your Miami condo HO-6 policy actually has to cover

Condo insurance in Miami used to be an afterthought. A cheap HO-6, bought because the lender asked for it, never really read.

That changed. Structural safety reform after Surfside, mandatory milestone inspections, mandatory reserve studies, and the special assessments that followed have all pushed real financial exposure from the association onto individual unit owners. Your HO-6 is where a lot of that exposure either lands or does not.

Step one: read the master policy

Everything else depends on this. Association master policies come in two broad shapes.

All-in (or "single entity") — the master policy covers the original fixtures, cabinetry, flooring and appliances as originally built. Your HO-6 covers your upgrades, your personal property, and your liability.

Bare walls — the master covers the structure, and essentially everything inward of the unfinished walls is yours. Drywall, flooring, cabinets, fixtures, all of it.

The difference in how much Coverage A you need is enormous. Buying a bare-walls-appropriate policy for an all-in building wastes money; the reverse leaves you badly short.

You are entitled to a copy of the master policy declarations. Ask the association or the management company.

Step two: take loss assessment seriously

Loss assessment coverage pays your share when the association levies an assessment following a covered loss. In Miami, this is no longer a theoretical line item.

Two things to check:

• The limit. Many policies default to $1,000. That number was set for a different era. Ask what it costs to raise it substantially — it is often surprisingly inexpensive relative to the exposure.
• Whether it responds to a hurricane deductible pass-through. This is the important one. When a master policy has a large hurricane deductible, associations routinely pass that deductible through to unit owners as an assessment. Some policies cover that. Some explicitly exclude it. Read the endorsement, not the summary.

A milestone inspection assessment and a hurricane deductible assessment are different things, and they are not always covered by the same endorsement. Ask about both by name.

Step three: value your build-out honestly

Coverage A on an HO-6 covers your interior improvements — not the building. People renovate a kitchen and a bathroom, spend a serious amount doing it, and never revisit a Coverage A limit that was set when they bought.

If you have renovated since you bought the policy, the limit is almost certainly wrong.

Step four: ask about the building itself

Since the structural safety reforms, insurability has become a property of the building, not just the unit. Underwriters are asking:

• Has the milestone inspection been completed?
• Has the structural integrity reserve study been done?
• Are reserves actually funded, or was funding waived?
• Is there deferred structural work outstanding?

Buildings that have not completed these can be difficult to insure at any price, and difficult to sell. If you are buying, this belongs in your due diligence alongside the financials.

What to bring to an agent

• The master policy declarations page
• Your association's most recent budget and reserve status
• A realistic figure for what your interior build-out cost
• Whether the building has completed milestone inspection and SIRS
• Any assessment history from the last five years

An agency that handles Miami condos regularly will ask for all of this before quoting. One that quotes without it is guessing.

Where to go next

Compare condo insurance agents in Miami, or if you are in a high-rise on the water, read the windstorm guide as well — the two interact.