Florida Condo Insurance

By Core 4 Insurance Team · Licensed Florida Insurance Agency · Miramar, FL

⏱ 15 min read 📅 Updated June 24, 2026 📍 Florida 🇪🇸 Disponible en Español

Your association insures the building. You insure everything from the drywall in — plus your share of every special assessment. Florida requires only $2,000 of loss assessment coverage on an HO-6, while master policy hurricane deductibles of $100,000 or more are routine. Here is how to size yours properly.

You own a condo in Florida, you pay your association dues, and there's a master policy covering the building. So what exactly are you insuring?

More than most owners realize — and the piece that catches people isn't the drywall or the furniture. It's the letter from the association saying your share of a repair is $8,000, due in sixty days.

What is an HO-6 policy?

The short answer: An HO-6 is condo insurance. It covers your unit's interior, your belongings, your liability, temporary housing, and your share of association special assessments.

The shorthand people use is "drywall in." Your association insures the building; you insure what's inside your walls plus your own liability.

Florida law requires associations to carry master insurance, and most mortgage lenders require unit owners to carry an HO-6. Even without a mortgage, most Florida associations require it in their documents.

What does the master policy actually cover?

The short answer: Depends which type your association bought. "All-in" covers your unit's original fixtures. "Bare walls" covers essentially nothing inside your unit — and more Florida associations are moving to bare walls.

This is the question to ask before you buy an HO-6, because the answer changes how much coverage you need.

What is loss assessment coverage?

The short answer: It pays your share when the association levies a special assessment after a covered loss. Florida requires HO-6 policies to include at least $2,000 of it — which is rarely close to enough.

Here's the mechanism, because it catches people cold.

When a hurricane damages the building, the association's master policy has a deductible before it pays anything. On Florida condo buildings, that deductible is frequently large — $100,000 or more is common. The association has to cover it, and if reserves don't stretch, the cost goes to owners as a special assessment.

Raising it is usually simple and inexpensive. Loss assessment limits of $25,000 or $50,000 are commonly available as an endorsement, often for a modest premium, and in most cases can be added to an existing policy without a new application or inspection.

Two limits worth knowing. Loss assessment generally applies only to assessments arising from a covered loss — not routine maintenance, not capital improvements, not flood damage. And carriers often cap what they'll pay toward the association's deductible specifically, so ask how your policy treats that.

Why are Florida condo assessments spiking?

The short answer: Post-Surfside law. Buildings three stories and up must complete milestone structural inspections, and associations can no longer waive reserve funding for critical components.

After the Champlain Towers South collapse in 2021, Florida tightened the rules considerably. Two changes are driving the assessments landing in mailboxes right now:

The result is a wave of assessments driven by structural work rather than storms — and those generally are not covered by loss assessment coverage, which responds to covered losses rather than deferred maintenance.

One procedural detail worth passing to your board: for hurricane-related assessments, the association should specifically identify hurricane damage as the reason in the notice and recorded minutes. Owners generally need that documentation to file under their own policies.

For owners in Miami-Dade specifically, the county has operated a Condominium Special Assessment Program offering loans to qualifying owners below a set income threshold. If an assessment is creating genuine hardship, it's worth checking current availability with the county.

What doesn't condo insurance cover?

The short answer: Flood, most maintenance-driven assessments, and often mold beyond a limited amount. Flood is the one that surprises coastal owners.

Flood deserves emphasis for anyone on a lower floor or near water. See our Florida flood insurance guide for how coverage and zones work.

How much does condo insurance cost in Florida?

The short answer: Published estimates commonly land around $1,200 to $2,000 a year, higher on the coast and in older buildings. Your building's characteristics matter as much as your unit's.

What moves the number: your location and distance to water, the building's age and construction, which floor you're on, your dwelling and loss assessment limits, your deductible, and the master policy type — bare walls means you're insuring more.

One lever many condo owners don't know applies to them:

Also worth knowing: if your building has failed a milestone inspection or has known structural issues, private carriers may decline it. That's where an independent agency matters — specialty markets and Citizens exist for exactly these situations, and one decline is not the market's answer.

How much coverage should I carry?

The short answer: Size your dwelling limit to your master policy type, and your loss assessment limit to your building's master deductible divided by the number of units.

That second calculation is the one almost nobody does, and it takes two minutes:

Our bilingual team does this calculation with South Florida condo owners regularly, in English or Spanish — bring the master policy declarations and it takes one sitting.

The bottom line on Florida condo insurance

An HO-6 covers your unit from the drywall in, your belongings, your liability, and your share of association assessments. How much of that first category falls to you depends on whether your association carries an all-in or bare-walls master policy — and more Florida associations are moving toward bare walls.

The coverage that decides whether a bad year is survivable is loss assessment. Florida requires only $2,000 on an HO-6. Master policy hurricane deductibles of $100,000 or more are common, and a large building's per-unit share of that deductible alone can dwarf the statutory minimum. Raising the limit is usually inexpensive and often just a phone call.

Between post-Surfside inspection requirements, mandatory reserve funding, and a hard property market, Florida condo owners are more exposed to assessments than at any point in recent memory. Knowing your master deductible is the single most useful thing you can do about it.

Core 4 has served more than 14,000 Florida clients since 2014 and compares 120+ carriers on every quote — including specialty markets for buildings the standard carriers won't touch. Bring your master policy declarations and call (954) 420-1501, or come by 3488 Red Road in Miramar. Walk-ins welcome, English or Spanish.

Last reviewed by the Core 4 Insurance Team on July 24, 2026. Florida condo law, inspection deadlines and carrier appetite change frequently — we re-verify this guide quarterly. For the broader picture, see our flagship Florida Homeowner’s Insurance Guide.