Florida condo insurance comes in two layers. The association carries a master policy on the building and common elements. You carry an HO-6 unit owner policy for the interior, your belongings, liability and loss assessment coverage. Your lender requires evidence of both.
Where the master policy stops and yours begins
The association’s governing documents decide the dividing line, and it is not the same in every building.
- All-in or all-inclusive: the master policy covers original fixtures, cabinetry and flooring, so your HO-6 covers upgrades and contents
- Bare walls-in: the master policy stops at the unfinished surfaces, so everything inward is yours to insure
Ask which applies before you buy the HO-6, because the difference changes the coverage amount you need by tens of thousands of dollars.
Loss assessment is the coverage Florida owners actually claim
When a covered loss exceeds the master policy, or the association carries a large deductible, owners are billed their share through a special assessment. Loss assessment coverage inside your HO-6 responds to that bill.
Because Florida associations now face milestone inspections and structural integrity reserve studies, special assessments have become more common, and the default loss assessment limit on a standard policy is often far too low. It is usually inexpensive to raise.
Wind, flood and the master policy
Windstorm may be excluded from the master policy and written separately, particularly near the coast. Flood is never covered by either policy and requires a separate NFIP or private flood policy.
A lender will require flood insurance whenever the building sits in a Special Flood Hazard Area. See Florida flood insurance for when that applies and wind mitigation for the credits that reduce the windstorm premium.
Why it affects your loan amount
Both the HO-6 premium and your share of the master policy, collected through the association dues, sit inside PITIA. Association dues and insurance therefore reduce the loan a given income supports, before the lender looks at the unit at all.
Read DTI ratio explained for the arithmetic.
Definition reviewed by Renzo Johnson, Licensed Mortgage Loan Originator. Last updated August 2026.