by Ayodele Abbis

Created on: September 13, 2009   Last Updated: September 16, 2009

Typically, the insurance requirements for a condominium is different from that of a house. House insurance comes as a whole package including loss of personal items and damage to property, but condominium insurance comes in separate packages: the insurance that covers the structure, which is usually the provided for by the condo association the owner belongs to, and the insurance that covers any fixtures, attachments, and personal items(if required). The latter is the responsibility of the owner to find. There is an exception to this classification nonetheless, insurance for personal property such as fixtures and attachments could also be provided for by the condo association insurance depending on how the owner took out the insurance. As a basic rule, condo associations provide insurance for the condominium structure. This typically covers items such as roofing, awnings, fences, and other parts of the condo structure. More recently due to rise in prices, many associations tend to provide explicit documents that outline specifically what the insurance covers.

There are several components of a condominium insurance, largely dependent on state laws, geographical location, and individual coverage needs. In general, a condominium insurance should contain personal property protection, family liability protection, Loss-of- use coverage. Personal property protection, as the name implies, covers personal property against any eventuality. The cost of replacement, or the actual cash could be claimed in case of any damages to personal property. The tremendous benefit of this insurance is the fact that it offers actual cash for goods based on their current value and not the original purchase price. Real property insurance may be obtained as part of the insurance cover if there is any need to cover valuables such as jewelry, medals and any other such item. Most insurance companies however place a limit on how much can be claimed relating to valuables, it might be worthwhile to find out this limit before adding this option to the condominium insurance

Family liability protection is part of the condominium insurance that provides a cover for any third party incidents or accidents leading to injury on the property. This cover usually provides for the treatment of persons involved including payment of any medical bills accrued as a result. There is a gain to having this in a condominium insurance as it is a way of saving precious dollars on medical bills. This coverage also has its own restrictions and exclusions and it is advisable to do a thorough check, asking as many questions as possible in the process of insurance selection to determine the best suitable option.

Another important element of a condominium insurance policy is the loss- of-use coverage. This basically is a lifestyle insurance. In case of any eventuality this coverage covers the condo owner for any additional expenses incurred while living temporarily away from the condo in event of its damage and during repair.

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