What does HO-6 condo insurance need to cover on a Tampa Bay condo?
Quick answer
Florida law stops the association’s master policy at the unfinished drywall. Your HO-6 covers everything inside it: flooring, cabinets, countertops, fixtures, appliances, your belongings, liability, loss of use, and at least $2,000 of loss assessment coverage. Flood is a separate policy. Size the walls-in limit to what it would cost to rebuild your interior, not to the averages.
The question usually arrives in the middle of the condo document review period. A buyer has the declaration, the budget, and the association’s insurance summary in hand, and the lender has just asked for proof of an HO-6 policy. The buyer’s first reaction is almost always the same: “Doesn’t the building’s insurance cover this?”
Partly. In Florida the split between the association’s policy and yours isn’t a matter of custom or of what a listing agent calls “bare walls” versus “all-in.” It’s written into the condominium statute, and once you know where that line sits, sizing your own policy gets much easier.
This is one of the questions I hear most from buyers at $750,000 and up in Downtown Tampa, on Bayshore, and in Downtown St. Petersburg, and the online threads show the same anxiety. On the Tampa Bay forum at City-Data, one buyer asked whether it’s “possible to get an insurance quote on a condo unit for BEFORE you buy,” while another wrote that “the insurance thing is demolishing that hope” of owning here. A third was alarmed by a friend’s “$8k insurance premium for a 1200 sq foot condo.” Here’s how I walk clients through it.
Where the master policy stops and your HO-6 starts
Section 718.111(11)(f) of the Florida Statutes requires the association’s property policy to cover all portions of the condominium property “as originally installed,” with one set of exclusions. The master policy must exclude everything inside your unit that serves only your unit:
- floor, wall, and ceiling coverings
- electrical fixtures
- appliances
- water heaters and water filters
- built-in cabinets and countertops
- window treatments, including the hardware
- all personal property inside the unit or its limited common elements
Subsection (g) then makes you responsible for rebuilding those items after a loss, and if the association rebuilds them for you, it can charge you for it as an assessment.
So in practice, the building’s policy reaches the unfinished drywall and the systems inside the walls as they were when the building was built. Your HO-6 starts at the paint. That’s why the “bare walls or all-in” question that confuses so many buyers matters less in Florida than in other states: the statute already sets the line.
Two things buyers at this price point tend to miss:
Renovations are yours. If a prior owner replaced builder-grade tile with stone, reconfigured the kitchen, or added built-ins, none of that is “as originally installed.” It sits on your side of the line and needs to be in your walls-in limit.
Master policies are getting thinner, not thicker. Insurance agencies working this market report that more Florida associations are moving toward narrower master coverage and higher deductibles as premiums rise. The master policy summary in your condo documents tells you what the building bought this year, not what it will buy next year, and that’s one reason I link the insurance review to the review of the association’s financials rather than treating them separately.
The five coverages, and how to size each for a $750,000-plus unit
An HO-6 bundles five coverages. The averages you’ll see online assume a modest unit, so treat them as a floor.
1. Dwelling, or “walls-in.” This is the big one. It pays to rebuild your interior finishes after a covered loss such as fire or a pipe burst. Size it the way an adjuster would: what would it cost to take this unit from bare drywall back to the way it looks today? For a renovated 2,000-square-foot unit with stone counters, custom cabinetry, and hardwood or large-format tile, that number is far larger than the $40,000 to $100,000 defaults most online quote tools start with. A contractor’s per-square-foot estimate for your finish level is the honest way to set it.
Lenders care about this number too. Fannie Mae requires an individual policy whenever the master policy doesn’t cover the unit’s interior, and the lender has to verify the coverage is enough to “restore the unit to its condition prior to a loss event.” Some lenders still apply an older rule of thumb of 20% of the unit’s appraised value; confirm the figure with your loan officer early, because a jumbo underwriter will ask for the declarations page before closing.
2. Personal property. Furniture, electronics, clothing, and art. Fine art, jewelry, and watches usually need a scheduled endorsement; a standard policy caps them.
3. Liability. Covers you if a leak that starts in your unit damages the unit below, or if a guest is hurt in your home. On a luxury unit, pair the HO-6 liability limit with an umbrella policy.
4. Loss of use. Pays for temporary housing if the unit is uninhabitable after a covered loss. After a hurricane, hotel and rental costs in Tampa Bay spike for months, so don’t accept the default limit without looking at it.
5. Loss assessment. The most misunderstood coverage on the policy, and the one that deserves its own section.
On cost: Insurance.com’s July 2026 data puts the average Tampa HO-6 premium at $737 a year with $40,000 of contents and $100,000 of liability, against a Florida average of $772, and NerdWallet data cited by Hippo shows about $995 a year for Tampa. Waterfront and older buildings run higher. Those figures are useful for one thing: proving how little coverage they represent. A unit insured for several hundred thousand dollars of finishes, with scheduled valuables and a higher liability limit, will quote well above them, and the only way to know your number is a quote on the actual unit, which an agent can run before you close.
Also look at the hurricane deductible on your own policy. Florida condo policies carry one, usually expressed as a percentage of the dwelling limit, and a low premium often hides a high deductible.
Loss assessment: the coverage buyers misunderstand most
Florida requires every residential condo unit owner’s policy issued or renewed since July 1, 2010, to include at least $2,000 of loss assessment coverage, with a deductible of no more than $250 (s. 627.714). Most buyers see that line on a quote and assume it protects them from special assessments. It protects them from one narrow kind.
Loss assessment pays your share of an assessment the association levies because of a covered direct loss to common property: a fire in the garage, hurricane damage to the roof. It does not pay assessments for reserves, routine maintenance, improvements, or deferred maintenance. That means the assessments Tampa Bay buyers are most worried about right now, the ones funding milestone inspection repairs and structural integrity reserves, are not insurable losses. No HO-6 limit will touch them. The protection there is due diligence on the building, not a policy.
Where loss assessment does matter is the master policy’s hurricane deductible. Association wind policies in Florida commonly carry a deductible of 2% to 5% of the building’s insured value, and boards pass that deductible to owners as an assessment after a storm. On a hypothetical 100-unit building insured for $40 million with a 5% deductible, that’s $2 million, or an average of $20,000 per unit before the first dollar of insurance pays. That is a real, insurable loss, and it’s the scenario the $2,000 minimum was never designed to cover.
Two cautions before you raise the limit and move on. Whether the coverage responds to a deductible assessment depends on the policy form: newer forms generally pay it, while some older forms cap deductible-driven assessments at $1,000. Ask the agent in writing. And the limit that applies is the one in force the day before the storm, so this isn’t something to fix after a hurricane is named in the Gulf.
Flood, water, and the checklist before your review period ends
Flood is separate. An HO-6 excludes rising water. The association typically carries a Residential Condominium Building Association Policy through the NFIP for the structure, and you buy a unit owner’s flood policy for your contents and, depending on the building’s policy, your interior. On a ground-floor or garage-level unit anywhere near the bay, I treat it as mandatory regardless of what the FEMA flood zone says. One City-Data poster put it in capitals: “ALWAYS ALWAYS GET FLOOD INSURANCE FOR THE GROUND FLOOR EVEN NOT IN A FEMA FLOOD ZONE.” Upper floors have less exposure to the unit itself, but the elevator, lobby, and electrical rooms are still common property, and that brings loss assessment back into the picture.
Water damage sublimits. Several Florida carriers add a limited water damage endorsement on older buildings that caps non-weather water losses, often around $10,000. On a renovated unit in a 1980s tower, a cap like that can leave you self-insuring most of a pipe-burst claim. Ask whether the quote carries one.
Before the condo document review period runs out on a resale (seven days under s. 718.503, excluding weekends and legal holidays; 15 days on a developer sale), get these answers:
- The master policy summary: carrier, coverage amount, wind and flood deductibles, and the renewal date.
- Whether the association has had a non-renewal or a carrier change in the last two years, and why.
- A written HO-6 quote on the actual unit, with the walls-in limit set by replacement cost of the finishes, not by a default.
- A loss assessment limit sized to your share of the master hurricane deductible, with the agent’s written confirmation that the form pays deductible assessments.
- A flood quote for the unit, and an answer on whether the building’s flood policy covers interior finishes.
Your lender will need the HO-6 bound at closing. Starting the quote in the review period means you aren’t negotiating coverage with a closing date three days away.
If you’re selling, this list is your preparation too. Have the current master policy summary and your own declarations page ready for the buyer’s agent, and know where the building stands on deductibles and renewals before you list. A building with a recent master non-renewal or a 5% wind deductible narrows your buyer pool in the same way an unresolved special assessment does, and the sellers who get ahead of it keep more of their leverage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is HO-6 insurance required in Florida?
Florida law doesn’t require a condo unit owner to carry insurance. Your lender will require an HO-6 as a loan condition, and many association documents require one as well. If you pay cash, the policy is still the only coverage for your interior finishes and belongings, because the statute bars the master policy from covering them.
How much does HO-6 condo insurance cost in Tampa?
Published averages for Tampa range from about $737 to $995 a year, but they assume $40,000 or so of contents and modest liability. A luxury unit with a walls-in limit in the hundreds of thousands, scheduled valuables, and higher liability will quote well above that, and waterfront and older buildings run higher still. Get a quote on the actual unit during your review period.
Does loss assessment coverage pay for a SIRS or milestone special assessment?
No. Loss assessment coverage responds only to assessments caused by a covered direct loss to common property, such as hurricane or fire damage. Assessments for reserves, inspection-driven repairs, deferred maintenance, or improvements are not insurable losses, so the $2,000 statutory minimum, or any higher limit, won’t pay them.
Do I need flood insurance on an upper-floor condo in Tampa Bay?
Your unit has little direct exposure above the ground floor, but the building’s lobby, elevators, garage, and electrical systems do, and a flood loss there can come back to you as an assessment. Check whether the association carries an NFIP building policy and what its deductible is, and consider a contents policy if you have significant personal property. Ground-floor and garage-level units should carry flood coverage regardless of zone.
Who pays when the unit above mine leaks into my condo?
Your own HO-6 is usually the first policy to respond for your interior finishes and belongings, subject to your deductible, and your carrier may then pursue the upstairs owner or the association depending on where the failure occurred. Damage to the building’s original drywall and the pipes inside the walls generally falls to the master policy. Who ultimately pays depends on the source of the leak and the association’s documents, which is why a water damage sublimit on your policy matters.
The master policy protects the building. Your HO-6 protects everything you can see from inside your front door, and the loss assessment limit is what stands between you and the building’s hurricane deductible. If you’re evaluating a purchase in Tampa Bay and want a second set of eyes on a building’s insurance summary, a flood zone, or a contract term, reach out at 813-205-5430 or shane.vanderson@engelvoelkers.com.
This article is general information for Tampa Bay buyers and sellers, not insurance or legal advice. Policy terms, carrier underwriting rules, and court rulings change; confirm coverage questions with a licensed Florida insurance agent and contract questions with a Florida real estate attorney.
About Shane Vanderson
Shane Vanderson is a Broker Associate and License Partner with Engel & Völkers South Tampa, licensed in Florida since 2012 and specializing in luxury and waterfront residential real estate, condos, and new construction across Tampa Bay. He advises buyers and sellers across South Tampa, Downtown Tampa, St. Petersburg, and the beaches, and is part of the Engel & Völkers Professional Athlete Advisory program. Reach him at 813-205-5430 or shane.vanderson@engelvoelkers.com.
