HO-6 Condo Insurance in Miami: Where the Master Policy Stops

Last updated: August 2026

An HO-6 policy is the unit owner's half of a Miami condominium's insurance structure. The association's master policy insures the building substantially as it was originally built, and the HO-6 covers what the master policy is required by statute to leave out. Florida Statutes section 718.111(11) draws that line for every residential condominium in the state, regardless of the date of its declaration. Under paragraph (11)(f), a policy issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2009, to protect the condominium must provide primary coverage for all portions of the condominium property as originally installed, or replacement of like kind and quality, in accordance with the original plans and specifications. That same paragraph requires the coverage to exclude personal property within the unit and floor, wall, and ceiling coverings, electrical fixtures, appliances, water heaters, water filters, built-in cabinets and countertops, and window treatments. Those items, the statute says, are the responsibility of the unit owner.

I am a real estate agent, not a licensed insurance agent. What follows explains how the statute and the documents fit together. Where the line falls in your building depends on its declaration and the policies in force, so coverage questions belong with a licensed Florida insurance agent.

What does HO-6 condo insurance cover?

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation describes the HO-6 as covering building property, personal property, personal liability, and loss of use, usually on a named peril basis with an open peril extension at higher premium. Loss assessment is the fifth part.

Building property. The interior items the statute assigns to the owner, plus improvements you or a prior owner installed. Carriers rate this off the cost to rebuild those finishes, not the purchase price.
Personal property. Contents, subject to sublimits for jewelry, art, and similar categories.
Personal liability and medical payments. Injury and property damage exposure from the unit.
Loss of use. Additional living expense while a covered loss makes the unit uninhabitable.
Loss assessment. A limited response to certain association assessments, below.

Standard forms do not cover flood, which is bought separately and required by lenders in a flood zone.

Do I need HO-6 insurance if my condo association already has a policy?

The two are not substitutes. Paragraph (11)(f) makes the excluded interior property, and any insurance on it, the owner's responsibility, and paragraph (11)(g) adds that a unit owner policy must conform to section 627.714.

Financing pushes the same way. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide section B7-3-03, as updated August 5, 2026, caps the deductible for all required property insurance perils at 5 percent of the master coverage amount and caps the per unit deductible at $50,000 per unit. Section B7-3-04 then requires a unit owners policy wherever any portion of the interior or improvements is not covered by the master policy, or the master policy carries a per unit deductible, at the greater of an amount sufficient to restore the interior to its condition prior to a loss event or that per unit deductible, on a replacement cost basis.

So a large per unit deductible pulls the required HO-6 amount up with it. An undersized HO-6 is no longer only a gap discovered after a storm; it can surface as a loan condition at purchase, which puts the master deductible on a buyer's diligence list. Confirm the figure your lender will require, and take the coverage question to a licensed insurance agent.

What is "walls-in" coverage, and where does the association's policy stop?

The Office of Insurance Regulation calls condominium coverage walls-in: the interior, while the master policy covers the exterior structure and common areas. The precise boundary comes from your declaration read against subsection (11).

All-in, bare walls, and original specifications

A bare walls master policy stops at the unfinished interior surfaces. An all-in policy reaches in and picks up fixtures and finishes. An original specifications policy, or single entity, covers the unit as the developer built it but not later upgrades.

The statute largely settles which applies. Paragraph (11)(f) requires the master policy to cover the property as originally installed per the original plans and specifications, then to exclude the interior list. Florida master policies therefore sit close to the original specifications model, and a declaration promising all-in coverage does not move your flooring back onto it.

Two provisions sit nearby. Replacement cost may be based on an independent insurance appraisal or an update of one, and must be determined at least once every three years [1]. And under paragraph (11)(n), the association need not pay reconstruction costs for improvements benefiting only one unit that were not standard on all units, so a renovated unit sits differently than an untouched one.

Does my HO-6 policy cover a special assessment after a hurricane?

That depends on the policy language and the cause of loss, and it is a question for the licensed agent who writes the policy. What follows is what the coverage is built to do.

Section 627.714(1) requires a unit owner's residential property policy to include at least $2,000 in property loss assessment coverage for all assessments made as a result of the same direct loss to the property owned by all members of the association collectively, subject to a deductible of no more than $250 [2]. Citizens Property Insurance includes up to $2,000 in its HO-6 policies and offers an increased limit as an option.

Three mechanics shape the outcome. The limit that responds is the one in effect one day before the occurrence, so a limit raised after a storm is named does not reach back. However many assessments the association levies, the insurer need not pay more than that limit for one direct loss. And the coverage is built for assessments arising from a loss of a type the owner's policy covers.

That last point matters. An assessment funding concrete restoration, a reserve shortfall, or deferred maintenance is not a direct property loss. And $2,000 is a statutory floor, not a limit calibrated to any building; it sits an order of magnitude below a per unit deductible near the Fannie Mae cap. Ask a licensed insurance agent what limits your carrier offers and whether your form sublimits the portion responding to the association's deductible.

How the master policy deductible reaches your unit

Paragraph (11)(j) is the mechanism: all property insurance deductibles, and damages in excess of coverage under the association's policies, are a common expense of the condominium, funded by assessments against the units and collectible under section 718.116. The exception runs the other way, for damage caused by an owner's own conduct.

Under section 627.4025(1) an association policy is commercial lines residential coverage, and section 627.701(5)(b) requires the insurer to offer both a hurricane deductible applied annually and one applied to each hurricane. Which the board bought determines whether a second named storm in the same season resets it. Paragraphs (11)(k) through (11)(m) also let an association opt out of the (11)(j) allocation by majority vote, with notice recorded.

How much does HO-6 insurance cost in Miami?

There is no reliable single figure. The Office of Insurance Regulation's CHOICES rate comparison tool states its rates are illustrative only and directs consumers to an agent or company for a quote based on their circumstances. What drives it: the building property limit, which follows the interior finishes and any lender minimum; the personal property, liability, and loss assessment limits; named peril versus open peril; and the building's construction, age, and wind mitigation features. Two units at the same price in Brickell and in older Miami Beach stock can quote very differently, so get quotes on the specific unit from a licensed Florida insurance agent, using the master declarations page as the input.

What to request before you close

The resale package a seller owes you under section 718.503(2)(a) includes the declaration, articles, bylaws and rules, the annual financial statement and budget, the milestone inspection summary and structural integrity reserve study if applicable, and the frequently asked questions document. The master declarations page is not on that list, so request it separately and in writing as a contract deliverable; association insurance policies are official records under section 718.111(12)(a)8. A resale contract must either acknowledge you received those documents more than seven days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, before execution, or let you cancel within that window after execution and receipt [3].

The master declarations page: limits, the all other perils deductible, the hurricane deductible and whether it applies annually or per hurricane, and any per unit deductible, which floors the HO-6 amount your lender requires.
The recorded declaration and amendments, plus any recorded opt-out notice under paragraph (11)(m).
Milestone inspection status. A building three habitable stories or more must have a milestone inspection by December 31 of the year it reaches 30 years of age, and every 10 years after, with local enforcement agencies permitted to require it at 25 years near salt water [4].
Quotes on the unit from a licensed insurance agent, before your inspection period expires.

To have those documents pulled and organized during a purchase, start with a buyer consultation. Take coverage questions to a licensed Florida insurance agent, and the legal effect of the declaration to your own attorney.

Frequently asked questions

Does the association's master policy cover my flooring and cabinets?

Paragraph (11)(f) requires the association's policy to exclude the interior list quoted above, including floor coverings and built-in cabinets and countertops within the unit boundaries and serving only that unit, and makes that property the owner's responsibility. How your own policy treats those items is a question for your insurance agent.

Will an HO-6 respond to a concrete restoration or reserve assessment?

Loss assessment coverage is designed for assessments arising from a direct property loss of a type the policy covers, and structural repairs, reserve shortfalls, and deferred maintenance are not direct property losses. Whether a given assessment falls inside a policy depends on the form and the cause of loss, so review it with a licensed agent.

Do I need an HO-6 policy if I am paying cash for a Miami condo?

No lender will require one, so no lender minimum applies. The statute still assigns the interior finishes, contents, liability, and assessment exposure to the owner, who then carries it directly. How to insure that is a conversation with a licensed insurance agent.

Gabriel

Sources

---

Gabriel A. Moyers, PA. eXp Realty. Florida License #3407280. Equal Housing Opportunity. This article is general information as of August 2026 and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Verify current figures against authoritative sources before acting.