What kind of insurance is needed for
a condominium or a co-op?
When you purchase a condo or co-op, your bank will insist you have insurance to safeguard its investment in your home. You might also need additional insurance to cover your personal property, liability or fees charged for common areas of the building like the lobby.
You will need 2 Independent Texas insurance policies to protect your condo:
Condo Insurance in Houston, Texas
This will offer coverage for your personal property, improvements you made and additional living expenses if you are the victim of a disaster listed in your policy. Liability coverage is also included.
A master Texas condo insurance policy purchased by the condo association
This protects the general areas you share with others in your building. The elevator, the roof, the basement and so on, for both liability and physical damage.
To effectively insure your condominium, it is critical to know what structural components of your condo are covered by the condo/co-op association and what are not. You can find this out by reading your assoc. by laws or lease. If questions arise, talk to your condo association, contact Insurance Over Texas.
In some instances the condo association is held liable for insuring each individual condo or co-op units, as they were initially built. The unit owner is now only responsible for modifications to the original structure of the condo, like modifying the living room or remodeling the kitchen. Sometimes this includes improvements made by the current owner, as well as those made by previous owners.
In other situations, the association is only accountable for insuring the bare walls, floor and ceiling. The condo owner is responsible for insuring the cabinets, built-in appliances, wiring etc.
Additional coverages you should know about:
Loss assessment
This compensated you for your portion of an assessment charged to every unit owners as a result of a covered loss. For example, if there is a fire, all the unit owners are responsible for the cost of restoring the loss.
Water back-up of sewers or drains
Coverage that protects your property from damage caused by the back-up of sewers or drains. Review your policy to see that water back-up is included
Houston Umbrella Insurance
This is a low cost way to obtain more liability protection and greater coverage added to a standard condo/co-op policy.
Houston flood insurance
If you live in an area prone to floods, you will want to purchase a separate flood policy. Houston flood insurance is looked over by FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program FEMA flood insurance information , and can be purchased through your insurance agent.
Jewelry, furs or collectibles
Do you have expensive jewelry, furs or collectibles? If so you might consider getting extra coverage since there is normally a $1,000 to $2,000 limit for theft of jewelry on most insurance policies. Also do not forget to inquire about additional discounts. You can lower your rates by increasing your deductibles and by installing a smoke and fire alarm that connects to an outside service. If you insure your cars with the same company that underwrites your condo insurance policy, you may get another reduction in premiums.
