Home Insurance Agency for Condo Owners: Master Policy Basics

Condo ownership sits in a middle ground. You do not maintain a yard or the roof, yet you are not a pure renter either. Your association holds an insurance policy for the building, while you carry a unit policy that protects what the master policy does not. When a pipe bursts, a storm peels shingles, or a visitor trips in the lobby, the line between those two policies decides who pays and how fast the claim resolves. Too many owners learn where the line is only after a loss. It does not have to play out that way.

I have spent years sitting with condo boards, reading declarations that spanned 200 pages, and picking through the rubble of water and fire claims. The pattern repeats. Owners underestimate the master policy’s deductible, overlook improvements that were never declared, and struggle to get answers from a property manager who rotates every spring. A good home insurance agency can close the gaps, but only if you understand the master policy and the unit policy as a combined system.

Every condo building should carry a master policy purchased by the homeowners association. That policy insures the exterior structure and common elements, and it provides liability protection for the association. It is often a commercial package policy, not a personal home policy, and it comes with commercial norms like higher deductibles and stricter water-damage exclusions.

As a unit owner, you carry an HO‑6 policy. Think of HO‑6 as your walls-in protection. It insures three broad buckets. First, the physical things inside your boundary that the master policy does not, such as drywall, built-ins, flooring, cabinets, and appliances, depending on your governing documents. Second, your personal property, from sofas to laptops. Third, your personal liability and loss-of-use benefits if the unit becomes unlivable while repairs drag on.

The critical part is the seam between the two policies. That seam shifts based on how your building’s master policy is written and what your condominium declarations say. If you never line them up together, you will not know whether your floors, that custom shower, or the balcony door are insured under the master policy or under your HO‑6.

The industry uses three broad labels for how master policies treat interior finishes. The labels are not perfect, and some declarations mix features, but they provide a usable map.

Bare walls policies insure the structure up to the unfinished interior surface. Imagine studs, subfloor, rough-in plumbing and wiring, and the outer side of your entry door. Drywall mud, paint, finished flooring, cabinets, counters, interior doors, and trim fall to the unit owner. Bare walls is common in smaller associations that want to push responsibility inward and lower shared costs, but it requires owners to carry more building coverage under their HO‑6.

Single entity policies cover original fixtures as installed by the builder, but they do not cover upgrades made later. If your unit came with builder-grade carpet and you later installed hardwood, you may be responsible for the cost difference. After a water loss, the master policy returns the space to the original spec. Your HO‑6 can then step in for the upgrade portion, known as betterments and improvements.

All-in or all-inclusive policies attempt to cover interior finishes, including upgrades, as part of the master policy. These are less common today because they can inflate association premiums and invite disputes over what counts as an upgrade. When all-in wording exists, you still need an HO‑6 because you have personal property and liability to protect, and endorsements like loss assessment matter more than ever.

Even with these labels, deeded common elements and limited common elements muddy lines. Balconies, patios, parking spaces, and storage lockers can sit in gray zones. I have worked claims where a storage locker was treated as a common element in one building, then as a unit responsibility in the next block, even though the construction was identical. Only the recorded declarations, bylaws, and master policy settle the question.

An HO‑6 policy is not a stripped-down version of a homeowners policy. It is purpose-built for condo ownership. The important parts, and the nuances that matter during a claim, usually include:

Building property coverage for walls-in items you are responsible for. This limit needs to reflect finishes like flooring, tile, built-ins, and unit HVAC if that equipment sits within your boundary. For a 1,100 square foot unit with mid-grade finishes, I often recommend 40,000 to 80,000 in building coverage, more if you have stone counters and high-end tile.

Personal property, ideally at replacement cost, not actual cash value. Actual cash value depreciates your couch and television. Replacement cost pays to buy new. Inventory matters here. After a fire in Arvada, one client could name every bike and tool in his storage cage because he kept a simple spreadsheet. His claim moved in weeks. His neighbor had no list and spent months reconstructing purchases from emails and fading receipts.

Loss of use, sometimes called additional living expense, that pays for temporary housing, pet boarding, laundry, and meals. Repair timelines in condos run long because the association, city inspectors, and multiple carriers coordinate. Six to nine months is not unusual after a major water event in a mid-rise.

Personal liability and medical payments for guests. Your dog trips a neighbor on the stairs or your contractor causes damage to the unit below. Liability defends you and pays judgments, within limits.

Loss assessment coverage, which is the sleeper endorsement that saves condo owners. When the master policy has a large property or liability loss, and the association levies an assessment to cover deductibles or shortfalls, loss assessment can absorb your share. Without it, a 50,000 master deductible could hit 100 owners at 500 each, or 20 owners at 2,500 each, depending on the association’s allocation rules.

Two more endorsements earn their keep repeatedly. Water backup covers damage from backed-up sewers and drains. It is excluded under many base HO‑6 policies yet shows up every spring in older buildings. Ordinance or law coverage pays for code-required upgrades during repair, like adding a sprinkler head or upgrading electrical to current code. Even in a condo, if your walls-in work triggers code items, that money needs a place to come from.

Unlike homeowners policies with deductibles around 1,000 to 5,000, condo master policies often carry property deductibles of 10,000 to 50,000, and I now see 100,000 on large buildings with recent water losses. The association chooses these higher deductibles to keep premiums in check. The cost shifts to the owners either as part of a large shared assessment, or as a chargeback to the unit where the loss originated, allowed by many declarations.

This is where your HO‑6 interacts in two ways. First, if the loss is inside your unit and the association charges you for the master policy deductible, loss assessment coverage can help pay it. Some carriers cap loss assessment payouts for deductibles separately from other assessments, so read the sublimits. Second, if the master policy refuses a claim because the loss value is under the deductible, your HO‑6 may need to handle your interior repairs directly. I have seen situations where a 40,000 water loss to one stack of kitchens across three floors fell under a 50,000 master deductible. The association did not file the claim. Owners had to rely on their HO‑6 building coverage and coordinate work privately, while the association handled the common pipe repair.

Before you bind coverage, gather the paper trail. Too many quotes are built on guesswork. A smart home insurance agency will ask you for the association’s master policy declarations, the latest certificate of insurance, and your governing documents. Those three items answer most questions.

Here is a short document checklist to request from your HOA or property manager:

If you are searching for an insurance agency near me and you find someone who can quote a policy without looking at these, keep moving. They may be a fine auto insurance agency, but condos require a closer read. A specialized home insurance agency will map the documents to your HO‑6 coverages and spell out what falls where, in writing, so you have a claims roadmap.

A February thaw in Colorado turned roof snow into sheets of water that found a seam at a rooftop mechanical curb. Two units on the top floor took on water. The master policy adjusted the roof repair and common drywall down the shaft. One owner had an HO‑6 with 10,000 in building coverage, taken years ago when the unit held vinyl and carpet. He had since installed 18,000 in hardwood and tile. Insurance paid 10,000. He paid the rest. The second owner had 50,000 in building coverage and loss assessment at 50,000. When the association applied a 25,000 master deductible across the affected stack by square footage, his share landed at 7,200. His loss assessment endorsement picked it up. Both units ended whole. Only one owner wrote a painful check.

Another case in a small, four-unit building in Olde Town Arvada: a cast iron waste stack cracked behind a kitchen wall. The board carried a bare walls master policy with a 10,000 deductible, and the declarations pushed all walls-in responsibility to owners. The association repaired the pipe in the common cavity. The owner’s HO‑6 handled cabinets, counters, drywall, and paint. The neighbor below had ceiling damage. Her HO‑6 adjusted her drywall and paint, even though she had no fault in the loss. Work finished faster because the carriers did not waste time arguing over the master policy about small interior items. The agent on record had explained that division when the owners bought in, so no one was surprised at claim time.

Upgrades drive the largest surprises. Builders leave paper trails of original specs. You can sometimes find them in the developer’s marketing packets or the association’s records. If your unit has been remodeled, your HO‑6 building limit needs to reflect the current finish, not the past. I suggest owners tally big-ticket items. That includes flooring by square foot, tile and stone, cabinetry, appliances, built-ins such as bookshelves or closet systems, and any unit HVAC or water heater that sits within your boundary. Granite counters across a typical condo kitchen run 3,000 to 6,000. Quality hardwood in an 800 square foot living area might add 8,000 to 15,000. Custom shower work often reaches 5,000 to 10,000. Add those numbers to a baseline for drywall, paint, and trim, which in many markets runs 12 to 20 per square foot for mid-grade finishes, and you reach a reasonable building limit. Your agent should sanity check your estimate against local rebuild costs.

Claims do not flow as cleanly in condos as they do in single-family homes. There are more parties, and schedules knot up. The best outcome starts with the right first calls and a dose of patience. Here is a simple playbook I give clients.

Most fights stem from poor communication. If your association is slow to respond, your insurance agency can press the property manager for the master policy number, deductible, and current adjuster assignment. In a large loss affecting several stacks or multiple floors, the master carrier may bring in a general contractor. That contractor can scope walls-in work under the master policy in one pass. Your HO‑6 can mirror the same scope, then handle upgrades or code items, reducing conflicts and mismatched finishes.

Not every condo looks like a mid-rise. Townhouse-style condos with individual entries and small yards often confuse the coverage line. Some associations insure the roofs and siding, others push that to owners. Detached garages or carports, storage units in the parking level, and limited common areas like patios and decks vary widely. Short-term rentals add another wrinkle. If you list the unit on a platform for weekend stays, confirm that your HO‑6 allows it and that the master policy does not prohibit or limit coverage. Some carriers will write an endorsement for short-term rental exposure, while others want a landlord policy structure.

Another frequent gray area is plumbing. Horizontal branch lines that serve only your unit likely fall to you. Vertical stacks that serve multiple units usually sit with the association. But drywall repair around those lines can go either way. Read your declarations. I have seen bylaws that push drywall adjacent to common pipes to the association. I have also seen the opposite. If the language is ambiguous, it tends to be resolved by past practice in that building or a board resolution. Your agency should keep notes on these building norms so each new claim does not start from zero.

Condo coverage is not a commodity. The same carrier can be a perfect fit for one building and a headache for the one across the street. An experienced home insurance agency will do three things that save owners time and money.

First, they will gather documents and explain, in plain English, where the master policy ends and your HO‑6 begins. You should walk away with a short summary, not buzzwords. Second, they will set your building and loss assessment limits with the master deductible and governing documents in mind. If your association carries a 50,000 deductible, buying 10,000 of loss assessment is not a plan. Third, they will steer you to endorsements that fit your building’s losses. If the maintenance letters show repeated drain backups in stack three, water backup coverage should not be an afterthought.

Local knowledge matters. An insurance agency Arvada team that has seen hail patterns, snowmelt leaks on specific roofs, and city permit quirks can price and advise more accurately than a generalist three states away. That said, national carriers can also do an excellent job if the agency reading the documents is sharp. I have placed HO‑6 policies with regional mutuals that were outstanding on water claims, and I have written with larger names like State Farm when the underwriting fit was right. If you are collecting quotes, asking a State Farm agent for a State Farm quote can be a smart data point. You still want the discussion anchored to your building’s documents rather than to price alone.

If you already bundle with an auto insurance agency, explore a home policy discount. Carriers reward multi-policy households, and the savings can be real. Just confirm that the bundled home product includes the condo-specific endorsements you need. Cheaper is not better if it omits the very coverage that saves you during an assessment.

Your mortgage lender will ask for proof that the building is insured and that your unit coverage meets their standards. They usually want to see the master policy certificate listing the HOA as the named insured and the condo association’s liability limit. For your HO‑6, lenders often require a minimum building coverage amount. This sometimes appears as a flat figure, such as 20 percent of the appraised value of the unit. That is crude. A better approach ties your limit to actual interior finishes. If your lender demands a specific number, work with your agent to justify it with a simple scope and local cost per square foot. Lenders also care about loss assessment coverage, especially for properties in associations with high deductibles.

If your appraisal lists features like engineered wood floors, quartz counters, and custom storage, use that list to calibrate your HO‑6. Appraisers do not calculate rebuild costs for insurance, but their feature list can jog your memory so you do not leave upgrades uninsured.

Even when the master policy handles common elements, your unit improvements can trigger code upgrades. For example, replacing a shower down to the studs may require anti-scald valves, GFCI-protected circuits, or specific waterproofing systems. If the city inspector redlines your original configuration, the difference comes under ordinance or law coverage. I have seen a bathroom scope jump 2,500 because of code-required electrical work. That money needed a coverage home. Without the endorsement, it would have been out of pocket.

Buildings over a certain age also run into asbestos and lead issues. Abatement can slow a project and increase costs. Master policies usually address abatement for common areas, but if your walls-in work hits suspect materials, your HO‑6 needs to respond. Abatement sublimits hide in policy fine print. Your agent should surface them before a claim does.

Standard master and HO‑6 policies typically exclude flood, defined as surface water rising from outside the building. If your building sits in a mapped flood zone, the association should carry a Residential Condominium Building Association Policy through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private market equivalent. Owners can add contents flood coverage. Earthquake coverage follows a similar pattern. The association may buy a master earthquake policy with a high deductible and assessment risk. Owners should discuss unit-level earthquake endorsements and loss assessment with their agency if they live near faults. Even in low-risk areas, consider how water flows around your building after cloudbursts. I have seen garden-level units flood during summer storms from overwhelmed drains that were never designed for such volume. A separate flood policy for contents in those units is worth pricing.

Condo risk changes over time. Deductibles creep up after losses. Boards change, and new managers bring new vendors. Owners remodel kitchens. A short annual check-in with your agency should verify five things. Is the master policy still in force with the same coverage type. Did the deductible change. Did you remodel or add built-ins. Are your personal property and loss of use limits still realistic for current prices and rents. Have water backup and ordinance or law sublimits kept pace with building age and loss patterns. A good agency will keep a short file for your building and Insurance agency near me update it as certificates arrive, so they can advise the entire stack of owners in a consistent way.

Nobody wants to parse declarations while water spreads across a floor. The time to do the reading is before there is a claim, with a cup of coffee rather than a wet-dry vacuum. Pick an agency that knows condos, gather the right documents, and insist on a written explanation of how the master policy and your HO‑6 fit together. If you prefer a local touch, search for an insurance agency near me and interview a couple. Ask them to point to the master deductible on the certificate and to explain what loss assessment limit they recommend and why. If you already like your current carrier or have a relationship with a State Farm office, sit down and request a State Farm quote that includes those same specifics. Then compare on coverage, not only on price.

There is no glamour in insurance documents, but there is relief in clean claims. I have watched neighbors in the same building navigate identical losses with totally different levels of stress because one had set limits that matched the master policy and the other had not. The drywall and paint ended up the same shade either way. The difference was who wrote the checks in the middle and how long they worried about it.

When the next roof leak, plumbing break, or hallway trip-and-fall happens, the master policy carries its share and your HO‑6 carries yours. With the right setup, both carriers do their jobs, and you get back to your life with fewer surprises. That is the goal every home insurance agency worth its license should help you reach.

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What types of insurance are offered at this location?

The agency offers auto insurance, homeowners insurance, renters insurance, life insurance, and business insurance services in Arvada, Colorado.

Where is the office located?

The office is located at 5460 Ward Rd Ste 205, Arvada, CO 80002, United States.

What are the business hours?

Monday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Tuesday: 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM

Wednesday: 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM

Thursday: 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM

Friday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Saturday: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Sunday: Closed

Can I request a personalized insurance quote?

Yes. You can call (303) 425-0750 to receive a customized insurance quote tailored to your coverage needs.

Does the office assist with policy reviews?

Yes. The agency provides policy reviews to help ensure your coverage remains aligned with your personal and financial goals.

How do I contact Greg Kostuk – State Farm Insurance Agent – Arvada?

Phone: (303) 425-0750

Website:

https://www.statefarm.com/agent/us/co/arvada/greg-kostuk-kwxb27036al

• Olde Town Arvada – Historic downtown district featuring shops, restaurants, and community events.


• Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities – Major performing arts and cultural venue.


• Apex Center – Community recreation facility with fitness and aquatic amenities.


• Ralston Creek Trail – Popular biking and walking trail in Arvada.


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