7 Best Cheap Condo Insurance Companies of 2023

Owning a condominium is a significant investment, securing it should be a top priority. While homeowner associations provide coverage for external and communal area damage, they fall short of insuring an owner's interiors or personal belongings. This is where condo insurance, or HO-6, comes in. It shields your unit's interiors and contents from damage or loss caused by covered perils. Additionally, it covers liability such as visitor injuries and lawsuits that may arise.

In case of unforeseen disasters, condo insurance offers necessary financial protection and peace of mind. To select the best provider for your specific needs, PropertyNest's review of top-rated condo insurance providers nationwide can be a valuable resource.

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The Best Condo Insurance Companies

• Lemonade - Best for the Fastest Claims
• Allstate - Best for the Most Discounts
• State Farm - Best for the Most Coverages
• Farmers - Best for Most Customizable Coverage
• Amica Mutual - Best for Customer Service
• Progressive - Best for Single Deductible
• Nationwide - Best for Filing a Claim

Lemonade: Best Condo Insurance for the Fastest Claims

Lemonade has only been in business for a few years, but it already has an impressive online and mobile app presence where you can take care of all your insurance needs without ever having to talk to an agent.

Using the website or mobile app, you can easily file or make a claim, purchase a policy, and sign up for extra coverage.

But the best thing about Lemonade is that after you make a claim, in most situations, you can get compensated within three seconds.

According to Lemonade, this is a world record.

Read a full Lemonade home insurance review.

Allstate: Best Condo Insurance for the Most Discounts

Condo owners pay different rates due to the coverage and limits they select.

The coverage limits you add for your property protection can affect your rate.

While your premium will rise if you increase your coverage limits, Allstate offers a variety of discounts that can reduce your rate.

Read a full Allstate homeowners insurance review.

State Farm: Best Condo Insurance for the Most Coverages

State Farm offers a variety of coverages that help make your standard policy more comprehensive.

After you get a quote, you can speak to a local agent in your area to determine how much coverage you need.

Here are State Farm’s most popular coverages. Just note that each comes with a fee.

Travelers: Best Condo Insurance for Add-Ons

Travelers has decades of experience, building an excellent reputation through comprehensive policies with necessary add-ons.

Here are some of the add-ons, all of which come with additional fees.

Farmers: Best Condo Insurance for Most Customizable Coverage

Farmers offers customizable insurance coverage for condo owners.

This personalization is needed since coverage limits depend on your HOA’s master policy.

So, Farmers allows you to set your personal property coverage to the exact amount you need without any caps.

Also, you can increase your loss of use coverage using your building property coverage.

In addition, if it’s necessary, you can set your liability coverage limit up to $1 million.

Amica Mutual: Best Condo Insurance for Customer Service

If your condo was damaged by a fire, you need to know that your condominium insurance company will be there for you, providing stellar customer service and quick claims processing.

Amica offers the best customer service of any widely available condo insurer in the country.

According to a nationwide customer service analysis, Amica ranked first.

Amica Mutual goes out of its way to make its customer service accessible and efficient. And if you file a condo claim, customer service is reliable and will fulfill its financial obligations by processing your claim and efficiently offering reimbursement.

You can reach customer service by phone during normal business hours.

On the weekends, customer service is available in the early morning until the day’s end.

Progressive: Best Condo Insurance for Single Deductible

Progressive is one of the industry's most well-known and largest insurance companies.

The insurer offers many ways to save.

One that stands out is the single deductible.

Here’s how it works:

If you have condo and auto policies from separate insurance companies and you need to make a claim, you'll have to pay two deductibles.

But if you bundle condo and auto with Progressive and one incident/claim applies to both, you only have to pay one deductible.

For example, if a thief breaks your car window and steals your expensive laptop, your auto insurance will cover the damaged glass, while your condo insurance will cover your laptop.

So, if you bundle and have a $500 deductible for each policy, you only have to pay one of those deductibles. With separate policies, you'd pay $1,000 in deductibles.

Nationwide: Best Condo Insurance for Filing a Claim

Nationwide’s Nationwide Private Client offers industry-strong condo insurance that will take care of all your needs.

In particular, Nationwide’s white glove claims process is excellent.

If you need to file a claim, Nationwide Private Client will immediately assign you a highly-experienced professional who will work closely with you throughout the entire claims process.

The insurer’s agents are not only highly skilled and responsive but also caring and calm.

This makes a world of difference when you consider the stress level you may develop during the claims process. You want to speak to someone who can hold your hand and who cares what you are going through.

Such a personalized touch makes the insurer top-notch compared to other insurers of the same size.

Does My Condo Association Cover My Personal Belongings?

If you own a condominium, you’ll likely have a condo association.

The association has a master insurance policy that insures the exterior of its buildings that make up a condo complex and any damages in common areas such as lobbies, elevators, and hallways.

But the condo association’s master policy won’t cover any damage to your condo's interior or personal items.

That’s where condo insurance comes in. This insurance will protect everything inside your unit.

These, of course, include your belongings if they are stolen, destroyed in a fire, or damaged due to a covered loss. These can include natural disasters, like heavy winds and the weight of snow.

So, you’ll need to purchase a condo insurance policy if you want your items to be protected.

Condo insurance is designed to cover damage to your personal items, the condo interior and personal liability in case you are sued for damages. In some cases loss of use provides additional coverage for the condo association property or liability.

Condo owners should understand their condo association master policy contract to ensure the condo policy purchased does not leave a coverage gap.

What is an HO-6 Policy?

An HO-6 policy is an insurance term that refers to condo insurance.

HO-6 and condo insurance are often used interchangeably to refer to the same insurance product.

Condo insurance also covers co-ops and townhouses.

Is Condo Insurance Required?

If you have a mortgage, the lender will generally require you to have condo insurance to protect its investment.

But what if you purchased your condo in full and have no mortgage?

Many associations will require you to have condo insurance, which then makes condo insurance mandatory.

For those who own shares in a co-op, the co-op board may require you to have condo insurance as well.

What Does HO-6 Cover?

An HO-6 policy covers interior damage to your condo unit and improvements, additions, and alterations you’ve made to the interior of your place.

In addition, there are five essential HO-6 coverages that come standard in the basic condo insurance policy.

Building Property Coverage

If you have a standard homeowners insurance policy, this coverage is often called dwelling. In condo insurance, it’s called building property coverage.

The condo association is often responsible for the exterior of the condo and any common areas.

An HO-6 policy will never cover damage to exterior walls, so you’re off the hook.

For example, if a fire destroys an exterior wall and the fire comes into your unit and damages some of your belongings, your Homeowners Association (HOA) policy will pay to rebuild the wall while your condo insurance will replace your items.

In a word, building property covers permanent fixtures in your condo, which includes the floor, interior walls, cabinetry, sinks, and tiling.

Personal Liability

If a person sues you for bodily injury or property damages , personal liability can cover legal fees, court-related costs, and a settlement for damages.

Without personal liability, a condo owner may have to pay out of pocket for legal expenses. Since these expenses can be very high, this can be financially devastating for you.

The standard condo insurance typically comes with at least $100,000 in liability coverage.

However, policyholders can always purchase more coverage to be on the safe side. Check with the agent when you get a quote as higher limits are available and you can add an umbrella policy to help you if you need more liability coverage.

Guest Medical Payments

If someone is injured on your property and requires medical attention, this coverage can pay for medical bills, including, for example, doctor bills, emergency room fees, and rehabilitation costs.

Personal Property

If your personal belongings were stolen, damaged, or destroyed due to a covered peril, this coverage will pay to replace them.

What type of personal property is included in coverage?

If you can remove the items and take them to a new condo complex, that’s what is included. These are appliances, electronics, furniture, clothing, kitchen wares, jewelry, artwork, and other similar items.

Just like homeowners and renters insurance, your expensive items will be covered only up to your insurer’s limits, so you may need to buy a rider or endorsement to add proper limits and coverage for unique personal items like jewelry.

Under the 2 types of personal property coverage, update the replacement cost value acronym to show-RC, not RCV

Loss of Use

If a covered peril like fire damages the interior of your unit to the point that it’s uninhabitable, this coverage will pay for essentials like hotel costs and meals.

Is it Necessary for Me to Read the Condo Association’s Master Policy?

In general, condo insurance protects your personal items and covers you if someone is injured in your condo.

However, your coverage depends on the master policy.

Before you purchase condo insurance, it’s a good idea to ask a property manager or a board member for a copy of the master policy.

Reviewing the hefty master policy is essential; it will determine exactly what is covered to help you buy only the coverage you need.

In most condo complexes, the condo association master policy protects the exterior of your unit as well as the common areas and any amenities.

You can’t rely on your condo association’s master policy to protect you. To cover your personal property, personal injuries, and losses, you need a personalized condo insurance policy.

Condo HOA association insurance has different types of coverage.

Most master policies fall under one of three categories:

• All-in
• Bare-walls
• Special or single-entity policies

Before your buy condo insurance, it’s a must to contact your condominium association to find out which type of master policy governs your building. The more you know about the master policy, the more you can save on condo insurance.

Here are the kinds of master policies that an HOA may offer:

Bare Walls In and Wall Studs In

Covers only the bare structure, which includes everything behind your condo’s walls, from drywall to framing, and from plumbing to insulation.

It also covers personal property belonging to the association, but it doesn’t protect your personal belongings.

If your master policy covers only the bare walls, then you need building property coverage. This coverage protects you and your belongings from all named perils.

This is the least comprehensive coverage for HOA master policies.

Special Entity

Covers nearly all of the condo structure. It protects everything that a bare walls policy covers but includes coverage for bathroom and kitchen fixtures such as countertops, sinks, and built-in appliances, as well as cabinets and flooring.

This is the most common type of HOA master policies.

All-In And All-Inclusive

The most exhaustive type of coverage, this protects the entire interior structure of the condo, and includes full restoration of your unit after a covered loss. This type of protection also covers appliances and any alterations you’ve made in your condo, such as installing kitchen cabinets or built-in bookcases.

This is the most comprehensive coverage for HOA master policies.

Keep in mind that an all-in master policy will not cover your personal items.

As you can see, the “all-in” policy is more inclusive than the other policies because it covers more of the items in your unit.

If the condo association has this feature in its master policy, then you don’t need building property coverage. As such, this will reduce the cost of your premium.

But a condo owner who lives in a complex with a “bare walls” master policy may need the insurance.

Now that you know what the condo association policy may cover, you can determine how much and what types of condo insurance coverage you'll need to fill any gaps.

Just remember that how much condo insurance you’ll need is directly correlated to the type of master policy your building complex has.

The Takeaway

• Condo insurance or HO-6 policies cover condominiums, co-ops, and townhouses.
• Condo insurance protects your condominium unit and your personal belongings and covers medical expenses and legal costs if a guest sustains an injury in your unit.
• HO-6 policies work in conjunction with your association’s master policy.
• The amount of coverage you need will depend on the value of your personal property and the level of coverage provided by your condo association’s master policy.
• If you have all-in coverage on your master policy, you don't need building property coverage.

About Co-op Insurance

If you live in a co-op and need insurance, you’ll buy condominium insurance. The coverages you need in a co-op are usually the same.

The difference between a condo and a co-op is that you own a condo and buy shares of a property in a co-op.

With co-op insurance, your policy only covers the unit you own shares in, usually from the studs in.

Depending on the limits of your co-op corporation’s coverage, you'll probably want your insurance policy to provide dwelling coverage for the unit you live in.

The co-op master policy, just like a condo master policy, insures the exterior of the building plus the exterior of your unit, including common areas like hallways, stairways, and elevators. 

The Two Types of Personal Property Coverage

It is important to know whether your policy covers actual cash value or replacement cost.

Replacement cost value (RCV) pays the actual cost to replace each item at today’s prices.

Actual cash value (ACV), on the other hand, will only pay the depreciated value of the item.

Adding replacement cost coverage is a smart choice, not only because items (especially electronics like laptops) depreciate quickly, but also because it pays the entire amount necessary to replace your property.

What is a Covered Peril?

A covered peril, also called a named peril, is an event that the insurer agrees to reimburse you after you file a claim.

So, if you want your belongings to be replaced or repaired, they must be damaged as a result of a covered peril. The following is a list of common covered perils in a condo policy:

• Fire
• Theft
• Vandalism
• Storms and lightning
• Falling objects
• Water damage from sudden and accidental discharge
• Aircraft
• Explosions
• Falling objects
• Riots
• Smoke
• Weight of ice, sleet, or snow
• Volcanic eruptions
• Wind and hail

For example, if a storm breaks a window in your condo, letting rain in to soak and damage your wood dining table, a condo insurance policy would cover the cost of replacing both the window (the structure) and the dining table (personal property).

And if a thief burglarizes your condo, your HO-6 policy will pay to replace stolen property.

What are Covered Perils Excluded from a Standard Condo Insurance Policy?

Earthquakes and flooding are excluded. In fact, a condo policy, just like a renters and homeowners policy, will not automatically cover floods and earthquakes due to the high risk.

However, you can buy earthquake coverage as a rider on your condo policy or purchase a separate policy on top of your basic condo policy.

Earthquakes

If you live in a fault line, it’s essential to get covered for earthquakes.

You can buy earthquake coverage as a separate policy on top of your basic condo policy.

Keep in mind that certain states in the US have frequent earthquakes. In states like California, where you are always at risk, if an insurer sells condo insurance to condo owners, it must offer earthquake coverage.

But once again, you should check the condo association’s master policy to see if the association bought earthquake coverage for its complex.

If it did, you could save money.

Floods

Many states suffer from extreme flooding due to natural disasters like hurricanes, but the coverage is usually optional.

However, if you have a mortgage and your condo is in a “Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA),” it will be mandatory for you to acquire flood insurance on your unit as a separate policy.

Does My Personal Property Coverage Only Apply to the Contents Inside My Condo?

Personal property coverage applies to your belongings no matter where you are, at home or on vacation or if they are stolen from your car.

For example, if you left your laptop in your car and someone breaks into your car and steals the laptop, your laptop will be covered by your condo insurance.

Are There Extra Coverages That I Can Add to My Condo Insurance Policy?

To provide the most protection, you may want to consider the following additional coverage options:

Loss Assessment Coverage

This endorsement is useful if your condo association charges an additional assessment to condo owners to pay for a covered loss.

Because the assessment can be expensive, you should add this to cover a condo owner’s share of the costs.

Loss assessment coverage is designed to share in the cost of a covered loss to common areas at the condo complex. Each condo owner may be assessed a percentage of the loss to replace or repair property damage.

Umbrella Policy

This is a separate policy on top of your condo insurance that increases your overall limit of liability protection.

Scheduled Personal Property

Designed for expensive items such as jewelry, artwork, and designer clothes, scheduling means that you list each valuable separately on your policy and insure it for its actual value.

Scheduling personal property adds a coverage called mysterious disappearance and can lower the deductible for the specific property listed in the endorsement at the time of loss.

How Much Condo Insurance Do I Need?

To figure out the amount of personal property coverage you need, take stock of what you own and what it’s worth and document each item by taking pictures or using a detailed spreadsheet.

To get the cost, use receipts or find the prices online for the same or similar items you own.

Is it Possible to Lower My Premium?

There are three primary ways to pay less for condo insurance:

Compare and Contrast Quotes

You should get quotes from many insurers using the same amounts of coverage so you can compare rates and find the insurer that is most affordable for you.

Discounts

Finding an insurer that has the most discounts can lower your premium.

You should be able to save if you bundle your condo and auto insurance with the same company.

Deductible

Your deductible can also affect your premium. The more you’re willing to cover before your insurance kicks in, the less expensive your premium will be. However, you shouldn’t do this unless you know you have enough savings to pay a high deductible.

How Much is the Cost of Condo Insurance?

Your condo insurance premium depends on various factors like your credit score, the age of your condo, the location, and your claims history.

These are the same factors that help determine your rate when you purchase renters or homeowners insurance.

That said, the average cost of condo insurance across all coverage levels and in all US states, is about $500 per year or $42 per month, according to an insurance report from the NAIC.

Generally, renters insurance is cheaper than condo insurance because condo insurance covers more things, such as the structure of your interior unit.

What are the Factors That Affect the Cost of Condo Insurance?

Location

Where you live can determine your rate. Insurance companies for states that have severe natural disasters like hurricanes and heavy winds will charge you a higher rate due to the increased likelihood of making claims.

The Age of Your Condo Complex

New condos are more likely to be updated with the latest security measures and comply with the latest construction regulations.

Older complexes are more expensive to insure because their units may have dated plumbing, heating, or electrical systems, which can also increase the likelihood of making a claim.

Claims History

If you have made claims in the past, you are considered a risk by the insurer because the insurer believes that you are more likely to make another claim in the future.

How Much Coverage You Need

A condo owner who does not own many possessions will have a lower rate compared to an owner who has plenty of personal possessions.

To protect in full your valuables like your jewelry, you may have to add a rider or endorsement, which will raise the cost of your premium.

Discounts

You should look at an insurer that offers the most discounts to a policyholder because the discounts can help lower your rate.

What’s the Difference Between Condo Insurance and Renters Insurance?

Renters insurance is a more basic kind of coverage in that it doesn’t cover as much as condo or homeowners insurance typically does. 

If you don’t own the dwelling you’re living in and instead signed a lease with a landlord or property management company, you are considered a renter and need renters insurance.

But if you own a condo, you are considered a homeowner and don’t need renters insurance. You need condo insurance.

The main similarity between condo and renters insurance is that both cover personal belongings that are inside a home if they are damaged, destroyed, or stolen due to a covered peril such as fire and theft.

Renters and condo insurance are also similar because they are only needed if your mortgage lender or landlord or condo association requires them.

Condo insurance covers dwelling or building property coverage, personal liability, medical payments, personal property, and loss of use.

Meanwhile, renters insurance covers everything that condo insurance has to offer except for the dwelling coverage. It does not cover the physical building you are living in because the landlord’s insurance protects the building.

So, if a tree fell and smashed through your window, the landlord or the owner’s insurance is responsible for buildings repairs.

Since the landlord or owner covers the structure of the rental, renters insurance simply covers the renter’s personal items that are inside the house or unit.

Condo insurance is more similar to home insurance as it covers the interior structure of the condo.

Some master policies cover the structural components of individual units, such as floors, walls, ceilings, lighting, cabinets and counters, and carpet.

When these structural components are not covered by the master policy, they must be covered by the homeowner’s condo insurance.

If there are damages, condo insurance will pay for necessary structural and dwelling improvements, such as new plumbing or wiring. 

Condo owners are often required to contribute money toward a condo master plan in addition to their individualized condo insurance.

If the master policy already provides adequate coverage, you may go without condo insurance or reduce the amount of coverage you buy, both of which will allow you to save money.

With renters insurance, it’s usually about increasing your liability or your personal property coverage limits, so you have enough funds to cover losses in case the unexpected happens.

Finally, renters and condo insurance, as well as homeowners insurance, have covered perils— events that your insurer agrees to reimburse you after you file a claim—that all look similar. Each insurance covers perils like theft, windstorms, fire, hail, and the weight of ice or snow.

In addition, all three insurance policies have the same perils that they never cover, which are earthquakes and floods. If you need coverage for each, you should purchase an endorsement or a separate policy that you add to your basic coverage.

Key Takeaway

• Both renters insurance and condo insurance cover personal property damages and injuries.
• Renters and condo insurance may cover the same perils.
• Renters insurance doesn’t cover a building’s structural problems; that’s the landlord’s responsibility.
• Condo insurance covers interior structural issues of the condo.

What’s the Difference Between Condo Insurance and Homeowners Insurance?

Homeowners insurance and condo or co-op insurance are virtually identical policies. Both protect your home and belongings from covered perils like fire and high wind, theft, and burglary.

Both are similar in the coverages they offer in their standard or basic policies. These are liability, loss of use, medical payments, and personal property coverage.

Homeowners insurance and condo or co-op insurance are similar policies.

And just like renters insurance, condo and homeowners insurance will protect your valuables up to your policy limits.

In addition, condo and homeowners insurance, as well as renters insurance, gives you two options, replacement cost, and actual value cost. The former will pay for a damaged laptop using today’s prices, while the latter will only pay for its depreciated value.

But there’s a difference between homeowners insurance and condo or co-op insurance, which is the dwelling coverage.

Homeowners in a single-family house need dwelling coverage close to or equal to the value of the home for rebuilding or repairing it after a covered peril.

On the other hand, condo insurance only needs to cover your home interior since the HOA master policy covers unexpected damages to the overall structure of the condo complex and common areas.

When you own a condo, you are only responsible for your individual unit, not the entire building. This includes the interior of your condo and your personal possessions inside it.

So, one feature of condo insurance, as with homeowners insurance, is coverage for the structure, i.e., the inside of your unit.

But when you own a house, you are responsible for its entire structure, which means the exterior structure and not just the inside of your home, like what a condo insurance covers.

It’s not just your home’s structure or the land on which it sits. You also need to protect your roof, walls, ceilings, floors, and foundation, as well as standalone structures on your property, such as detached garages and sheds.

Another difference is that homeowners insurance can be wildly expensive, while condo or co-op insurance is often affordable.

The average cost of homeowners insurance is $160 per month or $1,920per year.

Meanwhile, the average cost of condo insurance is $42 per month or $506 per year, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

The difference is attributed to size. Homes are generally larger than condos and can experience extensive structural damage, such as heavy winds blowing the roof off a house. Condos are generally smaller and exterior structural damage is often covered by a homeowners association master policy.

Key Takeaway

• The major difference between condo and homeowners insurance is how much dwelling coverage you need.
• A homeowners insurance policy covers both the outside and inside the structure of the dwelling.
• Condo insurance usually only covers the interior structure of the condo.
• As such, a condo owner only needs to insure the inside of the condo.
• A homeowners insurance dwelling policy is dependent on the amount it would cost to completely rebuild a home from the ground up.
• For condos, building coverage just has to be enough to cover damage that can happen inside your home.
• A condo association’s insurance covers the exterior of the building, common areas, and the condo building surroundings.

Our Methodology

How We Picked the Best Condo Insurance Companies

We looked at several factors to determine the best condo insurance companies in the U.S.

Price

Condo insurance is designed to be affordable and should be way lower than homeowners insurance. If a policy had a high cost, we looked toward those that had a low premium.

Discounts

Discounts help to make condo insurance rates affordable. So, we looked at how many discounts an insurer provided. If it had many, like Allstate, then we put that insurer on our list.

Some of the most popular condo insurance discounts include loyalty, if you are a senior or over 55 years old and are retired, if you are a veteran, if you have never filed a claim, and if you just purchased a condo and are a new owner, to name a few.

Coverage

We only considered insurers with the most coverage. That way, condo owners can make their basic condo policy more comprehensive and, in some instances, more unique.

Technology

We liked insurers like Lemonade because the provider is powered by AI.

As such, Lemonade allows you to sign up for coverage within minutes.

So, we turned to insurers that used technology to make it easier to get a quote or file a claim.