Condo Insurance – Important Facts Before You Buy

Written By: Stacy Fox on December 10, 2009 No Comment

Condo insurance is different from traditional homeowners insurance and as such, there are a number of different issues to consider. Your condo insurance policy covers everything from the drywall in while your association is responsible for the roof and the exterior of the house. This is different from traditional homeowners insurance as that covers everything if anything were to occur.

One of the key decisions you will have to make is what your deductible is going to be. The deductible is the amount you pay before the insurance gives you any money. As an example, if you had $10,000 in damages and a $5000 deductible, the insurance company would give you $5000 and you would be responsible for $5000. But if you had a $1000 deductible, they would give you $9000. Most deductibles are between $500 and $5000. Keep in mind that the lower your deductible is, the higher your monthly premium costs are going to be.

A higher deductible will also keep you from making claims on small items. This is a good thing because if you have too many claims – generally 2 or three a year – your insurance company will drop you.

The next thing you need to consider is how you want your items replaced if something were to happen to your personal property. Let’s say the TV you bought 2 years ago for $900 was stolen. If you have a replacement value policy, you’ll get $900 to buy a new, similar TV. If you have an actual cash value policy, the insurance company will give you the amount it would cost to buy a 2 year old TV from Craigslist. Replacement value policies are more expensive but if you don’t want to be shopping for new furniture at garage sales, you may want to consider it.

You should require any renter occupying your condo to purchase renter’s insurance. You are responsible for everything that happens in the condo except for the renter’s personal items. If they buy renter’s insurance, they share in the responsibility. It also helps to protect your property if the renter damages it.

In sum, those are some of the things you need to know about condo insurance.

Condo Insurance is just one of the topics covered at http://HomeInsuranceProvider.net. You’ll find various resources related to protecting your home and condo there.

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