HOA Insurance Policies
For residents and HOA board members, there seems to be a lot of lingo when it comes to insurance. How do you know which policies cover which property? How do you know what insurance requirements to make when managing an association? We’ve explained the “walls out” and “walls in” policies to help you understand what each one covers. Master Policy This policy is also known as the HOA insurance policy and covers liabilities or damages in common areas or on the exterior of your home. The term “walls out” can also be used to describe what the master policy will cover. However, this doesn’t mean that absolutely everything on the exterior will be covered; if a storm results in extensive damage, residents will have to help pay the association’s deductible. This is what’s known as loss assessment, and it’s a good idea to add this to your HO6 policy so you’re not paying out of pocket. In addition to exterior damages, the master policy also covers liabilities in common areas. If someone were to slip by the pool and decided to sue the HOA, the liability portion of the policy would protect residents from having to pay special assessments for lawsuit fees. HO-6 Insurance Your HOA’s master policy isn’t going to cover your personal property, or anything “walls in.” If you live in a condo or any other shared space, you’re going to need HO-6 insurance. Besides insuring your personal belongings, your association’s master policy won’t likely cover anything inside the bare walls of your unit. You would be responsible for getting coverage for unit structural items such as: Carpeting, ceramic tiles, hardwood floors Plumbing fixtures Light fixtures Built-in appliances Kitchen cabinets Wall coverings And, as mentioned previously, it’s a good idea to add loss assessment coverage to your HO-6, if not already required by your association.
Insurance: Walls-in vs Walls-out
It’s a great idea to review insurance policies occasionally. If you’re considering changing your HOA homeowners insurance you’ll want to keep in mind what kind of coverage you need. For most types of HOAs where there are shared walls and common spaces, you will need to understand how the HOAs master insurance affects your property. Walls-in (Studs-in) This is the policy you, as the property owner, need to be the most concerned about. Just as the name states, this kind of homeowners policy covers what is inside your owned space. Things like the carpets, cabinetry, walls all fall under a walls-in policy. Walls-out (Studs-out) Most of the time the HOAs master policy will cover damages that could occur to outside your owned space. This would include the roof, probably the windows, fencing, carpet in the hallway of a condo complex etc. However, it is very important to understand who is covering what when you’re searching for a new homeowners policy. Not all HOA insurance is the same. Knowing the finer details of your the association’s policy and your homeowners policy could save you money and headaches in the future.
Understanding Insurance in an HOA
If your home insurance is something you plan on changing this year, it is important to understand what the HOA’s master policy covers vs what your policy needs to cover. There are two different types of coverages that may be in place within your HOA. WALLS IN The first policy is a known as “studs in” or “walls in”. This means that everything in your condo, other than personal items, are covered. The most common types of policies are called “studs out” or “walls out”. These policies cover everything outside of your home, like your driveway and roof, but not what’s inside, like your appliances or surfaces. WALLS OUT For example, if your HOA has a “walls out” policy and there is an electric fire in your home, you will be responsible for the damage. If a tree falls in a storm and knocks down your fence, however, the HOA’s insurance policy will cover the repairs. Checking your HOA’s coverage before renewing your own will help keep you safe and more financially secure if, and when, an emergency strikes.
Insurance: So Why Does the Association Have to File a Claim?
There are few things trickier and more complicated in the operation of a community association than that of insurance. What types of policies must the association have? What is the scope of coverage? How does the “master policy” work with the individual homeowner’s policy (“HO6”)? There are many components and questions. Perhaps the most seldom understood, and sometimes hotly debated, topic on insurance is when and why the association must file a claim on the master policy. In scenarios of massive losses like a hail storm, tornado or fire – or in cases where damage is limited to common areas such as a condo building hallway or a party room – it is pretty clear that the master policy should kick in and cover damages. But what about when a townhome wasn’t properly winterized and pipes freeze? Or what about the resident on the top floor of the condo building that let the bathtub overflow, flooding the units below, and causing tens of thousands of dollars of damage? Many Boards don’t understand why the association’s master policy would cover such losses where there is perceived negligence and/or the damage is inside of a unit, and therefore “not the associations responsibility.” It’s a natural reaction. While the scope of coverage from association to association will vary, it is pretty common that the governing documents are going to require the master policy covers “the replacement costs of the building AND units.” In fact, if the association falls under the Minnesota Common Interest Ownership Act (“MCIOA” or 515B), state statute requires that the master policy covers the “total amount of not less than full insurable replacement cost of the insured property.” It goes on to say “in the case of a common interest community that contains units, or structures within units, sharing or having continuous walls, siding or roofs, the insurance maintained under subsections (a) (1) shall include those units, or structures within those units, and the common elements.” What does this language mean? It means coverage is extended far beyond what many might expect the master policy to cover. Unless the association’s documents say otherwise, the policy might not cover finishing items such as carpeting, wall paper, or paint; but the subflooring, sheetrock, ceiling, framing, insulation is, in fact, insured by the master policy. Should there be a loss (such as those frozen pipes that burst in a townhome or the units affected in that condo building bathtub overflow) AND THAT LOSS EXCEEDS THE MASTER POLICY DEDUCTIBLE, there IS coverage for that loss. You may be asking; “Why should the association’s policy cover it?” There is a very simple answer. By state statute, the master insurance policy is PRIMARY. 515B states “(4) if at the time of loss under the policy there is other insurance in the name of a unit owner covering the same property covered by the policy, the association’s policy is primary insurance.” You can read the entire statute on insurance here – https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/515B.3-113 The association does not get to decide what is and isn’t “coverable.” Additionally, the association doesn’t get to decide and assign “negligence.” If there is a loss and damages exceed the master policy’s deductible, a claim should be filed and coverage should be awarded per the governing documents. Insurance agents know the game. If there is a loss, the homeowner’s HO6 agent/policy is going to ask the question – how much damage? If more than the deductible, they know the master policy has to kick in and the HO6 will cover the owner’s personal property, non-covered items such as finish work like carpet, wallpaper and structural coverage up to the deductible. What the association does get to decide is how the deductible should be handled. It can be absorbed as a common expense, or, more advisably, can be assessed against the owner(s) responsible or those that are benefiting. However, that’s an entirely different newsletter article. At the end of the day, the role of a master policy to the association, and the fiduciary duty of the Board to the members of the association, is to protect property values. Master insurance policies, state statutes and governing documents put in place comprehensive insurance requirements to ensure that property losses are handled and property conditions restored – thereby maintaining property values.