For owners
Your condo insurance was dropped or doubled — is that legal, and what now?
A non-renewal notice or a renewal that doubled is alarming precisely because the cause is usually invisible from the letter itself. Is it your building, your board, or the whole market? Are you exposed through the master policy, your HO-6, or both? CondoSignal turns the paperwork into a clear answer.
The short answer
A non-renewal letter or a master-policy premium that doubled is rarely something your board chose — it's the insurance market. CondoSignal reads your dec page, master policy, and the latest renewal against your state's market conditions to tell you what's driving it and where your real exposure is, then connects you with a broker who can help. Free.Master policy vs. your HO-6
Your building carries a master policy; you carry an individual HO-6 unit policy. A non-renewal or spike on the master policy hits every owner through dues and assessments and can change where your personal coverage has to start. A change to your own HO-6 is narrower. Knowing which one moved — and how the two fit together — is the first thing to establish, and it's exactly what the documents reveal.
Why carriers are pulling back
In many states, master-policy premiums have risen sharply and carriers have narrowed what they'll write — driven by catastrophe risk, reinsurance costs, and, in some states, whether the building is compliant with new structural or reserve laws. A non-renewal is often a market decision, not a verdict on your specific board. But the consequences — higher dues, deductibles, or assessment exposure — are real and worth understanding precisely.
Where your real exposure is
The risk that matters is the gap: a high master-policy deductible the association can't cover, a 'bare walls' master policy that pushes more onto your HO-6 than you realized, loss-assessment coverage that's too thin, or wind and flood exposure carved out entirely. These gaps don't show up until you read the master policy and your HO-6 side by side against your state's market — which is the read CondoSignal does.
What to check
- Identify whether the master policy or your HO-6 changed.
- Find the master-policy deductible — especially wind/named-storm.
- Confirm whether the master policy is 'bare walls' or 'all-in'.
- Check your loss-assessment coverage limit on the HO-6.
- Look for wind or flood exclusions.
- Ask whether the building's law-compliance status affected the renewal.
Your state's rules
The specifics — who can act, what notice is required, and what your rights are — vary by state. Find yours:
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Not sure what your documents are really telling you?
Get a free CondoSignal review of your situation — we read the paperwork against your state's rules and tell you what to do next. No cost, no obligation.