HO-4 vs. HO-6 Insurance: What's the Difference?

• Personal Property: Furniture, electronics, clothing and other belongings damaged or destroyed by fire, theft, vandalism or certain types of water damage. Without this, a single break-in or kitchen fire means replacing everything out of pocket.
• Liability Protection: Legal defense costs and damages if someone is injured in your rental or you accidentally damage someone else's property. If your bathtub overflows into the unit below, or a guest falls and sues, liability coverage pays what you'd otherwise owe personally.
• Additional Living Expenses (ALE): Hotel stays, meals and other temporary housing costs if a covered loss forces you out. A serious fire can leave a rental uninhabitable for weeks. Without ALE, you pay for two places to live at once.
• Medical Payments to Others: Limited medical costs for guests injured in your home, regardless of fault. This resolves minor incidents before they become formal liability claims.

• Building structure: Walls, roof and foundation damage are the landlord's problem, not yours.
• Flood Damage: Standard HO-4 policies exclude flood damage. A separate policy through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or a private insurer is required. Without one, a flood event leaves your belongings completely unprotected.
• Earthquake Damage: Excluded by default. A separate endorsement (an add-on that extends what a standard policy covers) or standalone earthquake policy is required.
• Gradual damage: Mold from a slow leak, pest infestations and deferred-maintenance damage aren't covered. Insurers pay for sudden, accidental losses.
• High-value items above sub-limits: Standard policies cap claims on jewelry, art and collectibles. A scheduled personal property endorsement is required for full replacement value.
• Roommate's belongings: Your policy covers only your property. Each person in the household needs a separate policy.

• Interior dwelling: Walls, floors, ceilings, built-in appliances and fixtures inside your unit for losses from fire, water damage and vandalism. A kitchen fire or burst pipe becomes a repair you cover entirely yourself without this coverage.
• Personal property: Furniture, electronics, clothing and other belongings from covered losses.
• Liability: Legal costs and damages if someone is injured in your condo or you accidentally damage a neighboring unit. A pipe inside your unit that leaks into the unit below makes the resulting damage claim yours to answer.
• Additional living expenses (ALE): Temporary housing costs if your condo is uninhabitable after a covered loss. Without this, a major loss means carrying your mortgage and a hotel bill at the same time.
• Loss assessment: Your share of a special HOA assessment after a covered loss exceeds the master policy's limits. Assessments can reach thousands of dollars per unit and arrive with little warning. Loss assessment coverage pays your portion.
• Medical payments to others: Limited medical costs for guests injured inside your unit, regardless of fault.

• Building exterior: Roof, hallways, parking areas and common spaces. These fall under the HOA's master policy.
• Flood damage: Excluded by default. A separate NFIP or private flood policy is required. Without it, a flood event means paying for all interior repair costs yourself.
• Earthquake damage: Excluded by default. A separate endorsement or policy is required.
• Gradual damage: Mold, pest infestations, and neglect-related damage aren't covered.
• Neighboring unit damage: Water damage that originates next door and enters your unit may not be covered under standard HO-6 language. Some scenarios require additional endorsements to close the coverage shortfall.
• Unreported improvements: Renovations you've made to your unit aren't covered without a betterments and improvements endorsement. Without it, a covered loss settles at the value of the original finishes, not what you invested.

The most common mistake condo owners make when buying HO-6 is not reading their HOA's master policy first. The master policy determines exactly where your personal coverage has to start.

Two master policy types exist, and they create very different HO-6 requirements:

• Bare walls: Covers only the building structure and common areas. Everything from the drywall inward (flooring, cabinets, fixtures) is your responsibility. This is the most common type, and it means your HO-6 needs to carry more interior dwelling coverage.
• All-in: Covers the building structure plus original fixtures and finishes inside each unit. Less common, but when it applies, it reduces how much interior dwelling coverage you need in your HO-6.

Before buying condo insurance, ask your HOA board for a copy of the master policy declarations page. Your insurance agent can use it to identify the exact coverage gap your HO-6 needs to fill.

One more gap to plan for. If you've upgraded your unit with new hardwood floors, custom cabinetry or upgraded appliances, those improvements likely aren't covered under a standard HO-6. A betterments and improvements endorsement covers them.