The HO6 is the condo unit owner's policy, and in Florida it works harder than almost anywhere else. It insures the interior world the association's master policy leaves to you, your belongings, your liability, and, in the coverage that earns its keep in this state, your share of the assessments an association levies after a major loss. Florida's market backdrop is severe, with the state's average homeowners premium at $2,437 in 2021 NAIC data reported by the Insurance Information Institute, the highest in the national table, and the HO6 is the unit owner's instrument for managing their slice of that reality. This page walks the policy coverage by coverage.
Coverage A: your side of the walls
The HO6's dwelling coverage picks up where the master policy stops, typically interior finishes, flooring, cabinetry, fixtures and improvements, and in some buildings the drywall itself. The boundary is written in the association's governing documents, so the limit should come from reading them and pricing a contractor's reinstatement of your side, not from a quoting default or a neighbor's number. Upgrades matter twice in Florida: they raise what needs insuring, and after a hurricane they are rebuilt in a surged construction market.
Contents, loss of use and liability
Personal property coverage answers for belongings, with the usual choice between actual cash value and replacement cost settlement, and the Insurance Information Institute notes replacement cost coverage runs about 10% more in premium on contents. Loss of use pays for somewhere to live while covered damage makes the unit uninhabitable, worth sizing against Florida's long post-storm repair timelines. Liability covers injuries and damage you are responsible for, including legal defense, and its limit is cheap to raise relative to what it protects.
Loss assessment: the Florida clause
When a hurricane meets an association's wind deductible, or a master policy limit falls short, the gap is assessed across the unit owners, and those special assessments can be enormous in Florida's market. Loss assessment coverage on the HO6 pays your share of covered assessments up to its own limit. It is the single most Florida-critical line on the policy, routinely sold at token default limits, and raising it is inexpensive. Read its terms closely, since it responds to assessments from covered perils, and note how deductible-driven assessments are treated.
Hurricane deductibles, and the flood boundary
Florida HO6 policies commonly carry their own hurricane deductible, often set as a share of the Coverage A limit, applying to the unit owner's side of storm damage. What no HO6 covers is rising water: storm surge and flooding are excluded, and the association's master policy excludes them too. Unit owners can carry their own National Flood Insurance Program coverage for contents and interior elements, and in coastal buildings that layer is worth pricing, since FEMA's FloodSmart materials note claims regularly come from outside mapped high-risk zones.
Questions people ask about florida ho6 insurance
What does an HO6 cover in Florida?
The unit's interior finishes beyond where the master policy stops, personal property, loss of use, personal liability and loss assessment coverage for your share of association assessments after covered losses. Hurricane provisions and deductibles apply to the owner's side.
How do I set the Coverage A limit?
Read the association's documents to find where the master policy stops, then price a contractor's reinstatement of everything on your side: finishes, flooring, cabinets, fixtures and improvements. The purchase price and unit market value are the wrong anchors.
Why does loss assessment coverage matter so much here?
Florida associations carry large wind deductibles, and after a hurricane the shortfall is assessed across owners. Loss assessment coverage pays your share up to its limit, and default limits are usually far below what Florida assessments actually run.
Does an HO6 cover storm surge?
No. Surge and all rising water are flood, excluded from the HO6 and the master policy alike. A separate National Flood Insurance Program policy for contents and interior coverage is the answer in coastal buildings.