HO4 and HO6 are the two policy forms for people who do not insure a whole building: the HO4 is the renters policy, the HO6 the condo unit owner's policy. They share most of their anatomy, personal property, loss of use and liability coverage, and differ in one structural way that decides everything else: the HO6 carries dwelling coverage for the parts of a unit its owner is responsible for, while the HO4 carries none, because a renter is responsible for no part of the building. Which form you need follows from what you own, and this page lays the comparison out cleanly.
What the two forms share
Both forms insure personal property against named perils, the list the Insurance Information Institute gives for renters coverage including fire, lightning, windstorm, theft and vandalism, and both extend that coverage to belongings away from home. Both carry loss of use coverage paying for temporary housing when a covered loss makes the unit unlivable, and both include personal liability with legal defense. For contents, both offer the same settlement choice, actual cash value or replacement cost, with the Insurance Information Institute putting replacement cost coverage at about 10% more in premium.
The difference: Coverage A
The HO6 adds dwelling coverage, Coverage A, for the interior elements a condo's governing documents assign to the unit owner: finishes, flooring, cabinetry, fixtures, improvements, and in some buildings the drywall. Renters have no such responsibility, so the HO4 omits the coverage entirely; damage to the building is the landlord's policy's problem. This is why an HO6 requires reading the association's documents to size correctly, while an HO4 sizes from an inventory and a liability decision alone, and why the two forms cannot substitute for each other.
Which form you need, by situation
Renting an apartment, a house or a condo unit from its owner: HO4, regardless of what kind of building it is. Owning a condo or co-op unit you live in: HO6, sized against the master policy's boundary. Owning a condo you rent out to tenants: neither alone, but a landlord-oriented unit policy, while your tenant carries their own HO4. The recurring mistake is the condo tenant buying nothing because the building is insured: the association's master policy covers common elements, the owner's HO6 covers the unit's interior, and neither covers the tenant's belongings or liability.
Cost and the sizing difference
The HO4 is the cheapest policy in property insurance, averaging $170 a year nationally in 2021 NAIC data reported by the Insurance Information Institute, because it insures no structure. HO6 premiums run higher with the dwelling coverage and, in associations with large deductibles, the loss assessment exposure. Sizing effort differs the same way: an HO4 needs a filmed inventory and honest liability and loss-of-use numbers, an HO6 needs all of that plus the association's documents read and loss assessment coverage set against the master policy's deductibles.
Questions people ask about ho4 vs ho6
What is the core difference between HO4 and HO6?
Dwelling coverage. The HO6 insures the interior elements a condo owner is responsible for under the association's documents; the HO4 insures no part of any building, because renters are not responsible for one.
I rent a condo unit. Which do I need?
An HO4. The building is split between the association's master policy and the owner's HO6, but neither covers your belongings, liability or temporary housing. Renting a condo is insured like renting anywhere else.
Which costs more?
The HO6, generally, since it carries dwelling and loss assessment coverage. The HO4 averaged $170 a year nationally in 2021 NAIC data reported by the Insurance Information Institute.
Do both cover my belongings away from home?
Yes. Personal property coverage on both forms follows your belongings off premises, subject to the policy's deductible and category limits, with theft among the covered perils.