TL;DR
Coverage responsibility
Ten building components, three valuation bases, one answer key. Use this to see who insures what before a claim forces the question.
Every condo or HOA repair bill eventually runs into the same question: is this the association's problem or the unit owner's? The answer is not a matter of fairness or common sense, it is a matter of which physical surface the loss touched and which valuation basis the declaration assigns to the master policy. The same burst supply line can be fully the association's responsibility in one building and mostly the owner's HO-6 responsibility in the building next door, purely because the two declarations specify different bases.
The table below maps ten common building components against the three valuation bases condo and HOA master policies are typically written on. It is a general reference for how the industry structures this coverage split, not a substitute for reading your own declaration and master policy side by side.
Coverage responsibility matrix
"Association" means the cost is generally addressed by the master policy under that valuation basis. "Unit owner (HO-6)" means the cost generally falls to the individual owner's own policy. Betterments, improvements installed by an owner beyond the original builder specification, are called out separately because they behave differently from the underlying component they sit on top of.
| Building component | Bare-walls | Single-entity | All-in / all-inclusive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roof & exterior walls | Association | Association | Association |
| Drywall (interior surface) | Unit owner (HO-6), finish only | Association, as originally installed | Association |
| Floor coverings / finishes | Unit owner (HO-6) | Association, original flooring only | Association |
| Cabinets & countertops | Unit owner (HO-6) | Association, original units only | Association |
| Built-in appliances | Unit owner (HO-6) | Association, original units only | Association |
| HVAC / AC serving one unit | Unit owner (HO-6) | Association, original equipment* | Association* |
| Plumbing fixtures | Unit owner (HO-6) | Association, original fixtures only | Association |
| Betterments & owner improvements | Unit owner (HO-6) | Unit owner (HO-6) | Association, on many programs** |
| Personal property | Unit owner (HO-6) | Unit owner (HO-6) | Unit owner (HO-6) |
| Master-policy deductible / loss assessment | Unit owner (HO-6 loss assessment) | Unit owner (HO-6 loss assessment) | Unit owner (HO-6 loss assessment) |
* Unit-exclusive HVAC and AC equipment is frequently carved out as an owner-maintenance item by the declaration itself, regardless of the master policy's valuation basis. Read the maintenance-responsibility section, not just the insurance section, before assuming the general pattern applies. ** Whether an all-in or all-inclusive master policy actually extends to owner-installed betterments varies by program and by declaration language, some all-in forms still exclude upgrades beyond the original specification, so confirm this line item rather than assuming "all-in" means "everything."
None of the three valuation bases is inherently correct. Bare-walls is a valid, fully compliant structure for an association whose declaration specifies it, and so is all-in. What matters is that the master policy's valuation basis actually matches what the recorded declaration calls for. Boards and managers sometimes assume the current policy reflects the declaration because it always has, without checking that an old amendment or a renewal-driven change in coverage did not quietly shift the basis. The fix is simple and low-cost: pull the recorded declaration and its amendments, find the valuation-basis language, and compare it line for line against the current master policy's declarations page.
Where the declaration is silent on the point, some state condominium statutes supply a default valuation basis. That default only fills the gap the declaration leaves, it does not override clear declaration language, so it is worth checking both rather than assuming the statute controls.
The table above covers the routine case, a component fails and needs replacing. The two situations that catch owners off guard are different. The first is betterments: an owner who upgraded builder-grade countertops to stone, or finished a space the original plans left unfinished, has created value the master policy was never priced to insure, even on an all-in program that covers original installations. The second is the master-policy deductible itself. When a shared-cause loss triggers the association's deductible, that dollar amount is commonly passed back to every owner as a special assessment, and the standard HO-6 loss-assessment endorsement often carries a low built-in sublimit for exactly this scenario. An owner who never checked that sublimit against the association's actual deductible can end up owing a bill their HO-6 was supposed to prevent. Both gaps are fixable with the right endorsement, but only if someone checks for them before the loss, not after.
Common questions
Read the recorded declaration and any amendments for the specific valuation-basis language, not just the current master policy's declarations page. If the declaration is silent, some state condominium statutes set a default basis that applies automatically. When in doubt, ask the board or the managing agent for the declaration section and the current master policy side by side.
It depends on the valuation basis and where the loss lands. Under bare-walls, the association's policy stops at the unfinished structure, so your finished drywall and flooring are your HO-6's responsibility even though the water came from someone else's unit. Under single-entity or all-in, the master policy typically responds to the original interior finishes, with your HO-6 covering anything beyond the original specification, personal property, and loss of use. The at-fault neighbor's liability coverage is a separate question from which property policy pays first.
Only up to whatever loss-assessment limit is built into the base HO-6 form, and that base amount is often too small to matter. If the association passes its deductible back to owners as a special assessment after a shared-cause loss, an underinsured loss-assessment endorsement leaves the owner covering the gap out of pocket. Check the endorsement limit against the association's actual published deductible, not the HO-6 declarations page alone.
Free coverage review
Send your declaration and current master policy declarations page, and we will tell you who actually pays for what.