Rhode Island HOA and condo insurance, where the Condominium Law floor sits below the lender standard and the coast drives the wind math. The 80 percent actual-cash-value minimum is not warrantability, and the unit owner's policy backs the master deductible by statute

For condominiums, Rhode Island General Laws Section 34-36.1-3.13 requires the association to maintain property insurance on the common elements against all risks of direct physical loss, or in the case of a conversion building against fire and extended coverage perils, in a total amount after deductibles of not less than 80 percent of the actual cash value of the insured property at each renewal, exclusive of land, excavations, foundations, and other normally excluded items, plus liability insurance in an amount set by the executive board and not less than any amount the declaration specifies.

That 80 percent actual-cash-value floor is the key practitioner point. It is below the 100 percent replacement-cost standard the Fannie Mae Selling Guide requires for a conventional loan to be warrantable. A Rhode Island association can satisfy Section 34-36.1-3.13 and still fail a lender insurance review, so size the property program to the lender bar rather than the statutory minimum, and confirm the coverage is written on replacement cost rather than actual cash value.

Rhode Island also carries a distinctive deductible provision. Under the statute, a unit owner's own policy becomes the primary insurance for any loss to the unit that the association's policy would cover but does not pay because of the master deductible. That makes the interaction between the master policy deductible and each owner's HO-6 policy a real compliance item, not a footnote, and boards should make sure owners actually carry loss-assessment and matching coverage. The Condominium Law generally governs condominiums created after its 1982 effective date, with a separate older chapter covering condominiums formed before it, so confirm which chapter applies to a specific building.