Florida Condo Insurance Requirements: Master Policy, HO-6, Milestone Inspections and Assessments
Every residential condominium association in Florida must carry adequate property insurance on the building. The coverage amount may be based on replacement cost set by an independent insurance appraisal, and replacement cost must be redetermined at least once every 3 years (s. 718.111(11)(a)). That's the master policy. But the same statute draws a hard line around what it covers: the floors, wall and ceiling finishes, cabinets, countertops, appliances, water heater and everything else inside your unit that serves only your unit is your responsibility, along with any insurance on it.
So when people ask what Florida's condo insurance requirements are, there are really three answers. What the association must insure. What falls to you. And how the association's own costs (its deductible, its structural inspections, its reserves) land on your bill as assessments. That third piece is where most of the money is right now, and it's the part buyers tend to skip.
Source: Florida Statutes (2026): s. 718.111(11), s. 627.714, s. 553.899, s. 718.112(2)(g).
What the association's master policy has to cover
Section 718.111(11) applies to every residential condominium in the state, no matter when its declaration was recorded. The association must have adequate property insurance "regardless of any requirement in the declaration." A few rules give that teeth:
- Primary coverage for the building as built. Every master property policy issued or renewed since January 1, 2009 must cover all portions of the condominium property as originally installed (or replacement of like kind and quality, per the original plans and specifications), plus alterations or additions to the condominium property or association property made under s. 718.113(2).
- A real number behind the limit. The coverage amount may be based on replacement cost set by an independent insurance appraisal or an update of a previous one, redone at least every 3 years.
- Deductibles set by the board. The board picks them at a properly noticed board meeting. They have to match industry standards and prevailing practice for similar buildings in the area, and they can be based on available funds, including reserves, or on "predetermined assessment authority."
- Fidelity coverage. The association must insure or bond everyone who controls or disburses its money, for the most it will hold at any one time.
The association may also buy directors and officers liability, coverage for employees, and flood insurance for common elements, association property and units. "May" is the operative word: flood isn't required by this statute, which matters later.
Master policy vs. your unit-owner policy
The excluded list in s. 718.111(11)(f)3. is specific, and it's the closest thing Florida law gives you to a map of where the association's coverage stops. Here's how it splits, with the statute's own categories.
| Property or cost | Association master policy | Unit owner (HO-6 or similar) |
|---|---|---|
| Building structure, roof, exterior walls, common elements as originally installed | Covered (primary) | Excess only, if the policy provides building coverage |
| Alterations or additions to the condominium property or association property made under s. 718.113(2) | Covered | Depends on your policy and declaration |
| Floor, wall and ceiling coverings inside the unit | Excluded by statute | Owner's responsibility |
| Electrical fixtures, appliances, water heaters, water filters | Excluded by statute | Owner's responsibility |
| Built-in cabinets and countertops | Excluded by statute | Owner's responsibility |
| Window treatments (curtains, drapes, blinds, hardware) | Excluded by statute | Owner's responsibility |
| Personal property in the unit or limited common elements | Excluded by statute | Owner's responsibility |
| Upgrades installed by an owner that benefit only that unit | Association not obligated to repair | Owner's responsibility |
| Master-policy deductible and damage above the master limits | Common expense, shared by all owners | Your share arrives as an assessment |
Source: s. 718.111(11)(f), (j), (n); s. 627.714(4), Florida Statutes (2026). The declaration can shift some items; read yours.
Two details in that table cause real disputes. First, the exclusion applies to items "located within the boundaries of the unit and serve only such unit." Your declaration defines the unit boundary, so read that definition before deciding what you need. Second, the owner's policy is excess by law: every unit-owner residential policy must say its coverage is excess over any other policy covering the same property (s. 627.714(4)). Your policy isn't there to replace the master policy. It picks up what the master policy doesn't.
And there's a negligence exception. If damage starts with you, your family, a tenant or a guest (intentional conduct, negligence, or breaking the declaration or rules), the uninsured cost of repairing other condominium property can be charged to you rather than shared (s. 718.111(11)(j)1.). A supply line that bursts under your sink and soaks two floors below is the textbook case. That's why liability coverage on a unit-owner policy matters as much as the property side.
Is HO-6 insurance required by Florida law?
Not by statute, as far as I can find. The current text of s. 718.111(11) says only that a unit-owner policy "must conform to the requirements of s. 627.714," and s. 627.714 sets what such a policy must contain, not whether you have to buy one. Three other things commonly make the decision for you:
- Your declaration of condominium or the association's rules may require owners to carry coverage. Check before closing.
- Your mortgage lender may require it as a loan condition.
- The cost of going without. Owners are responsible for reconstruction of anything they're required to insure, and if the association does that work, it can charge the cost back to you as an assessment (s. 718.111(11)(g)2.).
If you do carry a unit-owner policy, Florida law builds in one condo-specific coverage you should understand before a storm, not after.
Loss assessment coverage: the $2,000 floor
Since July 1, 2010, every Florida unit-owner residential policy must include at least $2,000 of loss assessment coverage for all assessments from the same direct loss, as long as the loss is the type your own policy covers. The deductible on it can't exceed $250, and if your policy already applied a deductible to your own damage from that same event, none applies (s. 627.714(1)).
Three rules in that section trip people up:
- The limit is frozen the day before the loss. The most you can collect is the limit in effect one day before the occurrence. Raising it when a hurricane is in the cone does nothing for that storm (s. 627.714(2)).
- One limit per loss. No matter how many assessments the association levies for the same event, the insurer pays no more than your limit.
- Separate notice deadline. A loss assessment claim has to be reported the later of 1 year after the date of loss or 90 days after the association votes to levy the assessment, and never more than 3 years after the loss (s. 627.70132(4)). The 90-day clock runs from the board's vote, not the storm, so watch board notices and report promptly.
Whether your loss assessment coverage will pay an assessment created by the association's deductible depends on your policy wording, and forms differ. Ask your agent to show you the language. Don't assume.
How a master-policy hurricane deductible becomes your assessment
Under s. 718.111(11)(j), "all property insurance deductibles and other damages in excess of property insurance coverage" on the association's policies are a common expense. Common expenses are assessed to units in the shares set by the declaration; in a residential condominium, your share equals your unit's ownership interest in the common elements (s. 718.115(2)). If the money isn't already set aside, the board levies a special assessment, which by definition is anything beyond the annual budget assessment (s. 718.103), and the written notice has to state its purpose (s. 718.116(10)).
Master-policy hurricane deductibles are often a percentage of the building's insured value, so they scale with the building. Here's a hypothetical with round numbers. It is not a real building, and actual deductibles, values and shares come from your association's policy and declaration.
| Unit (share) | Owes | After $2,000* |
|---|---|---|
| Smaller (0.60%) | $18,000 | $16,000 |
| Average, 1/120 (0.83%) | $25,000 | $23,000 |
| Larger (1.20%) | $36,000 | $34,000 |
Source: *Only if your policy's loss assessment coverage applies to deductible assessments; assumes damage exceeds the deductible and nothing was set aside. Hypothetical math. Mechanics: s. 718.111(11)(j), s. 718.115(2), s. 627.714(1), Florida Statutes (2026).
Example: you own the average unit. Five percent of $60 million is $3 million, and 1/120 of that is $25,000. With only the statutory $2,000 of loss assessment coverage, and assuming your policy covers this kind of assessment, you're still looking at $23,000 out of pocket. If you'd carried a $25,000 loss assessment limit before the storm, nearly all of the same assessment could be covered (less any loss assessment deductible of up to $250), again subject to your policy's terms. So before you pick your own loss assessment limit, find out your association's hurricane deductible and your ownership share, and do this math.
Your own unit-owner policy has its own hurricane deductible too. Florida requires insurers to offer $500, 2%, 5% and 10% options on personal residential policies, with exceptions (s. 627.701(3)); my Florida hurricane deductible post walks through how those work.
Milestone inspections: the 30-year (or 25-year) rule
Florida's statewide structural inspection program for older condo and co-op buildings dates to 2022. Under s. 553.899, a building of three or more habitable stories that's wholly or partly a residential condominium or cooperative needs a milestone inspection by December 31 of the year it turns 30 (counted from its certificate of occupancy), then every 10 years. The local enforcement agency may move that to 25 years where local conditions such as proximity to salt water call for it. It's a local choice, not automatic for every coastal building, so check with your city or county building department.
| Rule (statute) | Deadline or timing |
|---|---|
| Building reached 30 before July 1, 2022 (553.899(3)(a)) | Initial inspection before Dec 31, 2024 |
| Building reached 30 between July 1, 2022 and Dec 31, 2024 (553.899(3)(a)) | Initial inspection before Dec 31, 2025 |
| Any other building (553.899(3)(a)) | By Dec 31 of the year it turns 30, then every 10 years |
| Local salt-water option (553.899(3)(b)) | By Dec 31 of the year it turns 25, then every 10 years |
| Phase one: visual exam by a licensed architect or engineer (553.899(6)) | Within 180 days of the local agency's written notice |
| Phase two: testing, only if substantial structural deterioration found (553.899(7)(b)) | Progress report within 180 days of the phase one report |
| Repairs for substantial structural deterioration (553.899(11)) | Must commence within 365 days of the phase two report |
| Report summary to owners (553.899(9)) | Within 45 days of receiving the report |
| First SIRS, owner-controlled associations existing on or before July 1, 2022 (718.112(2)(g)7.) | By Dec 31, 2025; if done with a milestone inspection due by Dec 31, 2026, never later than Dec 31, 2026 |
| SIRS after that (718.112(2)(g)1.) | At least every 10 years |
Source: s. 553.899, s. 718.112(2)(g), Florida Statutes (2026). The local agency can extend an initial milestone deadline for good cause (s. 553.899(3)(c)).
Single-family homes and two- to four-family dwellings with three or fewer habitable stories are exempt. The association pays for the inspection of the parts it maintains, which means the cost runs through the budget or an assessment. If phase two finds substantial structural deterioration, the repair bill can dwarf the inspection fee.
Structural integrity reserve studies and the end of waived reserves
The structural integrity reserve study (SIRS) is the companion law in s. 718.112(2)(g). Associations with buildings three habitable stories or higher must have one at least every 10 years. It looks at the roof, structure, fireproofing and fire protection, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing and exterior painting, windows and exterior doors, plus any other item costing more than $25,000 to replace or maintain (or an inflation-adjusted figure) whose failure would hurt those systems. A licensed engineer or architect, or a reserve specialist or professional reserve analyst certified by the Community Associations Institute or the Association of Professional Reserve Analysts, has to perform or verify it.
The deadline history is messy. For owner-controlled associations that existed on or before July 1, 2022, the 2024 condo law (ch. 2024-244) set a December 31, 2024 deadline and let an association with a milestone inspection due on or before December 31, 2026 do the SIRS at the same time, with an outer limit of December 31, 2026. The 2025 condo law, HB 913 (ch. 2025-175), moved the base deadline to December 31, 2025. The December 31, 2026 outer limit, about two months from now, still stands.
Here's what turns a study into money:
- No more voting reserves away. For budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, owners in an association that must have a SIRS can't vote to fund less than the required reserves for SIRS items, and can't vote to spend those reserves on anything else (s. 718.112(2)(f)).
- How the gap gets funded. SIRS reserves can come from regular assessments, special assessments, a line of credit or a loan. A special assessment, line of credit or loan needs a majority of the total voting interests, and it has to appear in the annual financial statement and in disclosures to buyers.
- Some breathing room after a milestone inspection. For budgets adopted on or before December 31, 2028, an association that completed a milestone inspection in the previous two calendar years can, with the approval of a majority of the total voting interests, pause or reduce reserve contributions for no more than two consecutive annual budgets to pay for milestone repairs. It has to get a SIRS before contributions resume.
Within 45 days of receiving the SIRS, the association must give owners a copy or a notice that it's available, and report completion to the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes, which posts the reporting form (DBPR).
Why these laws show up on your insurance conversation
None of the inspection or reserve rules is an insurance rule. They still hit the same place insurance does: your monthly dues and your special assessments. A unit owner is liable for every assessment that comes due while they own the unit, and is jointly liable with the previous owner for unpaid assessments up to the transfer of title (s. 718.116(1)(a)). If you're buying, that makes the association's documents part of your risk check.
What I'd look at before buying a condo, or at your next renewal:
| Document | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Master policy declarations | Hurricane/windstorm deductible (percentage and dollar amount), all-other-perils deductible, whether flood is carried |
| Latest replacement-cost appraisal | Date (must be within 3 years) and whether limits track it |
| Declaration of condominium | Unit boundary definition, owner insurance requirements, any opt-out of the default repair-cost rules |
| Milestone inspection summary | Phase one result, whether phase two was required, repair timeline |
| SIRS and current budget | Recommended vs. budgeted reserves, planned special assessments, lines of credit or loans |
| Board minutes and notices | Special assessments under discussion, especially after a storm |
| Your unit-owner policy | Building (Coverage A) limit, loss assessment limit and wording, liability limit, hurricane deductible |
Source: s. 718.111(11), s. 718.112(2), s. 553.899(9), s. 627.714, Florida Statutes (2026).
Associations can also opt out of the default repair-cost rules in s. 718.111(11)(j) by a majority of the total voting interests and allocate costs per the declaration instead, so the recorded documents matter more than any general rule. If you'd like help reading those pages against a policy, my Florida condo insurance page explains how I work with unit owners.
Citizens and condo units
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation writes condo unit-owner policies, with value limits. A single condominium unit whose combined dwelling and contents replacement cost is $700,000 or more isn't eligible, except in counties the Office of Insurance Regulation finds lack reasonable competition, where the cutoff is $1 million (s. 627.351(6)(a)3.).
The flood rule is where condo owners get a break. Citizens is phasing in a flood insurance requirement for its personal residential policies, reaching all remaining policies with wind coverage on January 1, 2027, but the statute exempts policies written on a condominium unit-owners form (s. 627.351(6)(aa)3.; Citizens flood page). On the association side, Citizens won't write wind-only coverage for a condominium where 50% or more of the units are rented more than eight times a year for stays under 30 days. My Citizens 2026 post covers eligibility and takeouts in detail.
Flood: what the building policy can and can't carry
Because Florida law makes association flood coverage optional, buildings vary. Under the National Flood Insurance Program, a residential condominium building policy can carry up to $250,000 times the number of units, and an individual owner can buy building coverage up to $250,000 and contents up to $100,000 (44 CFR 61.6; FloodSmart).
| NFIP coverage | Regular program maximum |
|---|---|
| Residential condominium building (association policy) | $250,000 x number of units |
| Building coverage for a single residence or unit owner | $250,000 |
| Residential contents (per insured) | $100,000 |
Source: 44 CFR 61.6, Maximum amounts of coverage available; FloodSmart, Buy a Policy.
Two takeaways. If your association carries no flood or a low flood limit, a flood loss to the building can become a shared expense just like a wind deductible. And your contents, flooring and cabinets are your own flood question: look on your unit-owner declarations page for flood, and if it isn't there, ask about a separate flood policy. NFIP policies generally take 30 days to start, with exceptions, so don't wait for a storm. My Florida flood insurance post and the Florida flood insurance page go further.
Where to go with a problem
Insurance claim or policy problems go to the Florida Department of Financial Services' Division of Consumer Services at 1-877-693-5236 or online (DFS). Questions about how your association handles inspections, reserves, records or assessments belong with the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes at DBPR.
FAQ
Is condo insurance required in Florida?
Florida law requires the condominium association to carry adequate property insurance on the building. I found no statute that requires every unit owner to buy an HO-6 policy, but your declaration, association rules or mortgage lender may require one.
What does a Florida condo master policy not cover?
By statute it excludes personal property in the unit and floor, wall and ceiling coverings, electrical fixtures, appliances, water heaters, water filters, built-in cabinets and countertops, and window treatments that are within the unit and serve only that unit. Those are the unit owner's responsibility.
How much loss assessment coverage is required in Florida?
A Florida unit-owner residential policy must include at least $2,000 of loss assessment coverage per direct loss, with a deductible of no more than $250. The limit in effect one day before the loss is the most that can be paid.
Who pays the condo association's hurricane deductible in Florida?
Under s. 718.111(11)(j), master-policy deductibles are a common expense shared by all owners in proportion to their ownership share, unless the association has opted out or the damage was caused by an owner's negligence or rule violation.
When is a milestone inspection required in Florida?
Condo and co-op buildings of three or more habitable stories need a milestone inspection by December 31 of the year they turn 30, then every 10 years. The local building agency may require it at 25 years where conditions such as proximity to salt water call for it.
Your own policy wording, your association's declaration and Florida law control how any of this applies to your unit. Confirm your situation with a licensed agent, the Florida Department of Financial Services or Office of Insurance Regulation, or, for legal questions, an attorney.
Sources
- Florida Statutes s. 718.111(11), condominium association insurance (2026)
- Florida Statutes s. 718.112(2)(f)-(g), reserves and structural integrity reserve studies (2026)
- Florida Statutes s. 718.115, common expenses (2026)
- Florida Statutes s. 718.116, assessments; liability; special assessment notice (2026)
- Florida Statutes s. 718.103, definitions (2026)
- Florida Statutes s. 627.714, unit owner coverage; loss assessment coverage (2026)
- Florida Statutes s. 627.70132, notice of property insurance claim (2026)
- Florida Statutes s. 627.701, hurricane deductibles (2026)
- Florida Statutes s. 553.899, mandatory structural inspections for condominium and cooperative buildings (2026)
- Florida Statutes s. 627.351(6), Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (2026)
- Laws of Florida ch. 2024-244
- Laws of Florida ch. 2025-175 (CS/CS/HB 913)
- Citizens Property Insurance Corporation: Flood insurance requirement
- 44 CFR 61.6, NFIP maximum amounts of coverage
- FloodSmart (NFIP): Buy a Policy
- DBPR Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes
- Florida DFS: consumer resources and helpline
This article is for general educational purposes only and is not legal, tax or insurance advice. Coverage depends on the actual policy, its terms, conditions and exclusions, and state law. Maru Insurance · WA License (WAOIC) #1365574 · FL License #G363233 · NPN 22261820.