Reviewed and approved by Samuel Corso, licensed Texas insurance agent.

Published August 10, 2026 · Updated October 1, 2026

Condo insurance in Texas — what your HO-6 covers and what the association already insures

Condo insurance in Texas can involve two policies, the one you buy for your unit and the one the association buys for the building. This guide explains what each one is for and which documents to ask your association for.

The short version. In Texas, a condominium policy covers your personal property and the interior of your unit, provides liability protection and pays additional living expenses, according to the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) Home insurance guide, which also says coverages vary by company. The Office of Public Insurance Counsel (OPIC) says in Residential Property: The Basics that condominium insurance does not cover the outside of the condo or the building the condo is in, though it may cover property you are responsible for under your association agreement. This guide cannot say what your own association insures. Its master policy and your condominium's governing documents may answer that.

Here's what this page covers: where your unit ends, what a TDI bulletin says about association policies, what a condo unit-owners policy (the HO-6) is for, whose deductible applies, water damage, whether you need your own policy, and special assessments. Coverage depends on your specific policy and your condominium's declaration, so this page also points to the documents that may answer each question.

Where your unit ends

Where a Texas condo unit ends and the common elements begin is something the condominium's governing documents may address, and it shapes what a unit owner's policy is for. In a TDI order approving Insurance Services Office (ISO) homeowners forms, on a page TDI marks as created or updated July 18, 2002, New ISO Residential Property Policy Forms Approved, TDI describes the Homeowners 6 Unit-Owners form as covering items of real property that are the insured's responsibility under the governing rules of a condominium association. OPIC's Basics page makes a similar point, saying a condo policy may cover property you are responsible for under your association agreement.

In plain terms, the insurance question starts with a document you did not buy from an insurance company. Whether a surface, a balcony or a pipe counts as part of your unit or as a common element is not something this guide can answer for your building. Your association's declaration and master policy may answer that, so ask the association for both.

What a TDI bulletin says about association policies

This guide cannot say what a particular Texas condominium association's master policy covers, though a 1997 TDI bulletin lists several provisions for such policies. In Commissioner's Bulletin B-0014-97, a 1997 bulletin addressed to property and casualty companies, TDI listed provisions that property and general liability policy forms insuring condominium associations under any commercial property, commercial general liability, commercial multi-peril, or businessowner policy should be amended to provide. The bulletin says it concerns associations whose declaration is recorded on or after January 1, 1994, and in some cases those recorded before that date.

Three items on the bulletin's list matter to a unit owner, and each carries that same limit on which associations it concerns.

• Which policy is primary. The bulletin's wording is: "When there is other insurance in the name of the unit owner covering the same property covered by the association's policy, the association's policy provides primary insurance."
• Who handles the claim. The bulletin's wording is: "A claim under the policy must be submitted by and adjusted with the association." It adds that the proceeds are payable to an insurance trustee designated by the association or, if the board of directors does not designate one, to the association, not an individual unit owner or lienholder.
• Liability tied to the common elements. The bulletin lists a provision that each unit owner is an insured person under the association's policy with respect to liability arising out of ownership of an undivided interest in the common elements or membership in the association.

The bulletin does not say how much of any single building a master policy insures, and it does not show what a master policy says today. Check whether your association's master policy addresses each of the three points above.

So what is the HO-6 actually for?

A Texas condo unit-owners policy, which this guide calls the HO-6, is for the property and the liability that are yours. TDI's guide describes it this way: "Condominium insurance covers your personal property and the interior of your unit. It also provides liability protection and pays additional living expenses."

OPIC's Basics page gives more detail. It says condominium insurance usually covers the inside of the condo, like appliances, counter tops, flooring, and fixtures, and other structures you own on your property, like a shed. OPIC's list also includes personal items, additional living expenses, medical bills for someone hurt at your condo, and liability claims for accidents caused by you, your property, family, or pets.

The building coverage is the part worth checking. In the same 2002 order, which covers forms ISO filed in 2002, TDI says of the Homeowners 6 Unit-Owners form: "all building and structural items in the unit or on the premises containing the unit for which the unit owner is solely responsible are covered under Coverage A-Dwelling for a basic limit of $5,000. This limit can be increased to meet the unit owner's exposure need."

That figure is TDI's description of one form in that order. The form your company uses may differ, so treat the figure as a reason to look at your own policy. The number to check is the dwelling or building limit on your declarations page, which TDI's guide describes as the first page of your policy, with a summary of your coverages, dollar limits, and deductibles. If you have upgraded the unit, compare that limit with what the improvements would cost to replace.

Whose deductible applies

As general explanation, a loss in a Texas condo building can involve two deductibles, the one on your own policy and the one on the association's master policy. TDI's guide defines the term: "A deductible is the amount of a claim that you must pay yourself."

Who pays the association's deductible on a given loss, and who pays for a repair that costs less than it, is something your building's declaration and master policy may address.

OPIC's Consider Buying HOA Loss Assessment Coverage describes a related mechanism for homeowners associations (HOAs). OPIC says condos often require HOA membership and that, as part of the HOA contract, the HOA very likely can charge all members a loss assessment if there is a loss that it cannot afford to pay and that is not fully covered by the HOA's insurance. OPIC says this about HOAs and does not mention condominium associations by name. Before you buy coverage, ask your association what the master policy's deductible is and whether the governing documents say who pays it.

Water damage in a condo

A water loss in a Texas condo raises two questions, whether the damage is covered and whose loss it is. On the first, the TDI guide has a table of common risks that it says most home policies do and don't cover. The table puts the sudden and accidental release of water among the risks most policies cover and a continuous water leak among those most policies don't cover. It also says policies won't cover mold removal, except to repair damage caused by a covered risk, and the guide lists mold removal among the endorsements for added coverage. TDI notes beside the table that coverages vary by company. The table describes home policies in general, so check how your own unit-owners policy words it.

The second question is specific to condos. If water from your unit damages a neighbor's unit or the common elements, the documents to check are your declaration, the master policy and the liability section of your own policy. According to the TDI guide, personal liability coverage pays if you're responsible for damaging someone else's property. TDI says this about home policies in general. A condo water loss can involve more than one policy, so it helps to know what each one says.

Do you actually need your own policy?

Whether you need your own condo policy in Texas can come down to your lender and your association. TDI's guide says home insurance is not a legal requirement, then adds: "But if you still owe money on your home, your lender will require you to have it." That passage is about home insurance in general and does not mention condos by name, so confirm what your own loan documents ask for.

Your association is the second place to look. Your declaration may ask owners to carry certain coverage, so check whether it does.

If neither applies, the question is what you would be left holding without a policy. Per the TDI guide, condominium insurance covers personal property and the interior of the unit, provides liability protection and pays additional living expenses. Whether the association's master policy does any of that for you is something to confirm in the master policy itself.

Special assessments

OPIC says Texas property owners who belong to a homeowners association (HOA) may have to pay a loss assessment, and that condos often require HOA membership. OPIC writes about HOAs and does not mention condominium associations by name. OPIC's loss assessment page says that, as part of the HOA contract, the HOA very likely can charge all members a loss assessment if there is a loss that it cannot afford to pay and that is not fully covered by the HOA's insurance.

OPIC gives its own example on that page. An HOA with $1,000,000 of insurance coverage and 50 members has an accident at its swimming pool that costs $1,500,000, and it has no other money to pay the loss. In OPIC's example, the HOA charges each of the 50 members $10,000. These are OPIC's example figures and should be read as an illustration only.

Loss assessment coverage is the matching piece on the HOA member's side. OPIC says it pays that assessment for you, up to your policy limit, and adds a caution: "Most loss assessment coverage will not pay if the loss is not covered under the HOA's insurance policy." Whether it is on your policy, what limit it carries and what it applies to are questions for the specific company, so ask about it by name.

What to do with all this

Sorting out condo insurance in Texas starts with the association's documents and ends with your own declarations page. OPIC's loss assessment page suggests reviewing your HOA documents, talking to your HOA board, finding out the HOA's insurance policy coverage and limits, finding out how much HOA money is available, and talking to an insurance professional about how much loss assessment coverage you should have. OPIC writes this for HOA members. For a condo, ask your association for the same things.

• Get the declaration as well as the policy. These two documents may say where your unit ends and who pays the association's deductible.
• Ask the association two direct questions. What is the master policy's deductible, and do the governing documents say who pays it?
• Find the dwelling or building limit on your declarations page. Compare it with what you have installed in the unit.
• Ask about loss assessment coverage by name. Confirm the limit and what it applies to.
• If you're buying a unit, do this before closing. That way you have read both documents before you own the unit.

Key facts

• TDI's guide says condominium insurance covers your personal property and the interior of your unit, provides liability protection and pays additional living expenses. The same guide says coverages vary by company.
• Condominium insurance does not cover the outside of the condo or the building the condo is in, though it may cover property you are responsible for under your association agreement, according to OPIC's Basics page.
• TDI's 2002 order describes the Homeowners 6 Unit-Owners form as covering building and structural items for which the unit owner is solely responsible at a basic limit of $5,000 that can be increased. That is TDI's description of one form ISO filed in 2002, and the form your company uses may differ.
• TDI's Commissioner's Bulletin B-0014-97, a 1997 bulletin about policies insuring condominium associations whose declaration is recorded on or after January 1, 1994, and in some cases earlier, told companies their forms should be amended to provide that the association's policy is primary when there is other insurance in the unit owner's name covering the same property the association's policy covers.
• The same bulletin, with the same limit on which associations it concerns, told companies those forms should be amended to provide that a claim under the association's policy is submitted by and adjusted with the association.
• On HOAs, OPIC's loss assessment page says that, as part of the HOA contract, an HOA very likely can charge all members a loss assessment for a loss it cannot afford to pay and that its insurance does not fully cover. It adds that most loss assessment coverage will not pay if the loss is not covered under the HOA's policy. OPIC says this about HOAs and does not name condominium associations.
• If you still owe money on your home, your lender will require you to have home insurance, according to the TDI guide, which says this about home insurance in general.

Sources: Texas Department of Insurance, Home insurance guide, New ISO Residential Property Policy Forms Approved and Commissioner's Bulletin B-0014-97; Office of Public Insurance Counsel, Residential Property: The Basics and Consider Buying HOA Loss Assessment Coverage. This page is general information, not legal advice. For questions about your legal rights, check your policy or contact the Texas Department of Insurance.

Take the next step

Once you know what the association covers and what its deductible is, sizing your own policy becomes a concrete exercise. You are looking for enough building coverage for the improvements in your unit, liability coverage that fits a building where your plumbing may run above someone else's ceiling, and a clear answer on loss assessments.

If you want the background first, how to choose home insurance in Texas covers sizing coverage, the wind and hail deductible explains how a wind and hail deductible works, and independent agency vs. direct explains how comparing several carriers at once works.

Get a second opinion on your policy — free. Credify is a licensed insurance agency in Texas that helps you compare home insurance from roughly 20 licensed Texas carriers, so you can see whether your condo coverage fits your needs. It takes a few minutes, and there's no obligation. 📞 Talk to Credify 24/7.

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