Condo Master Policy vs. HO-6 in Connecticut: What Farmington Valley Condo Owners Actually Need

What does a Connecticut condo association’s master policy cover, and what do you need to buy yourself? In most Connecticut condo buildings, more than first-time buyers expect: state law generally requires the association’s policy to cover the units themselves, and makes it pay first. Your HO-6 policy covers your belongings, your liability, your share of any assessment, and whatever the master policy leaves out under your particular declaration. The declaration, not the certificate the lender asked for, is what tells you where that line is.

I get this question from buyers closing on units in West Hartford Center, Farmington and Avon, and from longtime owners whose association just raised its deductible. Here is how it works.

What Connecticut law says the master policy must cover

Most Connecticut condominiums are governed by the Common Interest Ownership Act. It applies to communities created on or after January 1, 1984, and since July 1, 2010 its insurance and assessment sections also apply to most older communities, without overriding what their existing declarations say.

Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-255, in a building where units are stacked or share walls, the association’s property insurance has to cover the units themselves, including improvements and betterments owners have installed, to the extent that coverage is reasonably available. Two exceptions: the declaration can limit it, or the board can decide, after notice to owners, not to insure owner improvements. If an association of more than 12 units does not insure them, it has to give owners a yearly list of the standard fixtures and finishes the master policy does cover.

The same statute makes the master policy primary: when a loss is covered by both the association’s policy and yours, the association’s pays first.

That is the opposite of what most buyers assume. They expect a bare-walls master policy and an HO-6 that does the heavy lifting. In a Connecticut building, the starting point is closer to the reverse, and the work is in reading the exceptions.

Bare walls, all-in, and what your declaration actually says

You will still hear two terms:

• Bare walls: the master policy covers the structure to the drywall, and you cover everything inside your unit.
• All-in (sometimes “single entity”): the master policy also covers fixtures, cabinets, flooring and built-ins, and sometimes owner upgrades.

In Connecticut, a bare-walls arrangement usually exists because the declaration or the board has limited the master policy’s coverage, as the statute allows. Townhouse-style communities, where units do not share floors and ceilings, can also be set up differently. So the question is never just “what kind of master policy do we have?” It is “what does our declaration say, and has the board opted out of insuring improvements?” Get the declaration, the current master policy summary and, for a larger association, the yearly fixtures list.

What your HO-6 still has to cover

Even in an all-in building, your own policy matters:

• Personal property. Furniture, clothing, electronics, everything you would take with you. Choose replacement cost.
• Building coverage for the gaps. Whatever the declaration excludes, and any upgrades the board has chosen not to insure. After a $40,000 kitchen renovation, this number is usually too low.
• Liability. Injuries to guests and damage you cause to other units. The overflowing washing machine that soaks the unit below is a liability claim against you.
• Loss of use. Somewhere to live while the unit is repaired.
• Loss assessment. Your share when the association assesses owners after a loss (see below).
• Water backup. Sewer and drain backup is excluded unless you add the endorsement, and flood is excluded entirely.

The deductible and the assessment

This is where condo owners get surprised. Many associations now carry master policy deductibles of $10,000, $25,000 or more.

In Connecticut, the master deductible is normally a common expense: the association pays it and recovers it from all owners through an assessment. There is no statute that lets an association simply pass the deductible to the owner whose unit the loss started in. It can be charged to one owner in two situations: when the declaration provides for it, or under § 47-257, when the damage came from that owner’s (or their tenant’s or guest’s) willful misconduct, gross negligence or failure to follow a written maintenance standard, and only after notice and a hearing.

Either way, the money comes from owners, which is what loss assessment coverage on your HO-6 is for. It pays your share of an assessment for a covered loss. The default limit on many policies is small, often $1,000, and older policy forms limit assessments that come from the master deductible to that amount even if the overall limit is higher. Raising loss assessment to $25,000 or $50,000 usually costs very little. Check both numbers.

Three Connecticut-specific things to check

1. Flood. Neither the master policy nor your HO-6 covers flood unless the association or you buy flood insurance separately. Since July 1, 2026, Connecticut homeowners policies must carry a plain-language notice saying so. A garden-level or ground-floor unit near the Farmington River is worth a flood quote. More in our flood insurance guide.
2. Crumbling foundations. Condo buildings in north-central and northeastern Connecticut built from 1983 on can have pyrrhotite in the foundation concrete. Insurance generally does not pay to replace it. The state’s Connecticut Foundation Solutions Indemnity Company pays up to $82,000 per condo unit on proposals submitted from January 20, 2026. Ask the association whether the building has been tested.
3. Renting the unit out. A unit you lease to tenants needs to be written as a rental, usually an HO-6 with a rented-to-others endorsement. See landlord insurance.

What to do

Send us your association’s master policy declarations page and the condo declaration (or the insurance section of it), and we will tell you exactly what your HO-6 needs to cover the gap, at no charge. We quote it across several carriers and usually bundle it with your auto. More on condo and renters insurance in the Farmington Valley, or call (860) 672-1733.

Related: what homeowners insurance covers in Connecticut, and our umbrella insurance page if your liability limit needs to sit under one.

Condo insurance questions

Does my Connecticut condo association’s master policy cover the inside of my unit?

In most buildings where units are stacked or share walls, Connecticut law requires the master policy to cover the units, including owner-installed improvements, unless the declaration limits it or the board has decided not to insure improvements. Your declaration tells you which applies. Your belongings, liability and assessments are always your own policy’s job.

Who pays the master policy deductible in Connecticut?

Normally all owners, as a common expense recovered through an assessment. It can be charged to one owner if the declaration provides for it, or if the damage came from that owner’s willful misconduct, gross negligence or failure to follow a written maintenance standard, after notice and a hearing.

How much loss assessment coverage should a condo owner carry?

Enough to cover your share of a large assessment and, ideally, the full master deductible. Default limits are often $1,000, and older forms cap assessments from the master deductible at that amount. Raising it to $25,000 or $50,000 is usually inexpensive.

Does the master policy or my HO-6 pay first?

In Connecticut the association’s policy is primary when both policies cover the same loss. Your HO-6 covers what it does not, including the gaps your declaration creates.