Quick answer
After a condo fire in Michigan, the association's master policy usually covers the common elements and often the building structure, while the owner's HO-6 unit policy covers personal belongings, interior improvements the association does not insure, additional living expenses and loss assessments. The project's master deed and bylaws decide exactly where the line falls.
The documents that decide
Michigan condominiums are created under the Condominium Act, and each project has a master deed and bylaws. These define what is a unit, what is a general common element (roof, exterior walls, hallways) and what is a limited common element (a balcony or garage assigned to one unit).
The bylaws also say what the association must insure. Some associations insure the whole building including original interiors; others insure only the shell and common elements, leaving everything inside the walls to the owner.
What the association's policy usually covers
The master policy typically covers common elements such as the roof, exterior walls, shared hallways and building systems, and often the structure of each unit as originally built.
After a fire, the association usually controls repairs to common elements and works with its own adjuster. Owners should get a copy of the master policy declarations and the relevant bylaw sections early.
Fire in your condo building? Call the line; we document each unit and the common areas separately.
Call (313) 391-5430What the owner's HO-6 policy covers
An HO-6 policy covers what the association does not: personal belongings, improvements the owner made (upgraded kitchens, flooring), additional living expenses while the unit is unlivable, and liability.
Loss assessment coverage matters too. If the association's deductible or a shortfall is assessed to owners after a fire, this part of the HO-6 policy can pay your share up to its limit.
When the fire started in another unit
Smoke and water from a fire in a neighboring unit are common in condos. Damage to common elements goes to the association's policy, damage inside your unit to whichever policy the bylaws assign, and your belongings to your own HO-6.
Document your unit separately from the building, with dated photos, so each policy covers its part and nothing falls through the gap.
The first 48 hours in a condo
In the first two days after a condo fire, owners should do a few things regardless of who ends up paying.
- Tell the association or management company in writing and ask who their adjuster is
- Call your own HO-6 insurer and open a claim for your unit and belongings
- Photograph your unit room by room, including ceilings, walls shared with neighbors and the hallway outside your door
- Ask for the master deed, bylaws and master policy declarations if you do not have them
- Keep receipts for hotels, meals and anything you buy while you cannot live there
Gaps owners often discover
The most common surprise is that the association's policy covers the building only as it was originally built, so upgraded flooring, cabinets and fixtures fall to the owner. Another is a large association deductible passed on to owners through an assessment.
Owners who rent out their unit should also check that their policy is a landlord or unit-owner form that covers lost rent, since a standard HO-6 written for an owner-occupant may not.
Condo fire insurance questions
Usually the association, since hallways are common elements.
Its loss assessment coverage can pay your assessed share, up to the policy limit.
In the master deed, the bylaws and the master policy declarations.
Often not; owner improvements are usually on the owner's HO-6 policy.
Yes, with the building and each unit documented separately.
