Where the master policy ends, your unit begins.
Your condo association insures the building — but its policy usually stops at the drywall, and everything from there in is yours: the floors, the cabinets, your belongings, your liability, and your share of any special assessment. An HO-6 condo policy fills exactly that gap. The trick is fitting it to your association's master policy, and sizing loss assessment for the day the HOA sends a bill. Placed through an independent agency that represents Auto-Owners.
The short answer
A condo (HO-6) policy covers what the association's master policy doesn't: the interior of your unit from the walls in, your belongings, your liability, your living expenses if it's unlivable, and — the one that defines condo risk — loss assessment, your share when the HOA levies a special assessment. How much you need depends on whether the master policy is bare walls or all-in. It's backed by an A+ (Superior) carrier, bundles with your auto, and is placed only through an independent agent like Cribb.
Six coverages for the part that's yours.
An HO-6 policy is built to fill the space the master policy leaves — inside your unit, and around your name.
Dwelling (your interior)
Covers the parts of the unit you own — drywall, flooring, cabinets, built-ins, and improvements — from the walls in. How much you need is set by your association's master policy type.
Personal property
Replaces your belongings after a covered loss such as fire, theft, or a burst pipe. Choose replacement cost, and schedule valuables like jewelry and firearms that carry sublimits.
Loss of use
Pays for a place to stay and added expenses if a covered loss makes your unit uninhabitable while it's repaired.
Personal liability
Protects you if you're liable for injuring someone or damaging property — including water that escapes your unit and damages a neighbor's — with legal defense included.
Medical payments to others
Covers minor medical bills for a guest injured in your unit, regardless of fault — a quick way to resolve a small injury.
Loss assessment
Pays your share when the association bills every owner for a covered common-area loss or a big master-policy deductible. The single most important coverage on a condo policy — and the one most often set too low.
Bare walls, or all-in?
The association's master policy covers the building and common areas. Whether it stops at the studs or includes your fixtures determines how much dwelling coverage your HO-6 has to carry.
Three master-policy types, three different HO-6 limits.
Bare walls-in covers only the structure to the studs or drywall — you insure every interior finish, from flooring to cabinets to fixtures, so you need the most dwelling coverage. Single entity adds the originally installed fixtures, leaving you to cover upgrades and improvements. All-in is the most comprehensive, covering original fixtures and leaving you mainly your upgrades, your belongings, and the master-deductible gap.
The only way to set the right number is to read the association's master policy declarations — the same document that tells us the master deductible you'd be assessed against. Guessing here is how condo owners end up either underinsured on the interior or paying for coverage the HOA already carries. We read it with you and fit the HO-6 into the exact gap it leaves.
Loss assessment: the bill you didn't see coming.
When a covered loss hits the common areas, or the master policy's large deductible applies, the association can bill every unit owner for a share. That bill can be thousands — and the default loss-assessment limit is often just $1,000.
The one coverage most condo owners have set too low.
If a fire damages the lobby beyond the master policy's limit, or the association faces a liability claim, or the master policy carries a $25,000 to $100,000 deductible that gets assessed out to members, loss assessment coverage pays your portion. It's the only real shield against the shared financial risk of condo living — and it's frequently left at the standard $1,000, which won't come close.
For a small additional premium, we usually raise loss assessment to $25,000 or $50,000, sized against your association's actual master deductible. Reading that number off the master policy and setting your limit to match is one of the highest-value five minutes we spend on a condo policy.
Three things to get right on a condo policy.
First, read the master policy and size your Coverage A to whether it's bare walls or all-in. Second, raise loss assessment to match the master deductible — not the $1,000 default. Third, choose replacement cost, schedule valuables, and bundle with auto for the discount and the shared deductible. We handle all three from your association's documents.
What a condo policy won't cover.
A few things sit with the association, or need coverage of their own.
The building & common areas
The roof, exterior walls, hallways, and shared amenities belong to the association's master policy, not your HO-6. Your policy starts where theirs stops.
Flood & earthquake
Rising water and earth movement are excluded from a standard HO-6, just as on a homeowners policy. If either is a concern for your building, it needs its own coverage.
Wear, maintenance & gradual leaks
Sudden accidental damage is covered; a slow leak, deferred maintenance, or ordinary wear is not. Those stay with you as the owner, not the policy.
Backed by an A+ (Superior) carrier.
AM Best rates the members of Auto-Owners Insurance Group — the companies behind your Arkansas condo policy — with a Financial Strength Rating of A+ (Superior) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "aa" (Superior), stable outlook, per its rating action dated October 31, 2024. A+ (Superior) is the second-highest of AM Best's rating levels and sits in its top "Superior" category. A financial strength rating is an opinion about an insurer's ability to pay claims — its solvency — not a grade of how a specific claim is handled, and not a recommendation. The current rating is at ambest.com.
Where we earn it on a condo policy.
The quiet condo mistakes are Coverage A sized to the wrong master-policy type, loss assessment left at $1,000, actual cash value instead of replacement cost, and the auto discount left unclaimed. We read your association's master policy, set the interior and assessment limits to match it, and bundle with auto. We don't adjust your claim and can't overrule an adjuster — but we make sure the HO-6 was fitted to the real gaps, and we'll compare Auto-Owners against 40-plus markets for the best fit.
Less than a house, more than a rental.
A general planning range for condo (HO-6) coverage — not a quote, not carrier-specific, and not a guarantee. Price depends on how much interior and personal property coverage you carry, your loss assessment limit, your deductible, the building, and where you live — and it typically drops when bundled with auto. A unit with a bare-walls master policy and a high loss-assessment limit costs more than one with all-in coverage. Send your association's master policy declarations and we'll build the real figure with you, Auto-Owners against 40-plus carriers.
Your condo rarely stands alone.
Auto-Owners condo insurance questions.
Doesn't the condo association's insurance cover my unit?
Only partly. The association's master policy covers the building and common areas — the exterior, the roof, hallways, and shared amenities — and the association's own liability. It does not cover your belongings, your personal liability, or, in most cases, the interior of your unit.
Where the association's coverage stops and yours begins depends on the type of master policy: a bare-walls policy covers only the structure to the drywall, leaving flooring, cabinets, fixtures, and finishes to you, while an all-in policy covers original fixtures and leaves you responsible mainly for upgrades and your belongings. An HO-6 condo policy fills that gap, and getting it sized to your specific master policy is the whole job.
What does an HO-6 condo policy cover?
An HO-6 policy covers what the master policy doesn't. Dwelling coverage (Coverage A) protects the interior of your unit — drywall, flooring, cabinets, built-ins, and any improvements — from the walls in. Personal property replaces your belongings after a covered loss. Loss of use pays your added living expenses if the unit becomes uninhabitable.
Personal liability and medical payments protect you if someone is injured in your unit or you're liable for damage. And loss assessment coverage pays your share when the association levies a special assessment. How much of each you need depends on your unit and your association's master policy, which is exactly what we sort out.
What is loss assessment coverage and how much do I need?
Loss assessment coverage is the piece that defines condo risk. When a covered loss to the common areas — or a liability claim against the association — exceeds the master policy's limits, or when the master policy carries a large deductible, the association can bill every unit owner for a share through a special assessment. Loss assessment coverage pays your portion.
The catch is that policies often include only a $1,000 limit by default, while master-policy deductibles can run $25,000 to $100,000. For a small additional premium you can raise the limit to $25,000 or $50,000, which is what we typically recommend after reading your association's documents.
What is bare walls vs all-in, and how much dwelling coverage do I need?
There are three common master-policy types, and they decide how much dwelling (Coverage A) you carry on your HO-6. Bare walls-in covers the structure only to the studs or drywall, so you insure all the interior finishes — flooring, cabinets, fixtures — and need the most Coverage A. Single entity adds the originally installed fixtures, so you cover upgrades and improvements.
All-in is the most comprehensive, covering original fixtures, leaving you mainly your upgrades, your belongings, and the master deductible gap. The only way to set the right limit is to read the master policy's declarations, and we'll do that with you rather than guess.
Does condo insurance cover water damage from the unit above me?
Often yes, but it depends on the source and the policy. Sudden, accidental water damage — a pipe bursting in the unit above and ruining your ceiling, flooring, and belongings — is generally covered by your HO-6 policy, which is one of the most common condo claims there is. Gradual leaks, seepage, and maintenance issues are typically excluded, and flooding from outside is never covered and needs a separate flood policy.
Because water travels between units, this is also where liability and the association's master policy can come into play, so it's worth having us confirm how your specific policy and bylaws handle it before it happens.
How do I get an Auto-Owners condo quote in Bentonville or Rogers?
Start at our personal lines quote form or call (479) 286-1066. The most useful thing you can send is a copy of your association's master policy declarations, so we can size your Coverage A and loss assessment to the actual gaps it leaves — and your current condo declarations page if you have one.
If you carry auto, we'll quote them together for the multi-policy discount. Because Auto-Owners only sells through independent agents, an agency like ours is the only way to buy it, and we compare it against 40-plus other carriers.
If our coverage explainers are useful, mark Cribb Insurance as a preferred source so more Northwest Arkansas condo owners can find our local, plain-English guides.
Fit your HO-6 to your building — not a guess.
Send your association's master policy declarations and we'll size your interior coverage and loss assessment to the exact gaps it leaves, then quote it bundled with your auto. If Auto-Owners is the right fit, we'll place it. If one of our other 40-plus carriers fits your building better, we'll tell you that too.
Cribb Insurance Group Inc. is an independent insurance agency licensed in Arkansas. We are not Auto-Owners, and this page is not endorsed, sponsored, reviewed, or approved by Auto-Owners. "Auto-Owners" and "Auto-Owners Insurance" are service marks or trademarks of Auto-Owners Insurance Company and its affiliates, used here nominatively to identify products we are appointed to place. Auto-Owners' Arkansas condominium policies are issued by Auto-Owners-affiliated underwriting companies.
This page describes condominium (HO-6) coverage in general, industry-standard terms for informational purposes only. It is not a policy, not an offer of insurance, and not a guarantee of coverage, availability, eligibility, or price. Dwelling (unit interior) coverage, personal property, loss of use, personal liability, medical payments, loss assessment, replacement-cost and actual-cash-value valuation, scheduled personal property, limits, deductibles, endorsements, and exclusions are set by the carrier, vary by state and by policy and over time, are subject to the carrier's underwriting approval and eligibility, and apply only as written in the policy actually issued to you. The division of responsibility between an HO-6 policy and a condominium association's master policy depends on the association's governing documents and master policy (for example, bare walls-in, single entity, or all-in); you should review those documents, and coverage descriptions here are general. Loss assessment coverage is subject to its own limit and terms. Flood, earthquake, gradual damage, and wear are excluded and may require separate coverage.
Discounts, including any multi-policy discount for combining condo with auto or other policies, are subject to the carrier's rules and eligibility, vary by state and policy, and are not guaranteed. Condo insurance is not required by Arkansas law but may be required by your mortgage lender or condominium association; those requirements are set by them, not by this agency. Illustrative figures for master-policy deductibles and loss-assessment limits are general examples, not statements about your association or policy.
Financial strength ratings are opinions of an insurer's ability to meet its ongoing insurance obligations, are subject to change, are not recommendations to purchase, hold or terminate any policy, and do not address an insurer's claims-handling practices; current ratings are at ambest.com. The A+ (Superior) rating referenced applies to the members of Auto-Owners Insurance Group. Cost figures are a general planning range for illustrative purposes, are not a quote, not carrier-specific, and not a guarantee of your rate; your premium is determined at quote.
Last reviewed July 2026.