Florida compliance

Florida Condo Insurance Requirements: Association vs. Unit Owner

Florida law requires the association to carry adequate property insurance, and expressly makes the unit's interior the owner's responsibility. What it does not do is require the owner to buy an HO-6. Florida enacted that mandate in 2008 and repealed it in 2010. The obligation today comes from your declaration and your lender.

Last updated 2026-08-01 · Cited to the 2025 Florida Statutes, current through ch. 2025-175 · Not legal advice

What the association must insure

That "regardless of any requirement in the declaration" clause was added by HB 913 in 2025. It makes the statutory obligation a floor that a weaker declaration cannot undercut.[2]

On valuation, the current text of (a)2. reads:

• The amount for full insurable value, replacement cost or similar coverage may be based on the replacement cost of the property, as determined by an independent insurance appraisal or an update of a previous appraisal
• The replacement cost must be determined at least once every 3 years, at minimum

What falls to the unit owner

This is the load-bearing provision for unit-owner compliance, and it is worth reading in full. § 718.111(11)(f)3. requires that the association's coverage exclude:[1]

Two things follow from this, and they are the whole reason unit-owner insurance matters in Florida:

1. Every Florida condominium master policy is a statutory "bare walls" policy. The exclusion is not a carrier preference or a declaration choice — it is required by statute. No association's master policy covers the items listed above.
2. The statute assigns that responsibility to the owner directly. The final sentence is unambiguous. It does not, however, direct the owner to buy insurance — only to bear the responsibility.

Note what is not on the exclusion list: air conditioning and heating equipment. Where that lands depends on the declaration and on whether the equipment serves only the one unit.

Does Florida require owners to carry HO-6?

The repealed 2009 text read, in relevant part:[4]

"The association shall require each owner to provide evidence of a currently effective policy of hazard and liability insurance upon request, but not more than once per year. Upon the failure of an owner to provide a certificate of insurance … within 30 days after the date on which a written request is delivered, the association may purchase a policy of insurance on behalf of an owner."

The same repealed version also required the association to be an additional named insured and loss payee on every unit owner's casualty policy. Neither provision survives.

What § 718.111(11)(g) actually says

The current paragraph (g) is short and is often confused with the repealed language: "A condominium unit owner policy must conform to the requirements of s. 627.714."[1] That is a conditional — it regulates what a policy must contain if one is issued. It does not require issuing one.

Section 627.714 in turn requires that a condominium unit owner policy include:[5]

• At least $2,000 in property loss assessment coverage
• A deductible on that loss assessment coverage of no more than $250

Note how low that floor is. A policy meeting the statutory minimum carries $2,000 of loss assessment coverage — against Florida special assessments that routinely run into five and six figures per unit. Associations that care about this set their own minimum in the declaration.

So where does the HO-6 requirement come from?

Two places, and the second is the one with real teeth.

1. The declaration of condominium

The primary source of any obligation on the owner. If your association requires HO-6 coverage at stated limits, that requirement lives in the declaration — not the statute. § 718.111(11)(e) expressly contemplates declarations that require owner-obtained insurance for certain buildings.[1] This is also why requirements differ so much between associations.

2. The mortgage lender

The strongest practical driver. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide B7-3-04 provides that where the association's master policy does not cover the interior of the unit and its improvements, "the borrower must maintain an individual property insurance policy" sufficient to restore the unit to its pre-loss condition.[6] Because § 718.111(11)(f)3. makes every Florida master policy exclude those items, this requirement effectively attaches to essentially every conforming-financed Florida condominium unit.

Can an association force-place insurance on an uninsured owner?

There is a chargeback provision in current law, and it is frequently misread as force-place authority. § 718.111(11)(g)2. provides that unit owners are responsible for the cost of reconstruction of portions of the condominium property for which the owner is required to carry property insurance, and that reconstruction work undertaken by the association "is chargeable to the unit owner and enforceable as an assessment," collectible under § 718.116.[1]

That is a real and meaningful remedy — it reaches the association's lien and foreclosure rights under § 718.116(5)(a).[7] But it is a reconstruction cost, recoverable after a loss. It is not the premium on a policy the association bought for a non-compliant owner, and it does nothing to get a unit insured before something happens.

The practical consequence for boards: because the statutory stick is gone, the workable approach is the unglamorous one — know continuously who is insured, ask early and repeatedly, and escalate through whatever the declaration provides. Tracking substitutes for enforcement authority that no longer exists.

Practical checklist for boards and managers

1. Read your declaration — that, not the statute, defines what owners owe.
2. Confirm your master policy meets § 718.111(11)(a) and that a replacement-cost determination is on file from within the last 3 years.
3. Do not promise owners that the master policy covers interior items — by statute it cannot.
4. If you set owner minimums, set a loss assessment minimum well above the $2,000 statutory floor.
5. Do not send owners demand letters citing repealed force-place authority. Have counsel confirm what your declaration actually supports.
6. In coastal buildings, verify wind coverage exists — see HO-6 vs. wind-only.
7. Track expiration dates continuously. Without statutory enforcement, early visibility is the only real lever.