Florida compliance · Board checklist

Florida Condo Master Policy Renewal: A Board's Prep Checklist

Start 120 days before expiration. Use the first month to assemble what underwriters will ask for — a replacement cost appraisal no older than 3 years, milestone inspection and SIRS status, wind mitigation reports, roof information, and loss history — so your agent can market the account at 90 days. Compare quotes and deductibles at 60, set deductibles at a properly noticed board meeting, bind by 30, and then tell owners what the hurricane deductible means for them.

Last reviewed September 2026 · Written for condo boards, treasurers and community association managers · Cited to the 2026 Florida Statutes · Not legal advice

The renewal timeline

120 days out — assemble the submission

• Confirm the expiration date and who is on point — board liaison, manager, and agent. Put the deductible-setting board meeting on the calendar now.
• Check the replacement cost appraisal date. § 718.111(11)(a)2. requires replacement cost to be determined at least once every 3 years; if yours is near that line, order the appraisal or update now — they take time.[1]
• Pull milestone inspection and SIRS reports and any repair status. Milestone and other structural inspection reports are official records the association must keep for 15 years.[1] Deadlines and who's covered: milestone inspections & SIRS.
• Gather wind mitigation documentation — inspection forms and proof of opening protection, roof-to-wall connections, and roof covering.
• Document the roof — year installed or replaced, material, permits, and any recent repairs.
• Request loss runs (claims history) from the current carrier, typically five years.
• Update the building schedule — each building, stories, units, construction type, square footage, and updates to electrical, plumbing, fire and life-safety systems.
• Review the current policies in the official records — every current association policy is one.[1] Note last year's limits, deductibles, exclusions, and premium.

90 days out — market the account

• Deliver the complete submission to your agent. Incomplete submissions get declined or quoted late; carriers price uncertainty.
• Agree on the marketing plan — which markets, whether to quote property, wind, and flood separately, and whether to test alternative deductible structures.
• Prepare for inspections. Underwriters may send an inspector; have access and maintenance records ready.
• If you're with Citizens, or may land there, confirm eligibility requirements now (see Citizens basics).
• Pull a current owner HO-6 compliance report — you'll need it at 30 days (see why it matters).

60 days out — compare and decide

• Compare quotes like-for-like — limits, valuation basis, named-storm/hurricane deductible, all-other-perils deductible, exclusions, and carrier financial strength — not just premium.
• Model the deductible against your funds. § 718.111(11)(c) lets the board base deductibles on available funds, including reserves, or predetermined assessment authority, and requires them to be consistent with industry standards for similar communities in your locale.[1]
• Notice the deductible meeting. The board must set deductibles at a meeting held in the manner of a budget meeting under § 718.112(2)(e) — which includes delivering notice to every owner at least 14 days before.[2]
• Check budget impact. The premium lands in the annual budget; if proposed assessments exceed 115% of the prior year's, § 718.112(2)(e) triggers the substitute-budget procedure.[2]

30 days out — bind and communicate

• Hold the deductible meeting and bind coverage in writing before expiration. Get binders for every line.
• Confirm the fidelity bond or crime coverage covers the maximum funds in the custody of the association or its manager at any one time — this one is required by § 718.111(11)(h).[1]
• Decide on optional lines the statute allows: directors and officers liability, employee coverage, and flood insurance for common elements, association property, and units (§ 718.111(11)(e)).[1]
• Tell owners the new hurricane deductible, what it could mean per unit, and that interiors are theirs to insure (see deductibles).
• File the new policies in the official records and send the manager and board a one-page summary.

What underwriters ask for — and why

On wind mitigation: Florida requires residential property insurance rate filings to include actuarially reasonable discounts, credits, or deductible reductions for construction features shown to reduce windstorm loss — roof strength, roof-to-wall strength, opening protection and similar — and requires insurers to describe the hurricane mitigation discounts they offer on their websites.[3] Ask your agent how mitigation credits apply to your association's policy; the documentation only earns credit if the carrier has it.

Citizens: eligibility and depopulation basics

Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is Florida's state-created insurer for applicants who in good faith can't obtain coverage in the private market. Condominium association policies are "commercial lines residential" coverage under the Citizens statute.[4] Three things matter for a board:

• The 20% rule. A commercial lines residential risk offered comparable coverage from an authorized private insurer is not eligible for Citizens unless that private premium is more than 20% greater than Citizens' premium — for new applications and at renewal.[4]
• Depopulation (take-outs). Citizens runs a depopulation program that matches policyholders with private insurers approved by the Office of Insurance Regulation to take policies out of Citizens. Citizens states that commercial residential policyholders receiving a take-out offer not more than 20% greater than their estimated Citizens renewal premium are not eligible to stay.[5][6] If your association gets an offer, review the offering carrier's coverage and financial strength with your agent — don't let it default.
• Milestone report for older buildings. Effective January 1, 2025, Citizens requires the most current Building Safety or Milestone inspection report, completed by a Florida-registered professional engineer or architect, for new business and for policy changes adding a building, on condominium and cooperative association buildings of three or more stories with more than three units that are at least 30 years old.[7]

Citizens also notes that its policyholders can be subject to assessments if it lacks the resources to pay claims after a major hurricane — a factor to weigh alongside premium.[5]

Deductibles, and telling owners about them

The hurricane deductible is where the master policy renewal becomes every owner's problem. Under § 718.111(11)(j), property insurance deductibles and damages beyond the association's coverage are a common expense — with limited exceptions, such as damage caused by an owner's negligence or failure to follow the declaration or rules.[1] If reserves don't cover it, owners pay it through an assessment.

There is no separate statutory form for disclosing the association's hurricane deductible to owners — the formal step is the noticed board meeting at which it is set. Do more than the minimum. After binding, send owners a short notice with:

1. The new hurricane and all-other-perils deductibles, in dollars.
2. An estimated per-unit share if the full deductible were assessed.
3. A reminder that the master policy excludes unit interiors by statute (§ 718.111(11)(f)3.) — flooring, cabinets, fixtures, appliances, and personal property are the owner's to insure.[1]
4. A prompt to review HO-6 loss assessment coverage with their agent now, not when a storm is forecast.

Why owner HO-6 compliance data belongs in renewal prep

Florida's statutory minimum for HO-6 loss assessment coverage is $2,000, with a deductible no higher than $250.[8] Set that next to a five- or six-figure per-unit deductible assessment and the gap is obvious. Two more details from § 627.714 that owners rarely know:

• Timing. The loss assessment limit that applies is the one in effect the day before the loss occurrence; increases made on or after that day don't apply to that loss.[8] Owners need to raise limits well before a storm.
• Scope. The coverage responds to assessments from a loss of the type the owner's own policy covers.[8] How a given policy treats an assessment for the association's deductible depends on its language — owners should ask their agent.

That's why a current compliance picture matters at renewal. A board that knows how many units are insured, how many have lapsed, and what loss assessment limits owners carry can size the deductible against owners' real ability to absorb an assessment — and target the owner notice at the units with no coverage at all. See loss assessment coverage in Florida, the loss assessment calculator, and templates for requesting proof of HO-6 insurance.

Questions to ask your agent

1. Which markets are you approaching, and which declined or didn't respond — and why?
2. Is our replacement cost appraisal current enough, and do our insured values reflect it?
3. What would the premium be at two or three different hurricane deductible options?
4. Are we receiving every wind mitigation credit our documentation supports? What would earn more?
5. How are our roof age and milestone/SIRS status affecting terms or eligibility?
6. If we're with Citizens or have a take-out offer: how does the private option compare on coverage, carrier strength, and assessment exposure?
7. What exclusions or sublimits changed from last year — especially water damage?
8. Should we quote flood coverage, and what does the association's current flood exposure look like?
9. Is our fidelity/crime coverage sized to the maximum funds held by us and our manager?
10. What should we tell owners about the deductible and their HO-6 loss assessment coverage?