Coverage basics

Walls-In Coverage in Florida Condos: What the Master Policy Covers vs. Your HO-6

In a Florida condo the association's master policy covers the building, but state law requires it to exclude the unit's floor, wall and ceiling coverings, electrical fixtures, appliances, water heaters, water filters, built-in cabinets, countertops and window treatments. Those items, and your belongings, are the owner's responsibility, and the owner's HO-6 is what insures them. Your HO-6 Coverage A should be large enough to rebuild all of it, including any upgrades.

Last reviewed: September 2026 · For unit owners and condo boards · Cited to the 2026 Florida Statutes · General information, not legal or insurance advice

What "walls-in" means, and where Florida draws the line

"Bare walls," "walls-in," and "all-in" are industry terms, not statutory ones. They describe how much of a unit's interior the association's policy covers. In many states the split is set by each condominium's declaration. In Florida, the statute sets it, and it applies to every residential condominium in the state regardless of when its declaration was recorded.[1]

Owners and boards still use these terms loosely, so the useful question is not "is our building walls-in?" It is: which specific items does the statute take off the association's policy? The answer is below.

What the master policy must cover

Separately, § 718.111(11)(a) requires every association to carry "adequate property insurance," "regardless of any requirement in the declaration of condominium for certain coverage by the association," with replacement cost determined at least once every 3 years.[1] The master policy is the association's job. The open question for owners is what it leaves out.

What Florida law makes the master policy exclude

What the list does not name

The exclusion list is specific. It does not name drywall, interior doors, windows and sliding doors, plumbing fixtures, or air-conditioning and heating equipment. Those items are not automatically the owner's. Whether they belong to the association or the owner depends on how your declaration defines the unit's boundaries and who maintains what. Read the declaration before you assume either way.

Upgrades, including ones you inherited

Paragraph (n) goes further than the exclusion list. The association "is not obligated to pay for any reconstruction or repair expenses due to property loss to any improvements installed by a current or former owner of the unit or by the developer if the improvement benefits only the unit for which it was installed and is not part of the standard improvements installed by the developer on all units as part of original construction, whether or not such improvement is located within the unit."[1]

In practice, if you bought a renovated unit, the previous owner's upgrades are now your insurance problem, even if you never saw a receipt for them.

What this means for your HO-6 Coverage A

On the standard ISO unit-owners form (HO 00 06), Coverage A covers "the alterations, appliances, fixtures and improvements which are part of the building contained within the 'residence premises'," items of real property pertaining exclusively to the unit, and "property which is your insurance responsibility under a corporation or association of property owners agreement."[3] In Florida, the statute above writes that responsibility for you. Carriers use their own versions of the form, so check the one on your policy.

No Florida statute sets a Coverage A amount. A defensible way to size it:

1. Price replacing every item on the (f)3. list in your unit: flooring, wall and ceiling finishes, cabinets, countertops, appliances, water heater, fixtures, window treatments.
2. Add upgrades, including prior owners' (paragraph (n)).
3. Add anything your declaration assigns to owners that is not on the statutory list, such as HVAC equipment if your declaration makes it the owner's.
4. Insure on a replacement-cost basis, not actual cash value.

Deductibles, assessments, and loss assessment coverage

Walls-in coverage is only half of the owner's exposure. The other half is what the association passes back to owners after a loss.

• Master deductibles are a common expense. Under § 718.111(11)(j), "all property insurance deductibles and other damages in excess of property insurance coverage" under the association's policies are a common expense.[1] After a hurricane, that usually means reserves or a special assessment on every owner.
• Associations can opt out of that allocation. A majority of the total voting interests may opt out of paragraph (j) and allocate repair costs as the declaration provides, under § 718.111(11)(k)–(m).[1] Boards should tell owners clearly if this has happened.
• The statutory loss assessment floor is low. § 627.714 requires a unit-owner policy to include at least $2,000 of loss assessment coverage, with a deductible of no more than $250.[2] The base ISO form provides $1,000, and Florida's statute raises that for Florida policies.[3]

Whether loss assessment coverage pays an assessment levied to cover a master deductible depends on your policy's wording. See Loss assessment coverage in Florida for the details and the case law, and the loss assessment calculator to size a limit.

Common gaps

1. Coverage A left at the carrier's default

A default limit often isn't based on your unit's finishes. Price the (f)3. list and set the limit deliberately.

2. Inherited upgrades nobody accounted for

Paragraph (n) puts prior owners' improvements on you. A renovated kitchen you bought with the unit is a Coverage A item.

3. Assuming the association covers "the walls"

Wall coverings are excluded by statute. What happens to the wall behind them depends on your declaration, so don't assume the association covers everything behind the paint.

4. Wind excluded from the HO-6

In coastal Florida an HO-6 is often written without wind, and a separate wind-only policy covers that peril. Without that second policy, your walls-in coverage has no hurricane protection. See HO-6 vs. HO-4 vs. wind-only.

5. Flood

The ISO HO-6 form excludes flood under its water exclusion.[3] An association's NFIP condominium building policy (RCBAP) does not include contents coverage, and FEMA notes that individual unit owners "may want to purchase their own contents policies."[5] Ask your agent about a separate unit-owner flood policy.

6. Loss assessment at the $2,000 floor

The statutory minimum is far below what Florida assessments can reach. Choose the limit on purpose.

7. Liability for damage you cause

Under § 718.111(11)(j)1.–2., an owner whose negligence, intentional conduct or failure to follow the declaration or rules causes damage is responsible for repair costs not paid by insurance, including damage to other owners' property.[1] That is a reason to carry adequate HO-6 liability (Coverage E).

Example: a leak from the unit above

A supply line under the kitchen sink in Unit 504 fails, and water runs down into Unit 404. Here is how the statute divides the damage in Unit 404. The exact result depends on the declaration and every policy's wording, so treat this as a map, not a claim decision.

If the leak was caused by 504's negligence or a rules violation, § 718.111(11)(j)1.–2. makes 504's owner responsible for repair costs not paid by insurance, including damage to other owners' property.[1] That is where 504's liability coverage comes in. 504's own damaged cabinets and flooring are 504's Coverage A.

For boards: what to tell owners

1. Don't tell owners the master policy covers their interior. By statute it cannot cover the (f)3. items.
2. Send owners the exact (f)3. text and point out which additional items your declaration assigns to owners.
3. Disclose your master deductible and whether the association has opted out of paragraph (j), so owners can set loss assessment limits.
4. Ask for the declarations page, not a certificate, so you can see Coverage A, loss assessment, and any wind exclusion. See What is a declarations page?
5. Set requirements in the declaration, with counsel. Florida does not require owners to buy an HO-6; the obligation comes from the declaration and the lender. See Florida condo insurance requirements.

Frequently asked questions

What does walls-in coverage mean in a Florida condo?

It is industry shorthand for the interior finishes and fixtures the owner must insure. In Florida, § 718.111(11)(f)3. requires the master policy to exclude the unit's floor, wall and ceiling coverings, electrical fixtures, appliances, water heaters, water filters, built-in cabinets and countertops, window treatments and personal property. It also makes that property "the responsibility of the unit owner."[1] The owner insures it under HO-6 Coverage A (and Coverage C for belongings).

Does my association's master policy cover my kitchen cabinets and flooring?

No. Built-in cabinets, countertops and floor coverings that are within the unit and serve only that unit are excluded by statute from every Florida residential condominium master policy.[1]

How much Coverage A do I need?

No statute sets a number. Aim for the replacement cost of everything on the (f)3. list, plus upgrades and anything else your declaration assigns to you. Fannie Mae-financed units need enough to restore the unit to its pre-loss condition, on a replacement-cost basis, and at least the per-unit master deductible if there is one.[4]

Who pays the master policy deductible after a hurricane?

The association, as a common expense under § 718.111(11)(j), which in practice means reserves or an assessment on owners, unless the association has opted out under paragraph (k).[1] Whether your HO-6 loss assessment coverage responds depends on the policy. Florida requires at least $2,000 of it.[2]

Does the association cover upgrades a previous owner installed?

Generally not. Under § 718.111(11)(n) the association is not obligated to repair improvements installed by a current or former owner that benefit only that unit and are not part of the developer's standard build-out.[1]