“The building is insured” – it is often said as reassurance. Only the sentence on its own says very little: the question is always against what and up to what amount. This article draws the cover map on a single page: what a condominium policy typically covers, what can be added to it, and what this policy certainly does not handle.
- The backbone: fire and natural perils cover for the building's common parts, plus building liability insurance.
- The everyday condominium covers – water damage from pipes, glass breakage, burglary and vandalism – and add-ons matched to the building's features round it out.
- What it does not cover: the flats' contents and private property, plus everything the policy terms exclude – the exact scope is always set by the contract.
The base: the building and natural perils
The core of every condominium policy is property insurance on the building against the large, rare losses: fire, explosion, lightning strike, storm and the other natural perils. This protects the load-bearing structure, the roof, the façade, the common areas and typically the basic elements of the building systems. The detail – for example exactly which storm phenomena are included and on what terms – is in the fire and natural perils article.
The everyday covers
Most of the claims statistics are driven not by fire but by water and glass: water damage from pipes is the most frequent loss in condominiums, and glass breakage on the common surfaces is the most frequent small annoyance. This is where burglary and vandalism in the common areas belong, together with the particularly important building liability insurance – for the case when the building causes damage to a resident or an outsider.
Matched to the building: add-ons
A good package is tailored to the building: in a block with a lift, cover for the building systems; in a building with solar panels, solar panel cover; in a busy neighbourhood, vandalism cover may be justified. The special risks – earthquake, flood – work under separate rules that are worth knowing soberly: an honest look at the limits.
What this policy does not cover
Three large areas stay outside. The first is the world of the flats: contents and private property are a matter for the residents' own home insurance. The second is the set of exclusions: every set of policy terms names situations that are not covered – damage arising from a lack of maintenance, for example – and the crash course in reading policy terms helps you find them. The third is the set of special situations: the risks during a major refurbishment, for instance, may call for a different type of cover altogether – that is what the refurbishment article is about.
The full overview by category, in a single table: on the Covers page.
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