How Much HO-6 Coverage Do You Need? The Florida Condo Sizing Guide for Coverage A, Betterments, and Deductibles (2026)

By Ricardo Alonso, Founder, Atesa Risk Advisors · August 1, 2026

Key Takeaways

1. $50,000 — Fannie Mae's new cap on per-unit master-policy deductibles (Lender Letter LL-2026-03) applies to conventional loan applications dated on or after July 1, 2026, and where a master policy uses a per-unit deductible, the lender expects every unit owner's HO-6 to carry coverage at least equal to that per-unit deductible [3].
2. 3 numbers set your HO-6 dwelling limit (Coverage A): the cost to rebuild your interior finishes, the value of betterments and upgrades, and your building's per-unit hurricane deductible — the highest of the three is your working minimum.
3. FS 718.111(11)(f) puts floor, wall, and ceiling coverings, cabinets, countertops, appliances, water heaters, electrical fixtures, and window treatments inside your unit on you — the master policy insures the building only "as originally installed" [1].
4. $2,000 is the statutory minimum loss assessment coverage on a Florida HO-6, with a deductible of no more than $250 (FS 627.714) — and the portion of an assessment tied to the master policy's deductible is sublimited on standard Florida forms [2].
5. 2 deductibles stand between you and a full hurricane recovery: the association's named-storm deductible (your share arrives as an assessment) and your own HO-6 hurricane deductible.
6. 100% of a prior owner's upgrades are yours to insure the day you close, whether or not you know what they cost.

How much HO-6 coverage do you need in Florida? Enough Coverage A to rebuild your unit's interior at today's contractor prices, plus the full value of every upgrade made since the building was built — and, if your association's master policy carries a per-unit deductible, at least that deductible amount, because conventional lenders now check. Add a contents limit built from an actual inventory, and raise the $2,000 loss assessment minimum substantially. Most owners who accept a carrier's default dwelling limit have never priced their own interior.

Florida unit owners usually learn their HO-6 was too small after a loss, when the master policy pays for the building shell and their own policy runs out somewhere between the drywall and the countertops. This guide covers the sizing decision itself. If you first need a refresher on what an HO-6 covers at all, start with our walls-in coverage guide for Florida unit owners, then come back to put dollar amounts on it.

Start with the boundary: what your HO-6 has to pay for

Florida draws the line between the association's insurance and yours by statute. Under FS 718.111(11)(f), the association's master policy covers the condominium property as it existed when originally installed — the structure, roof, exterior, and common elements — but specifically excludes, inside your unit: floor, wall, and ceiling coverings; electrical fixtures; appliances; water heaters and water filters; built-in cabinets and countertops; and window treatments [1].

Everything on that excluded list is HO-6 territory. So is anything anyone ever upgraded: the master policy's obligation stops at original-spec construction, which for a 1985 building means 1985 finishes. That's the sizing problem in one sentence — your Coverage A limit has to rebuild the interior of your specific unit, at current prices, from bare drywall in, and no one at the carrier has seen your unit.

Sizing Coverage A: price the interior build-out

Coverage A on an HO-6 (the "dwelling" limit) is the pool that rebuilds interior finishes and betterments. Carriers commonly issue policies with a modest default dwelling limit unless you ask for more.

"Most default Coverage A numbers I see were never sized at all — they're whatever the quoting system suggested. When I ask an owner what it would cost to redo their floors, kitchen, and bathrooms at today's contractor prices, the honest answer is usually well above the number on their declarations page."

— Ricardo Alonso, Founder, Atesa Risk Advisors

To size it properly, walk the unit the way an adjuster would and price three buckets:

1. Finishes the statute assigns to you. Flooring in every room, paint and wall coverings, ceiling texture and crown molding, light fixtures, window treatments.
2. The kitchen and bathrooms. Cabinets, countertops, backsplashes, sinks, fixtures, and appliances — the most expensive square footage in any condo, and almost all of it excluded from the master policy by name [1].
3. Systems that serve only your unit. The water heater is on the statutory list [1]; interior doors and trim follow the same logic.

Price the buckets from a recent renovation quote, a contractor acquaintance, or your agent's replacement-cost worksheet — then stress-test the total against one more number, which brings in the lender.

The lender floor: Fannie Mae's July 1 rule sets a new minimum

In March 2026 Fannie Mae issued Lender Letter LL-2026-03, which — for conventional loan applications dated on or after July 1, 2026 — caps the per-unit deductible on a condo master policy at $50,000 and, where a master policy is written with a per-unit deductible, requires each unit owner to maintain HO-6 coverage at least equal to that deductible [3]. Freddie Mac issued matching requirements in Bulletin 2026-C the same day [4].

We covered what this means for boards in our guide to Fannie Mae's $50,000 master-policy deductible cap. For you as an owner, it means two practical things:

• Your HO-6 dwelling limit now has an external floor. If your building's master policy carries, say, a $25,000 per-unit deductible, an HO-6 with a $15,000 Coverage A limit no longer just leaves you underinsured — it can hold up a sale or refinance when the lender reviews insurance.
• You need a number from the association. The per-unit deductible lives in the master policy declarations — ask the manager for the current certificate of insurance before you renew your own policy. If you're shopping for a unit, make this part of your pre-contract document review alongside the budget and reserve study.

FHA-insured loans carry their own interior-coverage requirements for units in projects whose master policy stops at the drywall; your lender will state the exact minimum during underwriting [5]. On any financed unit in 2026, assume someone other than you will eventually audit your HO-6 limit.

Betterments: prior owners' upgrades are yours to insure

"Betterments and improvements" is insurance language for upgrades beyond original construction — and on standard forms, it doesn't matter who paid for them. The day you close, the prior owner's renovated kitchen, the porcelain tile that replaced builder carpet, the frameless glass shower: all of it is part of the interior you must insure.

This is where resale-unit owners get sized wrong most often: they insure the unit as if it were still original construction. If you bought a renovated unit, your Coverage A should reflect renovated-unit rebuild costs from day one; the inspection report or listing photos make a workable starting inventory of what a previous owner added.

Contents: build Coverage C from a real inventory

Coverage C insures personal property — furniture, electronics, clothing, kitchenware — and the fastest honest way to size it is a walk-through video of every room, closets and drawers open. Two Florida-specific notes:

• Check whether contents are insured at replacement cost or actual cash value (replacement cost pays to buy new; actual cash value deducts depreciation, which on a five-year-old sofa is most of its value). The upgrade to replacement cost is usually modest and usually worth it.
• Special limits apply to categories like jewelry, watches, firearms, and cash on standard forms. If any single category in your unit is worth more than a few thousand dollars, ask about scheduling it separately.

Loss of use (Coverage D) — the coverage that pays increased living expenses if a covered loss makes the unit uninhabitable — is typically set as a percentage of other limits on standard forms, so it scales with the numbers you choose here. It pays only the increase over your normal costs, and only when a covered peril caused the damage; policies vary.

Loss assessment: the $2,000 minimum is a floor, not a cap

Florida requires every unit-owner residential policy to include at least $2,000 of loss assessment coverage, with a deductible of no more than $250 (FS 627.714) [2]. That pays your share when the association assesses owners for a loss that exceeds — or falls under the deductible of — the master policy. Under FS 718.111(11)(j), a master-policy deductible and uninsured property losses are a common expense, spread across all owners [1].

Two sizing realities:

• $2,000 disappears quickly. A meaningful hurricane assessment on a coastal building can run five figures per unit. Raising the limit to $25,000 or more is typically inexpensive relative to the exposure.
• The deductible-assessment portion is sublimited. On standard Florida forms, the part of an assessment attributable to the master policy's deductible is capped within the coverage, and that sublimit generally cannot be increased no matter how high your overall loss assessment limit goes [2]. Higher limits still matter for assessments from underinsured or excluded losses — just don't expect them to absorb a percentage hurricane deductible on their own.

For how the coverage responds claim by claim, see our Florida condo loss assessment guide.

Deductible strategy: two deductibles, one storm

After a hurricane, your recovery passes through two deductibles. The association absorbs its named-storm deductible — commonly a percentage of the building's insured value — and your share of that arrives as an assessment. Separately, your own HO-6 applies its hurricane deductible to your interior and contents claim.

When you choose your HO-6 deductibles:

• Keep the all-other-perils deductible low enough to be useful. The most frequent condo losses are water — a failed supply line, a neighbor's leak — and a deductible that swallows the whole claim makes the coverage decorative.
• Weigh the hurricane deductible against your real cash position. Raising it cuts premium, but remember it stacks on top of whatever assessment the association levies for its own deductible in the same storm.
• Don't offset a raised Coverage A with a reflexively raised deductible. The point of the higher limit is to be usable after a storm.

A worked example: sizing a 1,400-square-foot oceanfront unit

Illustrative numbers for a hypothetical Jacksonville-area two-bedroom resale with a renovated kitchen, in a building whose master policy carries a $30,000 per-unit hurricane deductible — your own unit will differ:

The useful part of this table is the order of operations: price the rebuild first, check the lender floor second, inventory contents third, then set deductibles you could absorb in the same season as an assessment.

When to resize

Recheck the numbers whenever you renovate, buy a resale unit, or the association renews its master policy — the per-unit deductible can change at any renewal. An annual five-minute review against the association's current certificate of insurance catches most drift.

If you'd rather not reverse-engineer a master policy's deductible structure yourself, an independent condo insurance broker can size your HO-6 against your building's actual master program — including the per-unit deductible check lenders now run — and quote multiple carriers against the same specification. You can also request a quote or call (904) 900-5063 — we'll start with your building's certificate of insurance.

FAQ

How much HO-6 dwelling coverage do I need in Florida? Enough to rebuild your interior at current contractor prices, including all upgrades since original construction — and at least the master policy's per-unit deductible, if it has one [3].

What exactly does Coverage A on an HO-6 pay for? The parts of the unit the master policy excludes under FS 718.111(11)(f) — interior finishes, cabinets, countertops, appliances, water heaters, electrical fixtures, window treatments — plus betterments and improvements [1].

Does my HO-6 really have to match the master policy's deductible? For conventional loan applications dated on or after July 1, 2026, Fannie Mae expects owners in buildings with per-unit master deductibles to carry HO-6 coverage at least equal to that deductible [3]. Cash owners face no lender check, but the exposure is identical.

Are upgrades installed by the previous owner covered? They're covered only if your limits account for them. Betterments belong to the current owner for insurance purposes, so a renovated resale unit needs a higher Coverage A than an original-condition twin.

Is $2,000 of loss assessment coverage enough? It's the statutory minimum [2] — and assessments after major losses routinely exceed it many times over. Raising the limit is usually one of the cheapest changes on the policy.

Can I buy more coverage for assessments caused by the master policy's deductible? Generally no — that portion is sublimited on standard Florida forms and typically can't be increased, even with a high overall loss assessment limit [2]. Budget for it as a cash exposure.

Do I need a separate hurricane deductible on an HO-6? Florida HO-6 policies carry one, distinct from the all-other-perils deductible. Choose it knowing a storm big enough to trigger it may also produce an association assessment.

Does an HO-6 cover flood damage? No — rising water is excluded from HO-6 forms, and Florida law leaves association flood coverage optional [1]. Unit-level flood is a separate policy decision.

What happens if my Coverage A turns out to be too low after a loss? You pay the difference. The master policy won't reach past original-spec construction, and your carrier's obligation stops at your limit.

Will anyone actually check my HO-6 limit? Increasingly, yes: lenders at purchase and refinance under the 2026 agency rules [3][4], and some associations at lease or sale approval. The review that matters most, though, happens at claim time.

Related Reading

• Florida Condo HO-6 Walls-In Coverage: What Your Policy Actually Insures — the coverage-boundary companion to this sizing guide.
• Fannie Mae's Condo Master Policy Deductible Cap — the board's side of the July 1 rule that now sets your HO-6 floor.
• What Insurance Costs for a 3-Story, 48-Unit Florida Coastal Condo in 2026 — the master-policy budget your unit's premium and deductible share come from.

Educational disclaimer: This article is general educational information about insurance and is not insurance advice, a quote, or an offer of coverage. Rates, discounts, deadlines, and requirements change and vary by property; confirm current figures with primary sources and a licensed agent before relying on them. Coverage is subject to the terms of your policy.

Sources

[1] Florida Statutes § 718.111(11) — Association insurance [2] Florida Statutes § 627.714 — Residential condominium unit owner coverage; loss assessment [3] Fannie Mae — Lender Letter LL-2026-03, Condo Project Insurance Requirements [4] Freddie Mac — Bulletin 2026-C, Condominium Project Insurance [5] HUD — FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1

Ricardo Alonso is the Founder of Atesa Risk Advisors, a Florida independent insurance agency. Licensed 2-20 General Lines Agent and 2-15 Health & Life Agent, with a Master of Liberal Arts in Finance from Harvard University. He sizes HO-6 programs against actual master-policy documents for Florida unit owners, and advises condo boards on the master-policy side of the same equation.