Explore Your HOA for Home Insurance Requirements

Explore Your HOA for Home Insurance Requirements

Your HOA may have documents that tell you what's needed in regards to your home insurance. Knowing these will make it easier to get the right coverage. You can then have a policy that will cover you against virtually anything that can happen.

What's Covered

Homeowners associations in communities may do a lot. They could take care of landscaping, irrigation, street lighting, and more. Just because they take care of what's on your property doesn't mean that it's covered in their HOA insurance.

Read through the HOA documents in order to find out what they cover and what your responsibility is. It will make it easier to encompass everything that is needed so you have the financial protection. It may also help to talk with an insurance agent so you can be sure that you have the right protection based upon your home. They will ask questions to help determine your needs.

You also have to remember that your insurance is going to take care of dwelling, belongings, and liability. The HOA has their own insurance for things that aren’t a part of your property. Part of what you pay HOA dues for is because they are going to take care of the community as a whole. If something doesn’t seem right in the HOA documents, ask.

Required Components

The HOA may inadvertently tell you other things that will affect home insurance in Florida, too. For example, you may need to have a fence if you have a pool or lighting leading up to your front door. Having these things could increase or decrease your insurance premiums.

They may also require:

  • Specific types of roofing
  • Storm shutters
  • Security systems

HOA documents may be 50 pages or more, so you may want to sit down with a highlighter. This will allow you to familiarize yourself with more of what’s going on. Further, when you make any kind of change or addition to your home, it may require approval from the HOA. Once you get the HOA approval, you can then move forward. It should also mean a call to insurance to find out what the impact is going to be.

You never have to go through the process of buying home insurance in Florida on your own. All it takes is a call to an independent insurance agent. You can show them your HOA to see what may be required for you to have on your policy. Plus, they are knowledgeable about the industry. They can talk to you about the different insurance companies and what to look for in a policy. It’s a great way to ensure you have great protection on your home – and at a policy premium that you can afford.