Condos & HOA · Master Policy

HOA Master Policy Insurance Matched to Your CC&Rs

Shared structures, common areas, the liability the board carries. The master policy is what protects all of it — but only if the coverage boundary matches what the governing documents actually require. Stale property limits, a coverage model misaligned with the CC&Rs, lender requirements the board didn't know applied: these gaps surface at claim time. BLIS reads the whole account before that happens — property schedules, lender requirements, flood and earthquake exposure, and the program lines a standard policy leaves out.

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We only use this information to review your insurance request. BLIS is licensed in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Florida. CA License 0M74955.

Submitting this form does not bind coverage and does not promise a specific quote, price, or coverage outcome. BLIS reviews submitted details and may follow up for information needed to evaluate the account.

What to expect

What to expect after you submit

A BLIS representative reviews the information you submit and follows up if something important is missing.

  1. A real person reads it

    Your details get read against what carriers actually want for your kind of account — not routed through a form stack.

  2. Your account gets matched

    How you operate maps to the coverage lines and markets that fit the risk.

  3. Gaps get filled

    If something important is missing, a few targeted questions — not another long form.

  4. Options get laid out

    Coverage, exclusions, carrier fit, and cost — side by side, not just price.

  5. Bound? We stay on.

    Certificates, endorsements, audits, renewals, policy changes — handled.

Prefer to talk it through? Call (818) 306-8333Monday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM PT

Your operation

How hoa master policy operations shape the insurance review

Know the boundary before the loss. The master policy covers shared structures, common areas, and liability from association operations. What it does not cover — interior finishes, unit-owner improvements, flood, earthquake — is defined by the CC&Rs and the policy form, not by what the board assumed. Boards that have read both documents before a claim arrive in a different position than those who discover coverage gaps while the adjuster is on-site. BLIS reviews the full program: coverage structure, property schedules, lender requirements, and the lines a standard policy leaves out.

Coverage boundary: the starting point for every HOA account. The CC&Rs define what the association owns and is responsible to insure. Bare-walls-in coverage protects the building structure to the original installation standard. Unit owners carry the interior — flooring, cabinetry, fixtures, improvements. All-in coverage extends inward to original construction elements inside each unit.

A 40-unit condominium and a 200-home planned community HOA are structured around different exposure profiles, and the right model for each flows from the governing documents, not the policy form. BLIS reviews coverage structure in that context. If you're not sure which model your CC&Rs require, that question belongs to the association's attorney or management company.

Stale valuations produce co-insurance penalties. Construction costs move — labor, materials, permitting, demolition. A property limit set five or ten years ago may no longer reflect what it actually costs to rebuild a damaged common structure. When a policy's insured value falls meaningfully below actual replacement cost, the co-insurance clause reduces the claim payment proportionally.

Multi-building complexes, clubhouses, and properties with custom finishes are especially exposed to this gap. A current replacement cost appraisal from a qualified appraiser gives the board a defensible limit and reduces the risk of a partial-loss dispute.

Pools, parking lots, fitness centers, rooftop decks — each one is ongoing GL exposure. Slips and falls in a parking lot, injuries at a community pool, property damage during maintenance activity: these arise from the spaces the association controls. General Liability responds to third-party bodily injury and property damage claims from those operations.

The limits the board carries should reflect the actual scope of that footprint. A condominium complex with a rooftop deck and an elevator bank carries a different profile than a rural community with common landscaping only.

Mortgage lenders have their own requirements — and they're not negotiable. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA each publish guidelines for associations. They require minimum property coverage, General Liability limits, and in some cases fidelity coverage for association funds. When the master policy falls short, unit owners may face difficulty closing sales or refinancing mortgages.

That's an obligation the board carries. BLIS can review the current policy against commonly applied lender standards. Confirming specific requirements for a given transaction should be done directly with the lender.

Flood and earthquake don't appear on a standard commercial property form — they're excluded. Both require separate coverage decisions. BLIS is licensed in coastal and seismically active markets: California, Florida, Texas, Arizona, and Nevada. In those markets, these exposures are material.

Private-market commercial flood programs may offer limits appropriate for associations with significant property values, where NFIP limits fall short. Earthquake deductibles are typically expressed as a percentage of insured value, so the out-of-pocket exposure in a significant event can be substantial. Leaving these perils unaddressed is carrying an uninsured gap.

Reserve fund levels shape how carriers evaluate the account. Underwriters review association financials — including reserve balances — as part of the underwriting process. Underfunded reserves signal deferred maintenance and increase the probability that a loss creates a coverage gap the association can't close.

Some lender guidelines require minimum reserve funding as a condition of approving mortgages on units in the community. If your reserves are thin, that conversation should happen before renewal — not after a major loss leaves the board without the funds to cover the deductible.

D&O and fidelity are not optional add-ons. Directors & Officers Liability addresses claims from unit owners, management companies, and vendors alleging mismanagement, breach of fiduciary duty, or discriminatory rule enforcement. Fidelity coverage protects association funds against theft by employees or management company personnel. Neither line is part of a standard property and GL policy.

Most well-structured programs include all three: master policy, D&O, and fidelity. Confirming all three are in place — and how they interact — is part of how BLIS reviews an HOA account.

Start the renewal early. Multi-building association renewals are document-intensive. Underwriters ask for current property schedules, updated appraisals, loss runs from the past three to five years, association financials, and often the governing documents themselves. Gathering those materials takes coordination. Submitting late limits how many markets can evaluate the account before expiration.

Changes during the policy year — a new pool, a clubhouse renovation, a management company change — should go to the carrier when they occur, not only at renewal.

Certificate requests arrive year-round, on no predictable schedule. Unit owners refinancing their mortgages need evidence the master policy meets lender requirements. Contractors hired by the association need proof of GL coverage. Property management companies may need additional insured status in certain coverage contexts. These requests don't stop once the policy is placed.

Managing them accurately — with documentation that reflects what the policy actually provides — is an ongoing service obligation.

Coverage

Coverages commonly considered for hoa master policy operations

These are common lines to evaluate, not a preset package. Your operations, current contracts, state requirements, and the carrier's policy forms determine the final program.

  • Commercial Property

    Shared Structures and Common Areas — Property coverage is the core of an HOA master policy. Building shells, roofs, common-area walls, parking structures, clubhouses, pools, and other shared amenities: if the association owns or is responsible to insure it, it belongs in the schedule. How a claim settles depends on the coverage form, the property limit relative to current construction costs, and whether the co-insurance clause applies. Replacement cost coverage with a current appraisal behind it is the target. Whether the policy covers original construction elements inside units (all-in) or stops at the structural shell (bare-walls-in) follows from the governing documents. Confirm the model before a loss forces the question.

  • General Liability

    Common Areas and Association Operations — General Liability covers third-party bodily injury and property damage claims arising from common areas and association activities. A slip in the parking lot, a guest injured at the pool, property damage from a maintenance crew: all GL exposure. Per-occurrence and aggregate limits should match the real scope of the common-area footprint. Associations with active pools, fitness centers, and landscaping crews carry more exposure than those with minimal shared amenities. Lender guidelines often set minimum GL limits — the board's own risk profile may warrant more.

  • Directors & Officers Liability

    Board Member Protection — D&O covers the board's governance decisions against claims from unit owners, vendors, or management companies. Allegations of mismanagement, breach of fiduciary duty, selective rule enforcement, or procedural error: all D&O territory. Budget allocations, special assessments, vendor contracts, rules enforcement — every discretionary call the board makes can give rise to a legal claim regardless of good faith. D&O is separate from the master property and GL policy. Without it, board members' personal assets are in the line of fire.

  • Fidelity / Crime

    Association Funds — Fidelity coverage protects the association's accounts against theft. Employees, board members, management company personnel, anyone with authorized access: all covered. Reserve funds accumulate over years toward capital repairs and can represent significant balances. Standard property and GL coverage doesn't address that exposure. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines set minimum fidelity coverage levels for associations managing significant assessment revenue. That makes fidelity a lender compliance question, not just a risk management preference.

  • Umbrella / Excess Liability

    An umbrella or excess liability policy sits above the primary GL and D&O limits. When a single claim exhausts the underlying per-occurrence limit, the umbrella responds to the excess. Associations with multiple buildings, rooftop amenities, pools, or a history of member disputes have a real reason to ask whether primary limits are adequate for a severe event. Some lenders specify minimum umbrella limits as a condition of financing within the community.

  • Commercial Flood

    Separate Policy — Flood is excluded from standard commercial property forms. Associations in flood-prone areas carry exposure the master policy won't respond to. Flood coverage is available through NFIP for qualifying structures or through private-market programs that may offer higher limits. It is a separate decision — the coverage form, limit structure, and deductible options differ meaningfully between NFIP and private flood carriers.

  • Earthquake Coverage

    Separate Policy or Endorsement — Earthquake damage is excluded from standard commercial property forms. In California especially, this is a separate underwriting process — carriers evaluate construction type, year built, soil conditions, and building height. Deductibles are expressed as a percentage of insured value, not a flat dollar amount. That means the board's out-of-pocket exposure in a significant event can be substantial. Unaddressed earthquake exposure is an uninsured gap.

Quote factors

Common quote factors

These are the details that can shape eligibility, terms, and pricing. You don't need all of them to start — send what you have, and we'll follow up on anything important that's missing.

  • Association type (HOA vs. condominium association) and number of unitsGovernance structure, scale, and operations all differ. A single-family HOA with 80 homes carries a different property and liability profile than a condominium association with 80 attached units in a multi-story building — even at the same unit count.
  • Number and description of shared structures and common areasCarriers need a building schedule: how many structures, construction type, year built, square footage, and occupancy. Pools, clubhouses, fitness centers, and parking structures each add coverage questions that the schedule has to address.
  • Current replacement cost appraisal (or date of last appraisal)Carriers compare the requested property limit to their own replacement cost estimate. An appraisal from the last two to three years supports the limit and reduces co-insurance dispute risk at claim time.
  • Coverage boundary: bare-walls-in, single-entity (all-in), or modified coverageThe boundary determines scope and price. Bare-walls-in stops at the structural shell. All-in extends to original installation elements inside each unit. The governing documents set which model applies.
  • Loss historylast five years of association claims — Carriers review frequency and severity. Slip-and-fall claims, water intrusion events, vandalism, D&O claims: all appear in the loss history and shape how underwriters read the account.
  • Reserve fund balance and current reserve studyCarriers and lenders both evaluate reserve adequacy. Underfunded reserves signal deferred maintenance. A current reserve study shows the board is tracking long-term capital needs, not discovering them at claim time.
  • Flood zone designation for each insured structureFlood exposure affects property pricing and determines whether separate flood coverage is lender-required. Carriers ask because the master property policy doesn't cover flood.
  • Management company name and whether fidelity coverage is in placeManagement company access to association funds creates fidelity exposure. Carriers ask whether the management company carries its own bond and whether it covers client association funds — the answer is often more limited than assumed.
  • State of operationsRegulatory requirements, flood and earthquake exposure profiles, and lender guideline standards all differ by state. BLIS is licensed in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, and Florida. Each market has underwriting nuances the submission needs to address.
  • Current master policy declarations pages (upload optional)Reviewing the existing policy before quoting surfaces coverage gaps, limit adequacy, expiring endorsements, and the coverage boundary currently in place.

Illustrative scenarios

Example claim scenarios

A few situations that show how coverage can respond when something goes wrong. These are examples only — not actual claims, and not a guarantee of any outcome.

  • Example scenario

    Common-area slip-and-fall at a community pool

    A resident's guest slips on wet pavement immediately outside the community pool gate. The guest sustains a significant soft-tissue injury requiring surgery. The guest makes a bodily injury claim against the homeowners association, alleging the pavement drainage had been a known maintenance issue.

    The association's General Liability coverage can respond to bodily injury claims arising from common areas the association controls. That includes the cost of legal defense and any resulting settlement or judgment, subject to the policy's terms, limits, and exclusions. The claim becomes a record in the association's loss history that underwriters will review at the next renewal.

  • Example scenario

    Roof hail damage on multiple shared structures

    A hailstorm damages the roofing on three of eight shared residential buildings in a planned community. The association's board files a property claim under the master policy for roof replacement on the affected structures. The adjuster's estimate, however, exceeds the coverage amount.

    The property limit reflects an appraisal done eight years earlier and does not account for current construction labor and materials costs. The policy's co-insurance clause applies, reducing the claim payment proportionally to the degree of underinsurance. The association is left covering a meaningful share of the replacement cost out of reserves.

    Commercial property coverage can respond to hail damage on covered structures. But the settlement amount depends on whether the limit is adequate relative to actual current replacement cost, subject to the policy's terms and exclusions.

  • Example scenario

    Water intrusion claim from a common-area pipe failure

    A shared water supply line running through a common-area wall fails during the night. Water flows into four adjacent condominium units. The association's master policy covers the common-area pipe and the shared structure damage. Who covers the damage inside the units depends on whether the master policy is written bare-walls-in, all-in, or on a modified basis.

    It also depends on what the governing documents define as association responsibility versus unit-owner responsibility. Some unit owners file claims under their own HO-6 policies. Others look to the association's master policy for interior damage coverage.

    The coverage outcome depends on how the master policy aligns with what the CC&Rs require, subject to the policy's terms, deductible, and coverage-boundary definitions.

  • Example scenario

    Special assessment dispute and D&O claim

    After a fire damages the association's clubhouse, the board levies a special assessment to cover costs the master policy does not fully pay. Either the property limit was inadequate or the deductible left a gap. Several unit owners challenge the assessment as improperly calculated and procedurally flawed.

    They allege breach of fiduciary duty and failure to maintain adequate reserves, and they bring a claim against individual board members. The master property policy responds to the underlying fire loss. The Directors & Officers Liability coverage responds to the board's defense costs and potential liability from the governance claim. But that applies only if D&O coverage is in place as a separate line.

    Property coverage and board liability coverage address different risks that can arise from the same event, subject to the policy's terms and exclusions.

The claim scenarios above are illustrative examples only. They do not represent actual clients, actual claims, or guaranteed coverage outcomes. Coverage for any specific situation depends on the policy terms, conditions, exclusions, and the facts of the claim.

After you bind

Common certificate and service needs

After a carrier binds coverage, contracts and operational changes can create new documentation needs. A certificate summarizes policy information; the policy and its endorsements control coverage.

Contract and certificate requests

  • Evidence of insurance for unit-owner mortgage lenders — lenders require proof the master policy qualifies: minimum property coverage, GL limits, and in some cases fidelity thresholds. Send the lender requirements to BLIS. We review whether the policy meets them and issue evidence accordingly.
  • Certificates naming contractors or vendors working on common areas — a landscaping contractor, a pool service company, or a roofing crew may need proof of GL coverage before starting work. The association may also require vendors to name it as an additional insured on their own policies. BLIS handles both directions.
  • Certificates for property management companies — management companies contracted to the association may need to be named as additional insureds in certain contexts. Certificate requests with specific endorsement wording should include the required language so BLIS can confirm whether the policy supports it before issuing.
  • Flood and earthquake evidence for lenders — federally backed mortgage programs may require associations in high-risk flood zones or seismic zones to carry separate flood or earthquake coverage. Evidence of those policies may be needed as part of an annual lender compliance package.
  • Renewal certificates for ongoing vendor and lender compliance — many lenders conduct annual master policy compliance reviews and request updated evidence when the policy renews. BLIS tracks renewal dates and issues updated certificates when coverage rolls over.

Ongoing service

  • Mid-term property schedule updates — a pool renovation, new roof, or added parking structure changes the insurable value the carrier needs to know about. BLIS handles endorsements and updated documentation when property changes occur during the policy year.
  • Replacement cost appraisal coordination — if the association hasn't had a formal appraisal in several years, the property limit may not reflect current rebuild costs. BLIS can walk through how the carrier approaches replacement cost validation and what documentation supports the requested limit at renewal.
  • Lender compliance review — a unit owner, management company, or lender may need confirmation the master policy meets Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or FHA guidelines. BLIS reviews the current policy against those standards and identifies any shortfall before it blocks a sale or refinance. Better to find a gap before the unit is in escrow.
  • Renewal strategy and loss run review — advance preparation matters for master policy renewals. BLIS reviews loss runs, identifies claim trends carriers will scrutinize, and helps the board assemble a complete submission before the renewal window closes.
  • Claims questions and coordination — a property claim, GL claim, or combined event raises questions about which coverage line responds and how the deductible applies. BLIS helps the board understand the process and keeps communication with the carrier on track.
  • Coverage comparison when the account is marketed — at renewal or when the board wants to evaluate alternatives, BLIS presents options across coverage structure, limits, deductibles, and carrier fit. Not price alone.
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Coverage availability, pricing, terms, conditions, and eligibility depend on underwriting, carrier guidelines, state, operations, loss history, policy terms, and other risk-specific factors. Nothing on this site guarantees coverage, pricing, placement, or savings.

Examples are hypothetical and illustrative. They show how a coverage can respond, not a promise that any specific claim will be covered. Actual coverage depends on your policy's terms, conditions, and exclusions.

Coverage boundary determinations (bare-walls-in, all-in, or modified) are governed by the association's governing documents — CC&Rs, bylaws, and applicable state law — not by the insurance policy. Questions about what the governing documents require should be reviewed with the association's attorney or management company. Nothing on this site is legal advice.

Blue Lagoon Insurance Services, LLC is a licensed insurance agency. Insurance products are offered through licensed representatives in the states listed. California License 0M74955.