Condo Insurance West Linn, OR

Condo owners in West Linn, OR have different insurance needs than single-family home owners, and it pays to have some knowledge at your disposal. Learn the myths and facts about condo insurance from the experts at Schmidt Insurance Group.

Schmidt Insurance Group opened its doors in Lake Oswego in 2019 and proudly serves the local Portland area as well as all of Oregon and Washington.

Myths & Facts About Condo Insurance

Myth 1: You don’t need to your own insurance policy because your association has coverage.

Your condo homeowners association will have a master insurance policy that will cover the property, common areas, and physical structure of your building, but their insurance is not designed to protect your personal property.

If your HOA has what is called an “all-in” policy, it will usually cover the original items built into your unit, like the cabinetry, lighting, and other fixtures, as well as the plumbing and wiring, and the HOA will provide the insurance coverage for them.

If, however, your HOA has what is known as a “bare walls-in” policy, it will be up to you to insure everything in your unit other than the walls, floors, and ceilings.

We recommend having Schmidt Insurance Group agents review a copy of your HOA’s master policy to ensure that you have the right condo insurance coverage.

You will also need a separate policy to cover the contents of your condominium, such as your carpet, your clothes, and your furniture. The value of your personal property will be a major factor in deciding how much condo insurance you need.

Myth 2: Condo insurance only protects your belongings.

While protecting your personal belongings is an important part of condo insurance, it’s not the only thing it does. Condo insurance will also cover liability claims. If someone is injured inside your condo, if you accidentally injure someone while away from home, or if you damage someone else’s property, you can be found liable. Situations like this are where personal liability coverage steps in to protect you financially.

Myth 3: Condo insurance will cover water damage.

If water causes damage to the lobby, elevators, building exterior, parking garage, or other shared spaces, individual unit owners do not usually have to worry about it because the HOA’s policy will cover the damage.

Water damage in an individual unit, however, is typically the responsibility of the condo owner, not the HOA, but will depend on the source of the water damage.

Burst pipes or an overflowing toilet or shower drain inside your unit would likely be covered under the water backup coverage portion of your condo insurance. Flooding, such as that from a heavy storm or mudslide, or water damage that originated in another condo owner’s unit is usually an excluded peril that requires the purchase of separate coverage.

An agent at Schmidt Insurance Group can help you with water damage coverage.

If you own a condo in the West Linn, OR area, our agents can help you get the insurance coverage you need. Stop in for a visit at Schmidt Insurance Group today, or give us a call at (503) 206-0881 for more information.