Condo insurance in Tennessee is written on a policy form called the HO-6. An HO-6 covers the inside of your unit and the things you own: interior fixtures, flooring, cabinets, built-ins, your personal belongings, your personal liability, and loss of use if the unit becomes unlivable after a covered event. The condo association's master policy covers the building structure and the shared common areas, not the inside of your unit and not your belongings. Tennessee law does not require condo insurance. A mortgage lender and the association bylaws commonly require an HO-6.
What does condo insurance cover in Tennessee?
An HO-6 is the standard condo insurance policy. The name comes from the insurance industry form number. People also call it "walls-in" coverage, because it covers your unit from the interior surface of the walls inward, plus what you keep inside.
- Interior and built-in property (dwelling coverage). This is the finished inside of your unit: drywall surfaces, flooring, cabinets, countertops, built-in appliances, light fixtures, and any upgrades you installed. In condo insurance this part is often labeled the "dwelling" or "building property" coverage even though you do not own the outer structure. See how dwelling coverage is defined.
- Personal property. Your belongings: furniture, clothing, electronics, kitchenware, and similar items. Personal property coverage pays to repair or replace covered items after a covered loss, up to your policy limit. You can usually choose replacement cost settlement, which pays what a new item costs rather than its depreciated value.
- Personal liability. Liability coverage responds if you are legally responsible for injuring someone or damaging their property, and it can help pay legal defense costs. For example, if a guest slips inside your unit and is hurt, liability coverage can respond to a resulting claim.
- Loss of use. If a covered event makes your unit unlivable, loss of use coverage can help pay for temporary housing and certain extra living costs while repairs happen.
Consider a common scenario. A Nashville condo owner leaves for the weekend, a supply line under the kitchen sink bursts, and water ruins the cabinets, flooring, and a sofa inside the unit. The owner's HO-6 is the policy that responds to the damaged interior and the ruined sofa, subject to the policy limits and the deductible. The association's master policy does not pay to redo the inside of that private unit.
What does the condo association master policy cover, and how is it different from your HO-6?
The master policy is the insurance the condo association buys for the whole property. It covers the building structure and the shared areas that everyone uses. The exact line where the master policy stops and your HO-6 begins is set in the association's governing documents, called the bylaws or the declaration.
Master policies commonly fall into a few types, and the type changes how much interior your HO-6 needs to cover:
- An all-in (sometimes called "all-inclusive") master policy covers fixtures and finishes inside the unit as originally built, so your HO-6 mainly covers your belongings, your upgrades, and your liability.
- A bare walls master policy covers the structure only and stops at the unstitched walls, so your HO-6 needs to cover the interior finishes, cabinets, flooring, and fixtures inside your unit.
A bare walls building and an all-in building can sit on the same street, so the coverage a unit owner needs is not one-size-fits-all. Reading your own declaration is how you learn which type applies to your unit.
Your HO-6 vs the association master policy
| Item | Your HO-6 (walls-in) | Association master policy |
|---|---|---|
| Building frame, roof, exterior walls | No | Yes |
| Shared common areas (lobby, hallways, elevators, pool) | No | Yes |
| Interior finishes, cabinets, flooring inside your unit | Yes (depends on master type) | Sometimes (only if all-in) |
| Your personal belongings | Yes | No |
| Your personal liability inside the unit | Yes | No |
| Temporary housing after a covered loss to your unit | Yes | No |
| The association's deductible on a shared loss | No (see loss assessment below) | The master policy carries its own deductible |
One way to picture it is that the master policy protects the shared building the whole community owns together, while the HO-6 protects the private space and property that belong to you. The two policies are designed to meet at the wall, not to overlap.
What is loss assessment coverage on a condo policy?
Loss assessment coverage helps pay your share when the association charges every unit owner for a covered loss that goes beyond what the master policy pays. When the association bills owners this way, the charge is called a special assessment.
The glossary page for this term is still being built, so in plain language: if a covered event damages a shared area and the repair bill is larger than the master policy pays (for example, because of the master policy's deductible or its limit), the association can divide the shortfall among all the unit owners. Loss assessment coverage on your HO-6 can help pay your assigned share, up to the limit shown on your policy.
For example, a fire damages a shared hallway and stairwell in a Memphis condo building. The repair cost runs past the master policy limit, and the association votes a special assessment of a set amount per unit to cover the gap. An owner whose HO-6 carries loss assessment coverage can turn to that coverage for the assigned amount, subject to the policy's loss assessment limit and terms.
What does condo insurance NOT cover in Tennessee?
An HO-6, like all standard property policies, leaves out some large risks. Flood and earthquake stand out for Tennessee households:
- Flood. Flood damage is excluded from the HO-6. Tennessee has real inland-flood exposure from heavy rain and river and creek overflow, and a standard condo policy will not pay for rising-water flood damage. Flood coverage comes from a separate policy, often through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private flood insurer. Learn how flood insurance works as a separate policy.
- Earthquake. Earthquake damage is also excluded from the standard form. Tennessee sits near the New Madrid Seismic Zone in the western part of the state, an area with recognized earthquake risk. Earthquake coverage is added by a separate policy or an endorsement, which is an add-on to a policy.
Standard forms also limit or exclude things like normal wear and tear, insect or rodent damage, and losses from neglected maintenance. The exact list of what is and is not covered lives in the policy document, so reading the form matters.
A deductible applies to most covered claims. A deductible is the amount you pay out of pocket before the insurer pays the rest. For example, on a covered $6,000 interior water claim with a $1,000 deductible, you pay the first $1,000 and the policy covers the remaining $5,000, up to your limit.
Is condo insurance required in Tennessee?
Tennessee law does not require you to carry condo insurance. A lender or the association bylaws often do:
- A mortgage lender almost always requires an HO-6 as a condition of the loan, because the lender wants the interior and its collateral protected.
- The condo association bylaws frequently require each unit owner to carry an HO-6, and may set a minimum liability limit and require the owner to name the association on the policy. The association can ask for proof of coverage.
For context on why interior values are not trivial, the median owner-occupied home value in Tennessee is $286,700 (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, ACS 2020-2024). Condo interiors, cabinets, flooring, and belongings represent real replacement cost even when the association owns the outer building. Tennessee condo values sit alongside broader Tennessee insurance facts.
What should a Tennessee condo owner verify before relying on coverage?
The single most useful step is reading your own association documents alongside the HO-6 policy. How the two policies fit together depends on a few details:
- The master policy type. Confirm whether the association carries an all-in or a bare walls master policy, because that decides how much interior your HO-6 needs to cover.
- The master policy deductible. A large master deductible on a shared loss can flow down to owners through a special assessment, which is where loss assessment coverage comes in.
- The bylaws' insurance requirements. Check any required liability minimum, whether the association must be named, and what proof of coverage is due.
- Excluded perils. Flood and earthquake are not in the HO-6, so a Tennessee owner reviewing exposure looks at these separately.
Coverage limits and endorsements depend on an individual's unit, belongings, and building. A licensed advisor can review a specific situation and explain how limits, the master policy, and endorsements line up. Condo insurance and standard homeowners insurance share the liability and personal property ideas, but the HO-6 is built for the unit-owner split described here. For the general, non-state version of this topic, see the condo insurance overview.
Next step
This page is educational. If you want to understand how an independent agency works with different insurers on behalf of the customer, read about how Olive Cover works and the range of carriers available through the agency in the states where it is licensed.