Condominium unit owners insurance (California)
A guide to condominium unit owners insurance (california): what it covers, what it excludes, what actually goes wrong, what reduces it, and what an underwriter asks. Every statement cites a published source.
Overview
What this line is, and who or what it is designed to protect.
The policy an individual owner buys for the part of a common interest development that is theirs, written against a boundary set by statute and by the declaration rather than by the policy. Unless the declaration or condominium plan provides otherwise, the interior surfaces of the perimeter walls, floors, ceilings, windows, doors and outlets are part of the separate interest, and any other portion of those walls, floors or ceilings is common area [1]. Everything about what this policy needs to do follows from where that line falls.
The interior of the unit and the improvements the owner is responsible to maintain under the association's governing rules [7]
Personal property, loss of use, personal liability and medical payments to others, in the same way renters insurance does [7]
The owner against certain assessments the association makes as a result of a loss, through loss assessment coverage [7]
The gap the Legislature warns owners about directly, since the association's policies may not cover the owner's property, improvements, or injuries at the dwelling [4]
What it covers
Each note carries a policy-form caveat, because what a form covers is read in that form.
The unit as the statute draws it
Where walls, floors or ceilings are designated as boundaries, the interior surfaces of the perimeter walls, floors, ceilings, windows, doors and outlets located within the separate interest are part of it [1]. That is the classic walls-in position, and it is a statutory default rather than a policy term.
Improvements the owner must maintain
Unit-owners insurance includes coverage for damage to the interior of the unit and improvements for which the unit owner is responsible to maintain in accordance with the governing rules of the association [7].
Personal property, loss of use, liability and medical payments
The same four elements a renters policy carries, which is why the two are described together in the regulator's own guide [7].
Loss assessment
Coverage for certain assessments the condominium association makes as a result of a loss, which is the mechanism by which a shortfall on the association's side reaches the individual owner [7].
What it excludes
Exclusions and limitations as the published forms state them.
What the association's policy was expected to cover but does not
The statutory disclosure tells members that although the association maintains the policies summarised in the annual budget report, those policies may not cover the member's property, personal property or improvements, or injuries occurring within or around the dwelling [4].
The association's deductible, unless something answers it
The same required statement warns that even where a loss is covered the member may be responsible for paying all or a portion of any deductible that applies [4].
Flood, which is a separate policy on a separate form
A residential condominium building is insured under its own NFIP form carrying a coinsurance article, so a shortfall in the building limit is settled differently from a shortfall on a house [8].
Contents kept in a basement, under the flood form
Where flood cover applies, only portable or window air conditioners, clothes washers and dryers, and food freezers other than walk-in are covered below the lowest elevated floor [9].
What goes wrong
The loss drivers, as distinct from what the policy protects. This is the question an underwriter is asking.
A boundary nobody has read
The statutory default puts the interior surfaces inside the unit and everything behind them in the common area, but it applies only unless the declaration or condominium plan otherwise provides [1]. Two policies written against different readings of the same document leave a gap that only appears at a claim.
Fixtures that serve the unit and sit outside it
Shutters, awnings, window boxes, doorsteps, stoops, porches, balconies, patios, exterior doors, doorframes and hardware, screens and windows designed to serve a single separate interest but located outside its boundaries are exclusive use common area unless the declaration provides otherwise [2]. On those, the owner maintains and the association repairs and replaces [3].
An assessment arriving after somebody else's loss
Loss assessment exists because an association can pass the cost of a loss to its members [7]. The exposure is not created by anything the owner did and is not limited by the owner's own care.
The association's deductible landing on the owner
The Legislature requires members to be told that even a covered loss may leave them paying all or part of a deductible [4]. Where that deductible is large, the sum reaching an individual owner is not small.
Association cover reduced without the owner noticing
A reduction in limits or an increase in the deductible is a significant change requiring individual notice to members [6], and it moves the boundary of what the owner's own policy has to answer.
A tort claim reaching the owner personally
A claim brought solely by virtue of an owner's tenancy-in-common interest in the common area is directed to the association instead of the owner only where the association carries at least $2,000,000 or $3,000,000 of general liability, depending on the number of separate interests [5].
What reduces it
Things you can do, each tied to a source. None of these is a promise about price; whether an insurer credits any of them is an underwriting decision.
Read the boundary provision of the declaration before setting any limit
Section 4185(b) applies unless the declaration or condominium plan otherwise provides [1], so the document decides how much structure the owner has to insure, and the figure follows from it rather than from the unit's size.
Take the association's deductible from the annual budget report
It must be stated there for each policy alongside the insurer, type and limit [4], so the amount that could be passed on is a published figure rather than an estimate.
Size loss assessment against that figure
Loss assessment answers certain assessments the association makes as a result of a loss [7], so the amount worth carrying is a question about the association's exposure rather than about the unit.
Ask to review the association's actual policies
Any member may, on request and provision of reasonable notice, review them, and may obtain copies on payment of reasonable duplication charges [4]. The summary is expressly not a substitute for the policy terms.
Treat a lapse or reduction notice as a reason to revisit your own policy
Individual notice is required on lapse, cancellation without immediate replacement, or a significant change such as reduced limits or a raised deductible [6], and each of those changes what the owner's policy is left to answer.
Underwriting
Information commonly requested. Common practice rather than a filed requirement.
Whether the development is a condominium project, a planned development, a community apartment project or a stock cooperative, because separate interest means something different in each [1]
Whether walls, floors or ceilings are designated as boundaries of the separate interest [1]
What the declaration or condominium plan says, since it displaces the statutory boundary where it addresses it [1]
Which fixtures serve the unit but sit outside its boundaries, such as balconies, patios, exterior doors, doorframes, screens and windows [2]
What the association's policies actually cover, from the insurance summary in the annual budget report [4]
The association's deductible for each policy [4]
Whether the association's coverage has lapsed or been reduced since the last annual budget report [6]
Whether the building carries flood cover and at what amount relative to replacement cost [8]
Limits and endorsements
How the limit is structured, and the endorsements that change it.
Loss assessment is normally a stated sublimit rather than an open amount, and it is the coverage that responds when the association's own shortfall is passed to owners [7].
The association's deductible for each policy must be disclosed in the annual budget report, along with the insurer, the type of insurance and the policy limit [4], which makes it a knowable number rather than a surprise.
Where the building is insured for flood under the residential condominium association form, a coinsurance article applies unless the amount of insurance on the damaged building is at least 80 percent of its replacement cost or the maximum amount available for that building under the NFIP [8].
Under that coinsurance article, payment is computed by dividing the actual amount of insurance carried by the required amount and multiplying the loss by the result [8].
Contents under a flood policy settle at actual cash value, the cost to replace at the time of loss less physical depreciation [9].
Building property or units improvements cover, at an amount matched to the boundary
How much of the structure an owner must insure is a function of the declaration and of section 4185(b), so the endorsement is sized from documents rather than from the square footage [1].
By state
Where a state changes the answer. Only the states read for this page appear.
Source ledger
Every numbered marker in this guide resolves to a record below. Each record lists the exact claims it supports, and each claim has its own address.
Source ledger
9 sources. Every citation number above resolves to a record below. Nothing here sits behind an account.
- [1]California Civil Code Section 4185 (what a separate interest is, and where its boundaries fall)(opens the original record on California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov))California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)Primary lawPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked September 6, 2026Updates: Amended only by legislation.ID
ca-civ-code-4185What this source supports (5)
- Section 4185(a)(2) provides that in a condominium project, separate interest means a separately owned unit, as specified in Section 4125.
- Section 4185(a)(3) provides that in a planned development, separate interest means a separately owned lot, parcel, area, or space.
- Section 4185(a)(1) provides that in a community apartment project, separate interest means the exclusive right to occupy an apartment, as specified in Section 4105, and section 4185(a)(4) provides that in a stock cooperative it means the exclusive right to occupy a portion of the real property, as specified in Section 4190.
- Section 4185(b) provides that unless the declaration or condominium plan, if any exists, otherwise provides, if walls, floors, or ceilings are designated as boundaries of a separate interest, the interior surfaces of the perimeter walls, floors, ceilings, windows, doors, and outlets located within the separate interest are part of the separate interest, and any other portions of the walls, floors, or ceilings are part of the common area.
- Section 4185(c) provides that the estate in a separate interest may be a fee, a life estate, an estate for years, or any combination of the foregoing.
Subdivision (b) is the sentence that decides most condominium coverage arguments, and it is a default rather than a rule: it applies unless the declaration or condominium plan otherwise provides. Where it applies it puts the interior surfaces of the perimeter walls, floors, ceilings, windows, doors and outlets inside the unit and everything behind those surfaces in the common area, which is the boundary an owner's policy and the association's policy are each written against. It also matters that the kind of development changes what a separate interest even is: a planned development owner owns a lot, not a unit, so the boundary question has a different shape there.
Active - [2]California Civil Code Section 4145 (what counts as exclusive use common area)(opens the original record on California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov))California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)Primary lawPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked September 6, 2026Updates: Amended only by legislation.ID
ca-civ-code-4145What this source supports (4)
- Section 4145(a) defines exclusive use common area as a portion of the common area designated by the declaration for the exclusive use of one or more, but fewer than all, of the owners of the separate interests, and which is or will be appurtenant to the separate interest or interests.
- Section 4145(b) provides that unless the declaration otherwise provides, any shutters, awnings, window boxes, doorsteps, stoops, porches, balconies, patios, exterior doors, doorframes, and hardware incident thereto, screens and windows or other fixtures designed to serve a single separate interest, but located outside the boundaries of the separate interest, are exclusive use common area allocated exclusively to that separate interest.
- Section 4145(c) provides that notwithstanding the provisions of the declaration, internal and external telephone wiring designed to serve a single separate interest, but located outside the boundaries of the separate interest, is exclusive use common area allocated exclusively to that separate interest.
- Section 4145(b) and section 4145(c) differ in force: the fixture list in subdivision (b) applies unless the declaration otherwise provides, while the telephone wiring rule in subdivision (c) applies notwithstanding the provisions of the declaration.
This is the section that answers whether a balcony or patio is exclusive use common area rather than part of the unit, which is the question the maintenance allocation in section 4775 then operates on. The distinction between subdivisions (b) and (c) is worth keeping: (b) is a default the declaration can displace, so a fixture list here does not settle any particular development, while (c) cannot be displaced at all. Reading (b) as though it were mandatory is the common error.
Active - [3]California Civil Code Section 4775 (who repairs, replaces and maintains what in a common interest development)(opens the original record on California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov))California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)Primary lawPrimaryJurisdiction CAEffective January 1, 2025Last checked September 5, 2026Updates: Amended only by legislation. Last amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 288, Sec. 1 (SB 900), effective January 1, 2025.ID
ca-civ-code-4775What this source supports (4)
- Section 4775(a)(1) provides that except as provided in paragraph (4), unless otherwise provided in the declaration of a common interest development, the association is responsible for repairing, replacing, and maintaining the common area.
- Section 4775(a)(3) provides that unless otherwise provided in the declaration of a common interest development, the owner of each separate interest is responsible for repairing, replacing, and maintaining that separate interest.
- Section 4775(a)(4) provides that unless otherwise provided in the declaration of a common interest development, the owner of each separate interest is responsible for maintaining the exclusive use common area appurtenant to that separate interest and the association is responsible for repairing and replacing the exclusive use common area.
- Section 4775(a)(1), (a)(3) and (a)(4) each open with the qualifier that they apply unless otherwise provided in the declaration, so the statutory allocation is a default that a particular development's declaration may displace.
This section is not an insurance provision and is the reason the insurance questions are hard. It splits maintaining from repairing and replacing on exclusive use common area: the owner maintains, the association repairs and replaces. Every clause is subject to the declaration, so a reading of the statute alone cannot tell any particular owner what they are responsible for. The record is here because the association's policy and the owner's policy are written against this split, and a gap between them usually traces to it.
Active - [4]California Civil Code Section 5300(b)(9) (the insurance summary in the annual budget report, and its required disclaimer)(opens the original record on California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov))California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)Primary lawPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked September 5, 2026Updates: Amended only by legislation; verify the current text on leginfo before relying on it.ID
ca-civ-code-5300What this source supports (6)
- Section 5300(b)(9) requires the annual budget report to include a summary of the association's property, general liability, earthquake, flood, and fidelity insurance policies.
- Section 5300(b)(9) requires that, for each policy, the summary include the name of the insurer, the type of insurance, the policy limit, and the amount of the deductible, if any.
- Section 5300(b)(9) requires the summary to be accompanied by a statement, in at least 10-point boldface type, that the summary provides only certain information as required by Section 5300 of the Civil Code and should not be considered a substitute for the complete policy terms and conditions contained in the actual policies of insurance.
- The required statement tells members that any association member may, upon request and provision of reasonable notice, review the association's insurance policies and, upon request and payment of reasonable duplication charges, obtain copies of those policies.
- The required statement tells members that although the association maintains the policies of insurance specified in the summary, the association's policies of insurance may not cover the member's property, including personal property or real property improvements to or around the dwelling, or personal injuries or other losses that occur within or around the dwelling.
- The required statement tells members that even if a loss is covered, the member may nevertheless be responsible for paying all or a portion of any deductible that applies, and that association members should consult with their individual insurance broker or agent for appropriate additional coverage.
The disclaimer is the most useful paragraph in the Davis-Stirling Act for an individual owner, and it is written by the Legislature rather than by an insurer or a broker. It says in the statute's own words that the association's policies may not reach the owner's improvements, personal property, or injuries at the dwelling, and that a covered loss can still leave the owner paying a deductible. Recorded here in the statute's terms; the amount of any particular association's deductible and who bears it under its governing documents are separate questions this record does not answer.
Active - [5]California Civil Code Section 5805 (member liability protection, conditioned on the association's general liability limits)(opens the original record on California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov))California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)Primary lawPrimaryJurisdiction CAEffective January 1, 2014Last checked September 5, 2026Updates: Amended only by legislation. Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 180, Sec. 2 (AB 805), effective January 1, 2013, operative January 1, 2014 by Sec. 3 of Ch. 180.ID
ca-civ-code-5805What this source supports (5)
- Section 5805(a) states the Legislature's intent to provide civil liability protection to owners of separate interests in common interest developments that have commonly owned tenancy-in-common property, provided the association maintains specified insurance coverage for tort causes of action.
- Section 5805(b) provides that a tort cause of action against an owner of a separate interest, brought solely by virtue of that owner's tenancy-in-common interest in the common area, shall be brought against the association and not against the individual owners, if both of the requirements in the subdivision are met.
- Section 5805(b)(1) requires that the association maintained and had in effect one or more policies of general liability insurance covering the cause of action.
- Section 5805(b)(2)(A) sets the required coverage at at least two million dollars ($2,000,000) where the common interest development consists of 100 or fewer separate interests.
- Section 5805(b)(2)(B) sets the required coverage at at least three million dollars ($3,000,000) where the common interest development consists of more than 100 separate interests.
The thresholds here are higher than the ones in section 5800 and they protect a different group. Section 5800 caps a volunteer director's personal exposure at the limits carried; section 5805 redirects a tort claim away from the individual owners entirely, and only where the association carries at least the amounts stated. Both are conditioned on insurance the association may or may not actually have, which is why the annual disclosure under section 5300 and the lapse notice under section 5810 matter to an owner rather than only to the board.
Active - [6]California Civil Code Section 5810 (notice to members when a disclosed policy lapses or changes)(opens the original record on California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov))California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)Primary lawPrimaryJurisdiction CAEffective January 1, 2014Last checked September 5, 2026Updates: Amended only by legislation. Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 180, Sec. 2 (AB 805), effective January 1, 2013, operative January 1, 2014 by Sec. 3 of Ch. 180.ID
ca-civ-code-5810What this source supports (3)
- Section 5810 requires the association, as soon as reasonably practicable, to provide individual notice pursuant to Section 4040 to all members if any of the policies described in the annual budget report pursuant to Section 5300 have lapsed, been canceled, and are not immediately renewed, restored, or replaced.
- Section 5810 requires that same individual notice if there is a significant change as to any of those policies, such as a reduction in coverage or limits or an increase in the deductible.
- Section 5810 requires that, if the association receives any notice of nonrenewal of a policy described in the annual budget report pursuant to Section 5300, the association shall immediately notify its members if replacement coverage will not be in effect by the date the existing coverage will lapse.
The trigger is not limited to cancellation. A reduction in limits or an increase in the deductible is a significant change and carries the same notice duty, which is the part most likely to go unreported in a hard market where a renewal is placed at lower limits rather than declined outright. The duty attaches only to policies described in the annual budget report, so what section 5300 discloses determines what section 5810 covers.
Active - [7]Residential Insurance: Homeowners and Renters (information guide, text version)(opens the original record on California Department of Insurance)California Department of InsuranceRegulatorPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked August 31, 2026Updates: revised periodically by CDI; the current text version carries the revision line Form 401 Revised January 2026, so compare that line against the live page each review cycleID
cdi-residential-insurance-guideWhat this source supports (49)
- The guide describes a homeowners policy in coverage parts: Coverage A Dwelling, Coverage B Other Structures, Coverage C Personal Property, Coverage D Loss of Use, Coverage E Personal Liability, and Coverage F Medical Payments to Others.
- Coverage B Other Structures is normally limited to 10 percent of the Coverage A limit.
- Coverage C provides protection for the contents of the home and other personal belongings owned by the insured and other family members who live with the insured, and additional amounts of insurance may be purchased.
- The contents limit is generally around 50 percent of the dwelling amount, and the guide states that this is a guideline only.
- Coverage D Loss of Use is normally limited to 20 percent of Coverage A.
- Under the heading for what is typically covered by a homeowners policy if damage is caused by, the guide lists fourteen causes of loss: fire or lightning; windstorm or hail; explosion; riot or civil commotion; aircraft; vehicles; smoke; vandalism and malicious mischief; theft; volcanic eruption; falling objects; weight of ice, snow, sleet; sudden and accidental water damage; and breakage of glass.
- The guide lists typical exclusions: flood; earthquake; earth movement; termites; insects, rats or mice; water damage caused by seepage or leaks; losses to a house vacant for 60 days or more; mold; wear and tear or maintenance; war; insurrection; tidal wave; neglect; and nuclear hazard.
- The guide carries the instruction to read the exclusions in the insurance contract.
- Coverage on certain types of property especially susceptible to loss is limited: jewelry, antiques, furs, collectibles, fine arts, firearms, silverware, and money.
- The limited coverage amounts for specific types of personal property are not separate limits in addition to the contents limit; they are included in the overall contents limit and represent the maximum paid out for that specific type of personal property.
- The guide defines the deductible as the amount of loss that the policyholder is responsible to pay up-front before covered benefits from the insurance company are payable.
- The guide states that if the insured can afford to take a bit more of the risk, a larger deductible may significantly reduce the premium.
- The guide states that an actual cash value policy will not completely replace the home, that a replacement cost policy improves the chances of being able to completely rebuild, that a policy cannot be sold as a guaranteed replacement cost policy unless it will pay to completely rebuild the home regardless of the coverage limit, and that other types of replacement cost policies will pay the policy limits plus a certain percentage above those limits.
- For renters policies, the guide states that Coverage E Personal Liability is generally subject to a minimum of $100,000 and Coverage F Medical Payments to Others is generally subject to a minimum of $1,000.
- The guide states that the landlord does not provide insurance for the tenant's personal property.
- The guide identifies itself on the page as Form 401, Revised January 2026.
- The guide lists the coverages of a homeowners policy as "Coverage A - Dwelling, Coverage B - Other Structures, Coverage C - Personal Property, Coverage D - Loss of Use, Coverage E - Personal Liability, Coverage F - Medical Payments to Others."
- The guide describes Coverage D as follows: "This coverage will help with additional living expenses if your home is damaged by a peril insured against to the extent that you cannot live in your home. These expenses include, but are not limited to, housing, meals and warehouse storage. Coverage D is normally limited to 20 percent of Coverage A."
- The guide states: "After a residential policy has been in effect for sixty days, the insurance company can only cancel a policy for reasons specified by law, which include; nonpayment of premium, fraud, material misrepresentation, or physical changes in the insured property that increase any hazard insured against."
- The guide defines material misrepresentation as "A false statement given by an applicant of any important fact that had the insurance company known the truth, it would not have insured the risk."
- The guide states: "The condominium association generally purchases insurance for the building structure and common areas, such as corridors and walls."
- The guide states: "Like renters insurance, condominium unit-owners insurance provides coverage for personal property, loss of use, personal liability and medical payments to others. However, it also includes coverage for damages to the interior of the unit and improvements for which the unit owner is responsible to maintain in accordance with the governing rules of the condominium association."
- The guide states: "Loss assessment may be an important coverage for you to consider, because it covers you for certain assessments that the condominium association makes as a result of a loss."
- The dwelling limit should be the amount it would cost to replace your home, which may have nothing to do with the purchase price or the current market value.
- Homeowners should base the limit on the cost of labor and materials necessary to rebuild the dwelling, not fluctuations in the real estate market.
- Under an actual cash value settlement the recovery is reduced by a fair and reasonable deduction for physical depreciation, and with a replacement cost policy the chances that you will be able to completely rebuild your home are better.
- Insurance coverage for losses resulting from floods is generally not provided in a homeowners or renters policy.
- When an insurer writes your homeowners coverage in California, the insurer is legally obligated to offer you earthquake coverage for an additional premium.
- What was previously called Extended Replacement Cost Coverage is now called Limited Replacement Cost Coverage.
- The dwelling limit should be the amount it would cost to replace the home, and this may have nothing to do with the purchase price or the current market value of the home, as homeowners insurance does not generally cover the value of the land upon which the dwelling sits.
- When determining the amount of coverage to purchase, consumers should consider the cost of labor and materials necessary to rebuild the dwelling, not fluctuations in the real estate market.
- Insurance companies have their own formulas for evaluating replacement cost, and because those formulas are unique to each company, different insurers may suggest or require different limits of coverage for the same dwelling.
- In a section summarizing key legislation, this guide describes Senate Bill 1855 (2004) as changing the use of the words Extended Replacement Cost Coverage in the California Residential Property Insurance Disclosure to Limited Replacement Cost Coverage. The page states this only as a description of that 2004 bill's effect on the wording of that disclosure; it does not state that Extended Replacement Cost Coverage is generally now called Limited Replacement Cost Coverage, and it gives no rationale specific to the change of words.
- A policy cannot be sold as a guaranteed replacement cost policy unless it will pay to completely rebuild the home regardless of the coverage limit.
- Unless the policy has building code upgrade coverage, the insurance company may not pay for changes needed to bring the structure up to current building codes.
- CDI advises consumers to ask their agent, broker, or insurer whether they automatically review or increase limits on a regular basis, or whether they offer an automatic inflation guard option.
- In its actual cash value discussion this guide uses the formulation the policy limit or the fair market value of the structure, whichever is less.
- CDI describes a homeowners policy as divided into a property section with Coverage A dwelling, Coverage B other structures, Coverage C personal property and Coverage D loss of use, and a liability section with Coverage E personal liability and Coverage F medical payments to others.
- CDI states that Coverage A provides major property coverage protecting the house and attached structures if damaged by a covered peril.
- CDI states that Coverage B other structures is normally limited to 10 percent of the Coverage A limit, and that Coverage D loss of use is normally limited to 20 percent of Coverage A.
- CDI states that certain personal property categories such as jewelry and firearms are subject to special limits that cap the amount paid.
- CDI states that an actual cash value policy will not fully replace a destroyed home because it subtracts depreciation and pays either the repair cost less wear and tear or the policy limit, whichever is less.
- CDI states that a policy cannot be sold as a guaranteed replacement cost policy unless it will pay to completely rebuild the home regardless of the coverage limit, and that other replacement cost variants pay the policy limits plus a certain percentage above those limits.
- CDI warns that unless the policy has building code upgrade coverage, the insurance company may not pay for changes needed to bring the structure of the home up to current building codes.
- CDI advises reviewing the dwelling limit initially and upon renewal, discussing any modifications to the home in writing with the agent, broker, or insurer, and contacting local general contractors to ask the current price per square foot for a home similar to your own.
- CDI advises keeping an inventory of personal property listing all items owned, the dates purchased, and the price, and offers a free Home Inventory Guide.
- CDI states that Coverage D reimburses housing, meals and warehouse storage when a covered loss makes the home uninhabitable, and advises keeping receipts for all additional living expenses and submitting them to the company for reimbursement consideration.
- CDI warns that if you shop by comparing prices only and not by comparing coverage, you are doing yourself a disservice.
- CDI notes that SB 1855 (2004) requires insurers to disclose, in the California Residential Property Insurance Disclosure and on the declarations page, that the cost to rebuild your home may be different from your homeowners policy limits, and that insurers must distribute the California Residential Property Insurance Bill of Rights every other year.
Published: 2026-01 (the page carries the line Form 401 Revised January 2026) Effective: not stated on the page
Active - [8]44 CFR Part 61, Appendix A(3) - Standard Flood Insurance Policy Residential Condominium Building Association Policy (Article VII, Coinsurance)(opens the original record on Federal Emergency Management Agency / National Flood Insurance Program (text reproduced by Cornell Legal Information Institute))Federal Emergency Management Agency / National Flood Insurance Program (text reproduced by Cornell Legal Information Institute)Primary lawPrimaryJurisdiction USThird-party reproductionLast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Changes only through FEMA rulemaking published in the Federal Register and codified in 44 CFR.ID
nfip-rcbap-coinsuranceWhat this source supports (4)
- Article VII of this form is titled Coinsurance and applies unless the amount of insurance applicable to the damaged building is at least 80 percent of its replacement cost, or the maximum amount of insurance available for that building under the NFIP, whichever is less.
- Where the coinsurance article applies, payment is computed by dividing the actual amount of insurance carried on the building by the required amount of insurance, multiplying the amount of loss before application of the deductible by that figure, and subtracting the deductible, with payment equal to that result or the amount of insurance carried, whichever is less.
- The form defines actual cash value as the cost to replace an insured item of property at the time of loss, less the value of its physical depreciation.
- This appendix is the Standard Flood Insurance Policy Residential Condominium Building Association Policy, so its coinsurance article is one published federal form's condition and not a general property insurance rule.
Re-fetched 2026-08-31. Misquote corrected from the prior draft: the alternative prong reads the maximum amount of insurance available FOR THAT BUILDING UNDER THE NFIP. The prior draft rendered it as available or permitted under the Act, which is not the form's language, in a passage that recited form wording. Title corrected: the published appendix heading carries no colon between Policy and Residential, so the punctuated variant is no longer presented as the exact title. Authority caveat: Cornell LII is a reproduction. eCFR was attempted on 2026-08-31 and returned a redirect to an unblock page rather than the text, and a govinfo XML path returned a not-found page, so the official publication could not be fetched today. This form is a flood policy for condominium associations; it is included only as a verified published example of a percentage condition, not as a statement about homeowners forms.
ActiveReproduction - [9]Standard Flood Insurance Policy, Dwelling Form (44 CFR part 61, appendix A(1))(opens the original record on FEMA National Flood Insurance Program, Code of Federal Regulations, text hosted by Cornell Legal Information Institute)FEMA National Flood Insurance Program, Code of Federal Regulations, text hosted by Cornell Legal Information InstituteSecondaryPrimaryJurisdiction USThird-party reproductionLast checked September 5, 2026Updates: FEMA amends the Standard Flood Insurance Policy by rulemaking; confirm the current codified text on eCFR or govinfo before relying on it.ID
nfip-sfip-dwelling-formWhat this source supports (12)
- The Dwelling Form defines direct physical loss by or from flood as loss or damage to insured property, directly caused by a flood, and states that there must be evidence of physical changes to the property.
- The Dwelling Form defines actual cash value as the cost to replace an insured item of property at the time of loss, less the value of its physical depreciation.
- The Dwelling Form applies replacement cost settlement to a single family dwelling that is the insured's principal residence when, at the time of loss, the amount of insurance in the policy that applies to the dwelling is 80 percent or more of its full replacement cost immediately before the loss, or is the maximum amount of insurance available under the NFIP. The two branches are stated in the alternative, so satisfying either one meets the insurance-amount condition.
- The Dwelling Form provides separate coverages with separate limits for Building Property and Personal Property, with the limit amounts shown on the Declarations Page, and provides that separate deductibles apply to the building and personal property insured by the policy.
- The Dwelling Form provides that the insurer will pay no more than $2,500 for any one loss to one or more of several listed kinds of personal property, including artwork, photographs, collectibles, or memorabilia, rare books, jewelry, and furs.
- Article II of the Dwelling Form defines flood as a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of two or more acres of normally dry land area or of two or more properties, one of which is the insured's property, from overflow of inland or tidal waters, from unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source, or from mudflow.
- The same definition also reaches collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or similar body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels that result in a flood.
- Article V of the Dwelling Form excludes any additional living expenses incurred while the insured building is being repaired or is unable to be occupied for any reason, loss of revenue or profits, and loss from interruption of business or production, so the policy pays nothing toward the cost of living elsewhere while a flooded home is repaired.
- Article V.C of the Dwelling Form provides that the insurer does not insure for loss to property caused directly by earth movement even if the earth movement is caused by flood, and gives as examples earthquake, landslide, land subsidence, sinkholes, destabilization or movement of land that results from accumulation of water in subsurface land area, and gradual erosion.
- Article III.A.8 of the Dwelling Form restricts coverage for property in a basement or below the lowest elevated floor to a listed set of items, and requires that they be installed in their functioning locations and, if necessary for operation, connected to a power source.
- Under that same restriction the only personal property covered in a basement or below the lowest elevated floor is air conditioning units of the portable or window type, clothes washers and dryers, and food freezers other than walk-in, together with the food in any freezer.
- Article III.D.2 of the Dwelling Form provides that the insurer will pay up to $30,000 under Coverage D, Increased Cost of Compliance, and that this coverage applies only to policies with building coverage under Coverage A.
Rechecked 2026-09-05 and extended by seven claims while writing the flood coverage page: the Article II definition of flood, the Article V exclusion of additional living expenses and business interruption, the Article V.C earth movement exclusion, the Article III.A.8 basement and below-lowest-floor restriction with its exact personal property list, and the Coverage D limit. The first draft of this record described how the form settles a loss and said nothing about what it refuses, which made it useful for a valuation question and misleading for anyone asking what flood insurance actually does. eCFR was tried again on 2026-09-05 for the official rendering and again returned a redirect to unblock.federalregister.gov, so the Cornell hosted text remains the accessible copy. Fetched 2026-08-31 and each claim read on the page. Re-fetched on 2026-08-31 to read the Loss Settlement replacement cost condition in full, because an earlier draft quoted only the 80 percent branch; the form states the insurance-amount condition in the alternative, '80 percent or more of its full replacement cost immediately before the loss, or is the maximum amount of insurance available under the NFIP', and both branches are now recorded. eCFR was tried again on 2026-08-31 for the official rendering and returned a redirect to unblock.federalregister.gov rather than the appendix, so the Cornell hosted copy remains the accessible text. authorityLevel is recorded as 'secondary' rather than 'primary-law' for that reason. This is one specific published federal form and is cited as an example that anyone can read, not as representative of private homeowners or commercial form wording.
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