{ "$schema": "https://bestinsuranceresearch.com/llms-full.txt", "recordType": "coverage", "id": "condominium-unit-owners-california", "canonicalUrl": "https://bestinsuranceresearch.com/insurance/condominium-unit-owners-california", "contentVersion": "2026.08.31", "generatedFor": "2026-09-07", "operator": { "legalName": "WJB Services, Inc.", "dba": "Bollinsure Insurance Services", "license": "6013787", "licenseAuthority": "California Department of Insurance" }, "license": "Text on this page may be quoted with attribution and a link to the canonical URL.", "notice": "Public page facts only. This record contains no visitor question, no tool input, and no identifier. It is not a coverage determination, an eligibility decision, or individualized advice.", "name": "Condominium unit owners insurance (California)", "line": "condominium-unit-owners", "family": "personal", "definition": "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. Everything about what this policy needs to do follows from where that line falls.", "protects": [ "The interior of the unit and the improvements the owner is responsible to maintain under the association's governing rules", "Personal property, loss of use, personal liability and medical payments to others, in the same way renters insurance does", "The owner against certain assessments the association makes as a result of a loss, through loss assessment coverage", "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" ], "commonlyCovers": [ { "item": "The unit as the statute draws it", "note": "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. That is the classic walls-in position, and it is a statutory default rather than a policy term." }, { "item": "Improvements the owner must maintain", "note": "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." }, { "item": "Personal property, loss of use, liability and medical payments", "note": "The same four elements a renters policy carries, which is why the two are described together in the regulator's own guide." }, { "item": "Loss assessment", "note": "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." } ], "commonlyExcludes": [ { "item": "The structure behind the interior surfaces", "note": "Any portion of the walls, floors or ceilings other than the interior surfaces is common area, and the association is responsible for repairing, replacing and maintaining the common area unless the declaration provides otherwise." }, { "item": "What the association's policy was expected to cover but does not", "note": "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." }, { "item": "The association's deductible, unless something answers it", "note": "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." }, { "item": "Flood, which is a separate policy on a separate form", "note": "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." }, { "item": "Contents kept in a basement, under the flood form", "note": "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." } ], "limitsAndDeductibles": [ "There is no single correct building limit here, because the amount needed depends entirely on where the boundary falls and on what the association's policy is written to reach.", "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.", "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, 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.", "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.", "Contents under a flood policy settle at actual cash value, the cost to replace at the time of loss less physical depreciation." ], "endorsements": [ { "item": "Increased loss assessment", "note": "Worth sizing against the association's actual deductible and its statutory limits rather than left at a default, since the assessment is how the association's exposure becomes the owner's." }, { "item": "Building property or units improvements cover, at an amount matched to the boundary", "note": "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." }, { "item": "A separate flood policy", "note": "Flood is not part of this policy. The association's building is insured on the residential condominium association form and the owner's contents and improvements are a separate question." } ], "relatedPolicies": [ "Community association insurance, which is the other side of the same boundary and is written against the same declaration", "Renters insurance, which shares four of this policy's elements and omits the structure entirely [S:cdi-residential-insurance-guide]", "Flood, where the building and the unit are answered by different forms [S:nfip-rcbap-coinsurance]" ], "underwritingInputs": [ "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 [S:ca-civ-code-4185]", "Whether walls, floors or ceilings are designated as boundaries of the separate interest [S:ca-civ-code-4185]", "What the declaration or condominium plan says, since it displaces the statutory boundary where it addresses it [S:ca-civ-code-4185]", "Which fixtures serve the unit but sit outside its boundaries, such as balconies, patios, exterior doors, doorframes, screens and windows [S:ca-civ-code-4145]", "What the association's policies actually cover, from the insurance summary in the annual budget report [S:ca-civ-code-5300]", "The association's deductible for each policy [S:ca-civ-code-5300]", "Whether the association's coverage has lapsed or been reduced since the last annual budget report [S:ca-civ-code-5810]", "Whether the building carries flood cover and at what amount relative to replacement cost [S:nfip-rcbap-coinsurance]" ], "stateVariations": [ { "state": "CA", "note": "The boundary default in section 4185(b), the exclusive use common area fixture list in section 4145, and the maintenance split in section 4775 are Davis-Stirling provisions. Other states draw the unit boundary differently, and some leave it entirely to the declaration." } ], "effectiveDate": "2026-09-06", "lastReviewed": "2026-09-06", "author": "Aaron Bollinger", "reviewer": "Brian Bollinger", "sourceIds": [ "ca-civ-code-4185", "ca-civ-code-4145", "ca-civ-code-4775", "ca-civ-code-5300", "ca-civ-code-5805", "ca-civ-code-5810", "cdi-residential-insurance-guide", "nfip-rcbap-coinsurance", "nfip-sfip-dwelling-form" ], "sources": [ { "id": "ca-civ-code-4185", "title": "California Civil Code Section 4185 (what a separate interest is, and where its boundaries fall)", "publisher": "California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV§ionNum=4185", "sourceType": "statute", "jurisdiction": "CA", "authorityLevel": "primary-law", "primary": true, "publishedDate": "unknown", "effectiveDate": "unknown", "accessedDate": "2026-09-06", "lastChecked": "2026-09-06", "updateCadence": "Amended only by legislation.", "status": "active", "supportsClaims": [ "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." ] }, { "id": "ca-civ-code-4145", "title": "California Civil Code Section 4145 (what counts as exclusive use common area)", "publisher": "California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV§ionNum=4145", "sourceType": "statute", "jurisdiction": "CA", "authorityLevel": "primary-law", "primary": true, "publishedDate": "unknown", "effectiveDate": "unknown", "accessedDate": "2026-09-06", "lastChecked": "2026-09-06", "updateCadence": "Amended only by legislation.", "status": "active", "supportsClaims": [ "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." ] }, { "id": "ca-civ-code-4775", "title": "California Civil Code Section 4775 (who repairs, replaces and maintains what in a common interest development)", "publisher": "California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV§ionNum=4775", "sourceType": "statute", "jurisdiction": "CA", "authorityLevel": "primary-law", "primary": true, "publishedDate": "unknown", "effectiveDate": "2025-01-01", "accessedDate": "2026-09-05", "lastChecked": "2026-09-05", "updateCadence": "Amended only by legislation. Last amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 288, Sec. 1 (SB 900), effective January 1, 2025.", "status": "active", "supportsClaims": [ "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." ] }, { "id": "ca-civ-code-5300", "title": "California Civil Code Section 5300(b)(9) (the insurance summary in the annual budget report, and its required disclaimer)", "publisher": "California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV§ionNum=5300", "sourceType": "statute", "jurisdiction": "CA", "authorityLevel": "primary-law", "primary": true, "publishedDate": "unknown", "effectiveDate": "unknown", "accessedDate": "2026-09-05", "lastChecked": "2026-09-05", "updateCadence": "Amended only by legislation; verify the current text on leginfo before relying on it.", "status": "active", "supportsClaims": [ "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." ] }, { "id": "ca-civ-code-5805", "title": "California Civil Code Section 5805 (member liability protection, conditioned on the association's general liability limits)", "publisher": "California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV§ionNum=5805", "sourceType": "statute", "jurisdiction": "CA", "authorityLevel": "primary-law", "primary": true, "publishedDate": "unknown", "effectiveDate": "2014-01-01", "accessedDate": "2026-09-05", "lastChecked": "2026-09-05", "updateCadence": "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.", "status": "active", "supportsClaims": [ "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." ] }, { "id": "ca-civ-code-5810", "title": "California Civil Code Section 5810 (notice to members when a disclosed policy lapses or changes)", "publisher": "California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)", "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV§ionNum=5810", "sourceType": "statute", "jurisdiction": "CA", "authorityLevel": "primary-law", "primary": true, "publishedDate": "unknown", "effectiveDate": "2014-01-01", "accessedDate": "2026-09-05", "lastChecked": "2026-09-05", "updateCadence": "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.", "status": "active", "supportsClaims": [ "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." ] }, { "id": "cdi-residential-insurance-guide", "title": "Residential Insurance: Homeowners and Renters (information guide, text version)", "publisher": "California Department of Insurance", "url": "https://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/105-type/95-guides/03-res/res-ins-guide.cfm", "sourceType": "regulator-guidance", "jurisdiction": "CA", "authorityLevel": "regulator", "primary": true, "publishedDate": "unknown", "effectiveDate": "unknown", "accessedDate": "2026-08-31", "lastChecked": "2026-08-31", "updateCadence": "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 cycle", "status": "active", "supportsClaims": [ "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." ] }, { "id": "nfip-rcbap-coinsurance", "title": "44 CFR Part 61, Appendix A(3) - Standard Flood Insurance Policy Residential Condominium Building Association Policy (Article VII, Coinsurance)", "publisher": "Federal Emergency Management Agency / National Flood Insurance Program (text reproduced by Cornell Legal Information Institute)", "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/44/appendix-A(3)_to_part_61", "sourceType": "policy-form", "jurisdiction": "US", "authorityLevel": "primary-law", "primary": true, "publishedDate": "unknown", "effectiveDate": "n/a", "accessedDate": "2026-08-31", "lastChecked": "2026-08-31", "updateCadence": "Changes only through FEMA rulemaking published in the Federal Register and codified in 44 CFR.", "status": "active", "supportsClaims": [ "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." ] }, { "id": "nfip-sfip-dwelling-form", "title": "Standard Flood Insurance Policy, Dwelling Form (44 CFR part 61, appendix A(1))", "publisher": "FEMA National Flood Insurance Program, Code of Federal Regulations, text hosted by Cornell Legal Information Institute", "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/44/appendix-A(1)_to_part_61", "sourceType": "policy-form", "jurisdiction": "US", "authorityLevel": "secondary", "primary": true, "publishedDate": "unknown", "effectiveDate": "n/a", "accessedDate": "2026-08-31", "lastChecked": "2026-09-05", "updateCadence": "FEMA amends the Standard Flood Insurance Policy by rulemaking; confirm the current codified text on eCFR or govinfo before relying on it.", "status": "active", "supportsClaims": [ "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." ] } ] }