Alaska condo and townhome insurance
Your association insures the building to a line drawn in its own master policy. In Alaska the two questions that follow are what it says about freeze, and whether it carries earthquake at all.
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Three things to settle before you buy an Alaska condo policy
- 1
Ask whether the association carries earthquake on the structure
Many Alaska associations do not, and if yours does not, nobody is insuring the building you live in against the fault beneath it. Quake damage to common elements can then produce an assessment against every owner. Unit-owner earthquake coverage typically responds to your interior, your belongings and loss assessment arising from a quake — which is a different and much narrower thing than insuring the building.
- 2
Bare walls and all-in are different purchases
A bare-walls master policy stops at unfinished structure and leaves cabinets, flooring, fixtures and built-ins to you. An all-in policy reaches original finishes but not your upgrades. Your dwelling limit has to be set against whichever line the master policy draws, which means reading the declaration page rather than the summary.
- 3
Freeze in one unit becomes a claim in four
A unit left cold through an Anchorage or Fairbanks winter is where the expensive claims start. A line splits above a ceiling and water reaches every unit below before anyone is home to notice. Governing documents commonly let the association charge its deductible to the unit where the loss began, so loss assessment coverage is not optional thinking here.
What to do before you leave for the winter
If the unit sits empty, the practical list is short: keep the heat on at a real temperature rather than the minimum, know where your shutoff is, have someone check the unit on a schedule, and consider a leak sensor — several carriers credit them. Tell the carrier how many months a year the unit is occupied, because unoccupancy affects how the policy responds to exactly this peril.
Snow load, roof work and assessments
Heavy snow years push roofs, gutters and decks into association budgets, and a thin reserve turns that into a special assessment. Loss assessment coverage generally responds to assessments arising from a covered loss rather than to deferred maintenance, so the reserve study date belongs in the same request as the insurance documents.
Townhome, or house that looks like one
Ownership decides the policy, not the architecture. If you own the structure and the ground under it, that is a homeowners policy even in a row of identical units. If an association owns the building and you own the interior, that is a condo policy even with its own entrance and garage. Read the recorded declaration before buying either form.
Documents to have in hand
The association should provide all of these on request. The master policy declaration page is the one that matters.
- The declaration page of the association master policy, not the summary
- Whether the association carries earthquake on the structure
- The master policy deductible, and whether the documents allow charging it to a unit
- Whether the master policy is bare walls or all-in
- The reserve study date and any special assessment voted in or pending
- How many months a year the unit is occupied
- The age of the plumbing stack and of your own water heater
Frequently asked questions
What does an HO-6 condo policy cover?
Your belongings, your liability, your interior finishes and improvements to the extent the master policy does not reach them, loss of use if the unit becomes uninhabitable, and loss assessment from the association.
Does my association insure against earthquake?
Many Alaska associations do not, and it is the first thing to ask. If the structure is uninsured for quake, that exposure falls on the owners collectively through assessments.
Who pays when a frozen pipe in my unit floods the ones below?
Your liability coverage and the master policy interact, and the governing documents usually decide where the master deductible lands. This is the scenario loss assessment coverage exists for.
I am out of state for the winter. Does that affect the policy?
Yes. Freeze coverage generally depends on heat being maintained, and unoccupancy can affect how a policy responds. Describe the real pattern of use when you call.
Request your Alaska quote
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