What is master policy insurance?
Brownstone Insurance specializes in master policy insurance for properties with multiple owners, such as condo and apartment buildings. This type of coverage insures the building as whole, including common areas and liability, and often includes other coverages such as Director's and Officer's coverage to protect your building association members. Master policy insurance provides coverage that personal insurance does not.
Who needs master policy insurance?
Condo associations need a master policy to insure the common areas of their building, for liability reasons and any other common risks. Individual unit owners would obtain personal condo unit owner's policies to insure their personal property, but the condo association would need to purchase master policy insurance.
Apartment building owners need to obtain master policy insurance as well, typically for the same reasons. Common areas of the property, liability, loss of rent coverage and many other coverages would be provided in Brownstone's master policy.
Property managers are generally responsible for obtaining master policy insurance for their properties as well.
What does "all-in" mean?
Brownstone's master policy provides "all-in" coverage, meaning that everything attached to your building would be insured by our policy. This typically includes cabinetry, appliances, window fixtures, ceilings and flooring. An easy way to determine exactly what would be covered by our exclusive "all-in" master policy would be to think about what would remain inside your building if you were able to pick it up and turn it upside-down.
What is a studs-out or studs-in policy?
Another term frequently used by master policy providers is studs-in. A studs-in policy is the equivalent of our "all-in" policy and would insure the building and anything attached to it.
A studs-out policy is much more limited and only provides insurance for parts of the building from the studs outward towards the exterior.
Are my personal contents covered by the master policy?
Personal property is not insured by master policy insurance, so condo unit owners and apartment renters should obtain personal policies such as a condo unit owner's or renter's policy to protect their personal belongings in the event of a disaster. Brownstone's Personal Lines department offers these types of insurance products for your convenience as well.