[RoJl5]

So my dad stubbornly refuses to purchase homeowner's insurance because his building's HOA has insurance for the units. Obviously, the contents of the units are not covered by the HOA, but he has few possessions and most of his condo's value is the real estate itself, not what's in it. He lives on the FL coast, which is essentially a shooting gallery for hurricanes, and just assumes he'd be compensated if the building is flattened. Is he being foolish? Also, do HOAs usually just give you a check if the building is destroyed by a hurricane or earthquake, or give you a new unit in the eventual building when it is re-built?

[aridon]

Unit owners are generally required by the covenants to rebuild. You just can't leave it a shell if something happens and you're broke.

The HOA policy covers exterior portions of the building. Anything sheet rock in is the responsibility of the owner. Including plumbing. So none of that is covered and that is a significant amount of gap.

He also lacks liability insurance which is important. If he starts a fire or has water leaking from his unit to others he can be on the hook for their damages as well. Also if a guest slips and falls could also be an issue for him depending on the specifics of how it occurs and where.

IF there is a loss no the HOA doesn't cut owners a check. They pay for their portions IF they have coverage and assess owners for deductibles or short falls.

I can tell you one thing, most HOA's are not properly capitalized and insured. It can be a huge issue come storm time and they suddenly have a 100k deductible they are forced to spread out over the 50 owners of the building. You'd be amazed what some people will do to save a buck on the HOA dues only to have it come bite them in the ass down the road when claim time comes.

[Restrain]

He should have insurance on the unit as well, as mentioned above. Gutting and redoing the interior of a condo is pricy. We had a timeshare on the Texas gulf coast. And Hurricane Ike literally stripped the Guts out of it leaving the shell. Now the HOA had full coverage as it was a timeshare, but the condo was down for years. Same thing can happen to your father.