Pennsylvania HOA Insurance Requirements

Section 1: Overview — How HOA insurance is regulated in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania imposes a statutory association insurance mandate on both condominiums and planned communities, each through its own insurance section, so unlike most states, Pennsylvania planned communities aren't in a covenant-only insurance posture. Condominium associations are governed by the Pennsylvania Uniform Condominium Act, whose insurance section is 68 Pa.C.S. § 3312, and planned-community associations are governed by the Pennsylvania Uniform Planned Community Act, whose insurance section is 68 Pa.C.S. § 5312.¹² The condominium mandate descends from the 1980 Uniform Condominium Act and the planned-community mandate from the planned-community provisions of the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, both built on the Section 3-113 insurance model, and each requires the association to carry property and liability insurance "to the extent reasonably available," with a duty to notify owners if the required coverage isn't maintained.¹²³ The property-coverage obligation in both statutes is keyed to building structure, so a planned community of detached single-family homes generally insures its common and controlled facilities while owners insure their own dwellings, and the association's obligation to insure the units themselves applies most clearly where units share structural components.² Neither insurance section mandates fidelity (crime) coverage or directors-and-officers (D&O) liability coverage; those are driven by the recorded declaration or by secondary-market lender requirements.¹² Pennsylvania therefore sits with the minority of states that apply a uniform-model insurance mandate to planned communities as well as condominiums, through two parallel uniform-derived statutes. The sections below detail the statutory framework, the coverage allocation, and recent legislative and judicial activity.

Section 2: The statutory insurance framework

2A. The two insurance mandates (condominium and planned community)

The condominium insurance mandate is 68 Pa.C.S. § 3312.¹ Commencing not later than the first conveyance of a unit to a person other than a declarant, the association must maintain, to the extent reasonably available, property insurance on the common elements and units (excluding improvements and betterments installed in units) against all risks of direct physical loss, in a total amount, after deductibles, of not less than 80% of the actual cash value of the insured property, exclusive of land, excavations, foundations, and other items normally excluded.¹ The association must also carry comprehensive general liability insurance, including medical payments coverage, in an amount set by the executive board but not less than any amount specified in the declaration.¹ The policies must name each unit owner as an insured, waive the insurer's right of subrogation against unit owners and their household members, and be primary over any owner's own policy.¹ Property-insurance proceeds are payable to an insurance trustee or the association — not to a mortgagee — held in trust, and disbursed first to repair or restore.¹ Damaged property must be repaired or replaced promptly unless the condominium is terminated, repair would be illegal, or 80% of owners vote not to rebuild; repair or replacement cost above proceeds and identified reserves is a common expense, and the deductible portion is levied on owners under § 3314(c).¹⁶

The planned-community insurance mandate is a separate section, 68 Pa.C.S. § 5312, and this is the defining Pennsylvania feature: planned communities carry their own statutory insurance mandate rather than a covenant-only posture.² Section 5312 requires the association, to the extent reasonably available, to carry property insurance on the common facilities and controlled facilities at not less than 80% of actual cash value on the same exclusions basis, plus comprehensive general liability insurance.² Under subsection (b), in a building containing units having horizontal boundaries described in the declaration, the property insurance must, to the extent reasonably available, include the units — but not owner improvements and betterments.² A residential unit owner must insure the owner's own unit except to the extent the association insures it under the section or the declaration.² The proceeds, repair-or-replace, and deductible provisions parallel the condominium section, with the deductible levied under § 5314(c), and subsection (h)(2) separately addresses portions of the community that the unit owner — rather than the association — is required to insure.²⁷ Both sections descend from the Section 3-113 model rather than any 2008-era revision; the insurance sections were each last amended in 2004 and don't contain owner-source-of-loss deductible authority.¹²³

2B. Classifying the community and the building-structure keying

Because the applicable insurance section depends on the community type, a manager must first determine whether a community is a condominium (governed by the Uniform Condominium Act) or a planned community (governed by the Uniform Planned Community Act), which turns on the form of ownership recorded in the declaration rather than the physical look of the buildings.¹² The property-coverage obligation is keyed to building structure in both statutes. In a condominium, § 3312 reaches the units directly. In a planned community, § 5312 reaches the units only where they have horizontal boundaries (stacked or attached structures), so a planned community of detached single-family homes insures common and controlled facilities while owners insure their own dwellings.¹² A flat "all units insured by the association" rule doesn't describe a detached-home planned community. Older condominiums created before the Uniform Condominium Act took effect in 1980 may remain under the predecessor Unit Property Act (68 P.S. § 700.101 et seq.), which treats insurance differently, so the governing act for an older condominium must be confirmed against 68 Pa.C.S. § 3102 and the declaration.¹⁰¹¹ The practical sequence is to classify the community, apply the correct statute's insurance section, then read the recorded declaration against it.

2C. The declaration, corporate law, and the federal and market overlay

Both statutes permit the declaration to require additional insurance and to vary many defaults, and a community restricted entirely to nonresidential use may vary or waive the section, so the recorded declaration read against the statutory backstops is the practical rulebook.¹² Fidelity (crime) insurance and D&O liability insurance aren't mandated by either insurance section; absent a declaration provision, they're lender-driven. The Nonprofit Corporation Law of 1988 (15 Pa.C.S. § 5741 et seq.), which governs incorporated associations, permits indemnification of directors and officers, requires indemnification where a director prevails on the merits, and separately authorizes the corporation to purchase insurance, but it doesn't itself mandate that an association carry D&O or fidelity coverage.⁵ The federal and secondary-market overlay is a distinct layer: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac project standards, FHA condominium approval conditions, and the National Flood Insurance Program apply to associations whose units are financed in the conventional or FHA markets and frequently exceed either statutory floor, driving replacement-cost, fidelity, and flood decisions in practice.⁴⁸⁹ Pennsylvania's market context shapes real coverage decisions without changing the statutory mandate: severe winter perils (snow load, ice dams, frozen and burst pipes), severe convective storms (wind and hail), and riverine and flash flooding including inland tropical remnants such as the 2021 remnants of Hurricane Ida, which bring the flood program into play in Special Flood Hazard Areas. Pennsylvania has no direct ocean coastal windstorm exposure. Statewide homeowners premiums rose about 44% between 2021 and 2024, and water damage is a heavily scrutinized association claim type.¹²

Section 3: Coverage allocation and compliance obligations

A. Association coverage obligations

For condominiums, § 3312 requires the association to insure the common elements and the units (excluding owner improvements and betterments) at not less than 80% of actual cash value after deductibles, plus comprehensive general liability coverage; the obligation is mandatory but conditioned on coverage being reasonably available, and the association must notify owners if it isn't maintained.¹ For planned communities, § 5312 requires the association to insure the common and controlled facilities on the same valuation basis, and to insure units only where they have horizontal boundaries, plus comprehensive general liability coverage.² Both obligations are keyed to building structure, which is why a detached-home planned community's association insures shared facilities rather than the dwellings.¹²

B. Coverage allocation between association and owners

The master policy covers the structure to the statutory scope but not owner improvements and betterments or personal property, so the common reader error, that the master policy covers the unit interior or upgrades, is incorrect under both statutes.¹² A condominium unit owner may insure the unit for losses not covered by the association's policy, including the deductible, typically through an individual unit-owner (HO-6) policy; the association's policy is primary and not contributing with the owner's policy.¹ In a planned community, a residential unit owner must insure the owner's own unit except to the extent the association or declaration provides coverage, which places detached-home owners squarely on their own dwelling policies.² Loss-assessment coverage on an owner's policy addresses the owner's share of association deductibles and uninsured losses. These allocations may be varied by the declaration.¹²

C. Deductibles, proceeds, and repair-or-replace

By default under both statutes, the association bears the master-policy deductible and levies the uncovered portion, and any self-insured loss, on the owners as a common expense (condominiums under § 3312(i) and § 3314(c); planned communities under § 5312(j) and § 5314(c)).¹²⁶⁷ Insurance proceeds are payable to an insurance trustee or the association, held in trust, and applied first to repair or restoration, with owners and lienholders paid only from any surplus.¹² The association must repair or replace damaged property promptly unless the community terminates, repair would be illegal, or 80% of owners vote not to rebuild.¹² Repair or replacement cost above proceeds and identified reserves is a common expense, which is the mechanism by which owners bear loss-assessment exposure for uninsured amounts.¹² These are statutory defaults that a nonresidential community may vary.¹²

D. Fidelity, D&O, and disclosure

Neither statute mandates fidelity (crime) coverage or D&O coverage, so both are declaration-driven or lender-driven unless the declaration requires them; the Nonprofit Corporation Law permits but doesn't require D&O insurance.¹²⁵ Both insurance sections require the insurer to issue certificates or memoranda of insurance to the association and, on request, to any unit owner, mortgagee, or beneficiary, and bar cancellation until 30 days after notice to the association, each owner, and each certificate-holding mortgagee.¹² On resale of a condominium unit, the association's certificate to the purchaser must describe the insurance coverage provided for the benefit of unit owners.¹³ These disclosure duties are mandatory.¹²¹³

Section 4: Recent legislative and judicial activity

A. Recent bills

No bill enacted or advancing in the 24 months preceding July 18, 2026 amends 68 Pa.C.S. § 3312 or § 5312 or otherwise directly changes association insurance obligations. Bills from the 2023-2024 legislative session expired at the end of that two-year session and would need reintroduction to have current effect. The material recent pressure on Pennsylvania association insurance is market-driven rather than statutory.

B. Recent appellate rulings

No Pennsylvania Superior Court or Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision issued in the 36 months preceding July 18, 2026 squarely addresses association insurance obligations, coverage allocation, deductible disputes, or proceeds-and-rebuild questions under § 3312 or § 5312. This is a genuine gap in Pennsylvania appellate law; practitioner commentary on the condominium insurance section points to a federal trial-court decision rather than a state appellate decision. The closest recent authority is a federal case.

C. Active legislative debates

House Bill 1239 of the 2025-2026 session, which passed the House on July 1, 2026 and was referred to the Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee on July 9, 2026, would amend Title 68 definitions and the powers of the unit owners' association for both condominiums and planned communities, but it doesn't amend either insurance section (§ 3312 or § 5312) or otherwise change the statutory insurance mandate.¹⁵

Section 5: National positioning and related coverage

Pennsylvania belongs to the first of three broad categories of association insurance regulation: uniform-model states that impose a statutory insurance mandate keyed to the Section 3-113 model. Pennsylvania is distinctive because it applies that model to both condominiums (through the 1980 Uniform Condominium Act) and planned communities (through the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act-derived Uniform Planned Community Act), placing it with the minority of states that impose a statutory insurance mandate on planned communities rather than leaving them in a covenant-only posture. The second category is comprehensive non-uniform prescriptive states, notably Florida (Chapter 718) and California (Davis-Stirling); California sets minimum D&O limits of $500,000 for associations of 100 or fewer separate interests and $1 million for larger ones under Civil Code § 5800, plus a fidelity/crime requirement under Civil Code § 5806. The third is covenant-primary states such as Alabama and Arkansas, where planned communities carry no statutory insurance mandate. Pennsylvania also uses two intermediate appellate courts, with insurance disputes running from the Courts of Common Pleas to the Superior Court and then, on discretionary review, to the Supreme Court, not the Commonwealth Court.¹⁶ For a multi-state operator entering Pennsylvania, the practical implication is that both condominiums and planned communities carry statutory insurance mandates, so the first step is to classify the community and apply the correct statute's insurance section. Pennsylvania hasn't moved to update either insurance section toward 2008-era revisions; both sections remain as last amended in 2004.¹²

HOA Weekly's Pennsylvania Insurance Requirements coverage updates quarterly as the legislature and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court act and as the property-insurance market shifts. Federal frameworks (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, NFIP, and FHA fair-housing accommodation rules) also apply to Pennsylvania associations regardless of the state framework, with a fuller treatment to follow once that coverage is built out.

1. 68 Pa.C.S. § 3312 (Insurance), Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, Pennsylvania General Assembly ↩
2. 68 Pa.C.S. § 5312 (Insurance), Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, Pennsylvania General Assembly ↩
3. Title 68 (Real and Personal Property), enactment and amendment notes, Pennsylvania General Assembly ↩
4. Fannie Mae Selling Guide B7-4-02, Fidelity/Crime Insurance Requirements for Project Developments (lender requirement, not Pennsylvania statute) ↩
5. 15 Pa.C.S. Chapter 57 (Officers, Directors and Members), including §§ 5741, 5743, and 5747, Pennsylvania General Assembly ↩
6. 68 Pa.C.S. § 3314 (Assessments for common expenses), Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes ↩
7. 68 Pa.C.S. § 5314 (Assessments for common expenses), Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes ↩
8. Fannie Mae Selling Guide B7-3-06, Flood Insurance Requirements for All Property Types (lender/federal requirement, not Pennsylvania statute) ↩
9. Fannie Mae Selling Guide, Subpart B7 (Insurance) (lender requirement, not Pennsylvania statute) ↩
10. Unit Property Act, Act of July 3, 1963, P.L. 196 (68 P.S. § 700.101 et seq.), Pennsylvania General Assembly ↩
11. 68 Pa.C.S. § 3102 (Applicability of subpart to existing condominiums), Pennsylvania General Assembly ↩
12. Why Homeowners Insurance Rates Are Rising in Pennsylvania in 2025 (approximately 44% increase 2021-2024), Ebensburg Insurance ↩
13. 68 Pa.C.S. § 3407 (Resales of units), Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes ↩
14. Discussion of Country Mutual Insurance Company v. Salim (E.D. Pa. 2023) and 68 Pa.C.S. § 3312, Russell, Krafft & Gruber, LLP ↩
15. Pennsylvania House Bill 1239, 2025-2026 Regular Session, Pennsylvania General Assembly ↩
16. Courts, Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania ↩