Ask a friend whether their passport is valid and they will usually say yes. Ask for the expiration date and there is a slightly peculiar pause, followed by a trip to a drawer. Condo insurance works in much the same way. Owners believe they're covered, boards believe the owners, and everyone is perfectly content until water comes through a ceiling.
This is general information, not legal advice.
Short answer: Yes, if the association adopts the requirement. Section 12(h) of the Illinois Condominium Property Act says the board of directors may, under the declaration and bylaws or by rule, require unit owners to carry insurance for their personal liability and for damage to other units. The law allows the requirement. It does not impose it on every owner automatically, and it does not tell the association how to collect or check proof. An association can generally ask owners for proof without an adopted requirement, but it generally can't fine an owner for a missing document unless the requirement has been adopted.
What does Section 12(h) actually say?
Section 12 of the Act (765 ILCS 605/12) covers condominium insurance. Most of it describes what the association's own policies must include. Subsection (h), titled "Mandatory unit owner coverage," is the part about owners. It reads:
"The board of directors may, under the declaration and bylaws or by rule, require condominium unit owners to obtain insurance covering their personal liability and compensatory (but not consequential) damages to another unit caused by the negligence of the owner or his or her guests, residents, or invitees, or regardless of any negligence originating from the unit. The personal liability of a unit owner or association member must include the deductible of the owner whose unit was damaged, any damage not covered by insurance required by this subsection, as well as the decorating, painting, wall and floor coverings, trim, appliances, equipment, and other furnishings."
In plain terms:
- It is permissive. The word is "may." The board can require coverage through the declaration and bylaws, or by adopting a rule.
- It is about damage to others. The required coverage is for the owner's personal liability and for compensatory damages to another unit, whether caused by the negligence of the owner or the owner's guests, residents or invitees, or originating from the unit regardless of negligence.
- It names what that liability must include. That list covers the deductible of the owner whose unit was damaged, damage not covered by the required insurance, and decorating, painting, wall and floor coverings, trim, appliances, equipment and other furnishings.
- Consequential damages are excluded from what the board can require.
The statute does not use the term "HO-6." HO-6 is the policy type condominium unit owners typically buy, and it is the usual way an owner meets a 12(h) requirement. Your declaration or rule controls the exact coverage and limits.
What it means for owners and boards
So far, so tidy. The statute hands the board an option and then, rather politely, leaves the rest to the association.
For a board, 12(h) is a tool, not a duty. The requirement needs a basis in the declaration and bylaws or a properly adopted rule. Under Section 18.4(h) of the Act (765 ILCS 605/18.4), rules are adopted after a meeting of unit owners called to discuss them, with the full text of the proposed rule in the notice. The board should work through that process with the association's attorney.
For an owner, in Chicago or anywhere else in Illinois, the question is what their own association has adopted. The statute gives the outline. The association's documents give the specifics.
The association's own policy matters too. Under Section 12(b), it does not have to cover improvements and betterments that owners install, and Section 12(c) lets the board require the owners of affected units to pay the master policy deductible after a claim. That is one reason boards care whether owners carry coverage. See why tracking homeowner insurance is good risk management.
Can you ask for proof without a rule?
Generally, yes. Asking and requiring are different things, and the law treats them differently.
A management company or association can generally ask owners for proof of insurance as a general risk-management practice, even when no requirement has been adopted. A request is just a request. Plenty of owners will send a declarations page when asked nicely, and the ones who don't have told you something useful too.
What a request can't do is create an obligation. Section 12(h) lets the board require coverage "under the declaration and bylaws or by rule." Section 18.4(l) allows the board, "after notice and an opportunity to be heard, to levy reasonable fines for violation of the declaration, by-laws, and rules and regulations of the association." Without an adopted requirement, whether in the declaration or bylaws or in a rule adopted through the Section 18.4(h) process, there is generally nothing for a missing document to violate. So the association generally can't treat it as a violation or fine the owner for it.
If you want consequences, you need the requirement first. Confirm with your association's attorney what your documents already say and how a requirement would be adopted.
What a Declaration may add
Many Illinois condominium declarations, bylaws or rules go further than the statute's outline. Depending on the documents, they may set:
- minimum liability limits,
- interior or "walls-in" coverage expectations,
- whether the association must be listed as an additional interest or certificate holder,
- deadlines for providing proof and what happens if an owner does not.
The statute can't tell you what your declaration says. It is a bit like a recipe that says "season to taste": the law sets out the dish, and your documents decide how much salt goes in. Boards should read their own documents and confirm with the association's attorney what has actually been adopted and how it can be enforced.
A note on the word "certificate": Section 12(i) is about contractors and vendors, not owners. It requires contractors and vendors (except public utilities) on contracts over $10,000 a year to provide certificates of insurance naming the association, its board and its managing agent as additional insureds. Owner proof under 12(h) is a separate question.
Why collecting a certificate isn't the same as verifying it
Getting a document back feels like the job is done. It rather isn't. A certificate on file is reassuring, and that is slightly the problem: it looks like an answer, so nobody asks the question again.
The incentives don't help either. Owners have no particular reason to reply to a request for proof. The policy renews on its own, the insurer already has their money, and an email from the management company rarely feels urgent. The board, meanwhile, has a folder that looks full. Nobody is behaving badly. The system simply rewards everyone for not looking too closely.
A declarations page or certificate tells you something only after someone reads it against the requirement:
- Is the named insured the current owner of record?
- Does the property address match the unit?
- Is the policy active today, and when does it expire?
- Does the liability limit meet the association's minimum, if it has one?
- Is it the right kind of policy for a condominium unit?
An unchecked folder of PDFs can hide a lapsed policy or the wrong address for years, quite comfortably. More on this in a document received is not the same as compliance completed.
A practical tracking checklist
None of this needs to be clever. It needs to be done every year, which is rather harder.
- Confirm the requirement. Write down what the declaration, bylaws or rules require, in objective terms the manager can check.
- Build the unit list. One record per unit, with the current owner and a mailing address.
- Request proof. Say what is acceptable, how to send it and by when.
- Record the key fields. Carrier, policy number, named insured, unit address, policy dates and liability limit.
- Review against the requirement. Mark each record approved, needs correction, or exception, and note who decided.
- Follow up on gaps. Remind, then follow the association's adopted process.
- Track expirations. Request updated proof before each renewal date.
- Re-check on sale. A new owner means a new policy.
- Keep the history. Retain earlier documents and decisions, not just the latest file.
- Report to the board. Requested, received, reviewed, approved, exceptions. See how the board knows the requirement is working.
For a longer version, see our homeowner insurance tracking checklist.
FAQ
Does Illinois law require every condo owner to carry HO-6 insurance?
Not automatically. Section 12(h) says the board may require unit owner coverage under the declaration and bylaws or by rule. Whether owners in your association must carry it depends on whether the association has adopted that requirement. Check your declaration, bylaws and rules.
Can an Illinois condo association fine an owner for not providing proof of insurance?
Section 18.4(l) of the Act allows the board, after notice and an opportunity to be heard, to levy reasonable fines for violation of the declaration, bylaws and rules. Whether that applies to missing proof of insurance depends on how your documents state the requirement. Confirm the process with the association's attorney before fining anyone.
Can a condo association ask for proof of insurance without a rule?
Generally, yes. A management company or association can generally ask owners for proof of insurance as a general risk-management practice, even when no requirement has been adopted. Asking is not the same as requiring. Without an adopted requirement in the declaration or bylaws, or a properly adopted rule, it generally can't treat a missing document as a violation or fine the owner, because Section 18.4(l) fines are for violation of the declaration, bylaws and rules. Confirm with your association's attorney what your documents allow.
Is a declarations page enough proof of HO-6 coverage?
The Act does not say what form of proof an association must accept. Many associations accept a declarations page or a certificate or evidence of insurance from the carrier or agent. What matters is that the document shows what the requirement calls for, such as the named insured, unit address, policy dates and liability limit.
Does Section 12(h) apply to HOAs that are not condominiums?
Section 12(h) is part of the Condominium Property Act, so it applies to condominium associations. Non-condominium common interest communities are generally addressed by the Common Interest Community Association Act (765 ILCS 160) and by their own declarations. Those boards should check their governing documents and ask their attorney rather than rely on Section 12(h).
How often should a condo association collect proof of HO-6 insurance?
The Act does not set a schedule. A common practice is to collect proof when the requirement is adopted, at each policy renewal and when a unit changes hands, and to follow up when a recorded policy reaches its expiration date. Some declarations or rules set their own timing, so check yours.
The short version
Asking tells you what owners believe. Checking tells you what is true. An insurance requirement is only ever as good as the second one.
How Community Cover handles tracking
Community Cover works with condominium and HOA management companies across the US, starting with Illinois, to collect proof of insurance from unit owners, read the key policy details, follow up on renewals and keep a record the board can rely on. The association sets the requirement, and managers keep the decisions. See how Community Cover handles HO-6 tracking and what board reporting looks like.
Sources: Illinois Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/12 (Sec. 12, Insurance, including subsections (b), (c), (h) and (i)) and 765 ILCS 605/18.4 (Sec. 18.4(h) and (l)), as published on ilga.gov and read October 28, 2026.
This is general information, not legal advice. Requirements depend on your association's declaration, bylaws and rules. For questions about your association, consult your association's attorney.