Condominium Associations elect volunteer board members whose duties and responsibilities are to handle the association maintenance and repairs of common areas, disputes, enforce rules and regulations, collect condominium association fees and are also responsible for insuring common areas, like hallways and building exteriors. Some associations hire management companies to perform some or all of the duties mentioned above. Board members are volunteers of an association with undivided interest. Their job is to delegate and hire professionals to perform the duties of the association. Just like you hire a management company to run the associations duties, you should hire a professional Public Insurance Adjuster to adjust your insurance claims.
Your time is valuable; filing an insurance claim has many challenges and is not as simple as it should be. This is a job for a professional Public Insurance Adjuster such as HomeOwner Claims Public Adjusters. Filing an insurance claim is tedious, intricate, complex and time consuming. It is a greater challenge when it involves the many owners that you must protect and the many people that you work with in a Condominium Association. Ask yourself these questions? Can you give up your time? Can you keep records of the loss? Can you take the chance to be wrong? Your claim can be prejudiced if improperly presented. What will you say to the unit owners that rely on you to make the right decision and protect their best interest? Remember you have an undivided interest in your property.
We specialize in condominium association insurance claims, period. This means that you have a dedicated insurance public adjuster by your side with the experience, knowledge and competency to share with your Board of Directors and Property Manager as they make this very important decision when filing an insurance claim. It also means we have long standing relationships within the industry proven by our track record of performance in dealing with both the insurance companies, who provide the coverage, and the policyholders “our clients” in which we service. We strongly believe that HomeOwner Claims Public Adjusters continues to raise the standards of condominium association insurance services.
The laws effecting condominium association insurance and the insurance policies have been known to change every year. This year 2014 the legislative session brings SB 798 and HB 807 changing the Residential Property and HB 425 and SB 440 relating to Condominiums. No two policies are alike, even from one year to the next. This unique legal structure requires special attention by your public insurance adjuster with the many risks within a condominium association.
These types of policies are very intricate and require attention to detail when adjusting such unique risks. We encourage every policy holder to engage our services due to the complexities of these unique risks
F.S. 718.111 requires the Condo Association building to be insured to replacement value, and the replacement value must be obtained from an appraisal or update of a prior appraisal and determined at least every 36 months.
As of 07/01/2010, Associations are no longer required to request that each unit owner provide evidence of current, effective property and liability insurance. Associations are no longer authorized to purchase a policy of such insurance on behalf of a unit owner. Unit owners are no longer required to name the association as an additional named insured and loss payee on their insurance policy. Therefore, the unit owner will no longer need to obtain the association endorsement for payments made by the unit owner’s insurance carrier.
As of 07/01/2010, this section still requires the unit owner’s policy to cover all personal property within the unit or limited common elements, floor, wall, and ceiling coverings, electrical fixtures, appliances, water heaters, and water filters, built-in cabinets and countertops, and window treatment components, or replacements of any of these.
Please note: Unit owners are no longer required to purchase special assessment coverage of at least $2,000.00 per occurrence under F.S. 718.111. However, HomeOwner Claims Public Adjusters strongly recommends each unit owner to have their own insurance policy and carry special assessment of at least $2,000.00. The premium cost is minimal.
Does my Condominium Association Insurance cover the inside of my unit?
Property Protection-
There is a Myth or misconception that the condominium association insurance covers the interior of the owners unit. Condominium associations are responsible for insuring common areas, such as the building exterior and walkways. But as a condo owner, you’re typically responsible for covering everything inside your unit, including cabinetry and appliances. Talk to your agent to calculate an appropriate amount.
Water damage to Condominium Unit-Terracotta Floor tile stained and Contents Damaged
As a condominium unit owner or tenant it is your responsibility to protect and insure the interior of your unit against perils such as; fire, smoke damage, damage from water leaks, Air Conditioning water leaks, theft, lightning and more…Unit owners or tenants should take into consideration of protecting their most valuable assets such as; the interior of the unit, their contents, liability, medical payments to others, additional living expenses and loss assessment coverage. Talk to your insurance agent about these coverage’s and more today.
Property Damage-
Unit owners are responsible for insuring the interior of their units. The unit owner’s policy covers all personal property within the unit or limited common elements, floor, wall, and ceiling coverings, electrical fixtures, appliances, water heaters, and water filters, built-in cabinets and countertops, and window treatment components, or replacements of any of these.
Personal Contents-
Unit owners are responsible for insuring the interior of their units. Unit owners must purchase unit insurance to cover the interior of their units, their personal contents, liability, and special assessment. Tenants are responsible for insuring their personal contents; the insurance covers their personal contents, liability and more. The unit owners and the tenants coverage protects your personal contents for physical property damage sustained by a peril insured against. Such as; fire, smoke, water damage, mold/fungi, theft, vandalism, Malicious Mischief and more.
Liability Protection-
This coverage helps protect you against the legal responsibility for any injury or property damage that you or anyone else insured under your policy may have caused to other people on or away from your property. It includes compensation for the injured party, the cost of defending you in court and most court awards — up to the limits of your policy. If you have significant assets, you should consider purchasing additional levels of liability protection.
Additional Living Expenses-
If a covered loss (like a fire) makes your condominium unit uninhabitable, this policy will cover the reasonable increase in expenses needed to maintain your normal standard of living for a certain amount of time. This may include payments for a hotel, food and other expenses.
Guest Medical Protection-
If someone inside your condo is accidentally injured, this coverage can provide payments for reasonable medical expenses, whether or not an accident in your home was your fault.
Loss Assessments Coverage-
If your condominium association levies special assessments against you resulting from certain losses to your condominium complex, your policy will pay your share of such assessments up to the coverage limit. Most insurance policies cover $1,000.00. We encourage all unit policyholders to increase their limits to at least $5,000.00.
Before the law was enacted and repealed to carry $2,000.00 limit in loss assessment most unit owner’s policies carried $1,000.00 limit loss assessment. HomeOwner Claims Public Adjusters highly recommends that all unit owners carry unit insurance coverage and loss assessment limits of a minimum of $2,000.00 but would prefer they carry the limit of $5,000.00; especially when the condominium associations are carrying higher deductibles today.
Please note: Uninsured or underinsured losses are considered a common expense of the condominium. The condo association board determines the deductible for the association policy. The bylaws can specify how these types of losses will be shared.
Every unit owner should have this endorsement added to their HO-6 policy
Without this endorsement, damage to the condominium residence premises is covered only if the loss was caused by one of the perils listed in the policy. This endorsement provides broader coverage – responding to any cause of loss except those specifically excluded. For instance, this endorsement would cover accidental damage to floors, ceilings and walls from accidental paint spills. The paint spill would not be covered with the Basic H06 since it is not a listed peril. The paint spill would be covered if you purchased this endorsement because the policy does not contain exclusion for accidental paint spills.
Disclaimer: Insurance losses to Condominium Associations and Condominium Units are subject to your insurance policy, the Condominium By laws and Chapter 718 Florida Statutes, The Condominium Act.