2008 Aug
2008 August Vol. 6, No. 8
Focus on...Insurance & Board Training
A Look at Workers' Compensation
Workers’ compensation is insurance that provides cash benefits and/or medical care for workers who are injured or become ill as a direct result of their job. Read More
Rising Insurance Premiums?
It seems like the everyday operating expenses of condos and HOAs just keep going up and up—fuel costs, staff salaries, physical repairs and the cost of cleaning supplies and other materials have all crept up (or shot up) in the last couple of years. But what about the cost of insurance coverage? Has it edged upward along with everything else? In this article, we’ll attempt to find out. Read More
Where Does Your HOA Stand?
Every month, HOA residents pay monthly fees that are in turn used to pay for a variety of association necessities. One of those necessities is insurance coverage for their buildings and grounds. This isn’t the same as homeowner’s insurance, which insures any property within an individual resident’s four walls in case of fire, robbery, etc. The building’s insurance company covers the actual building structure and its electrical, plumbing and other systems. Read More
Where Building and Homeowner Coverage Intersect
Common sense notwithstanding, a lot of co-op and condo owners don’t have the adequate liability and property insurance they should have. Too often they assume that their building association has insurance coverage that will automatically cover their personal possessions in case of an accident or negligence. Read More
Board Resource Guide: E-Mail Etiquette
Like it or not, e-mail is a permanent fixture of contemporary business communications. In real estate, board members and property managers use e-mail to discuss the most official and the most personal matters of their lives, from scheduling meetings and disseminating documents to sharing quirky videos on YouTube. E-mail allows board members to discuss their concerns without ever having to be in the same room. Read More
Board Resource Guide: A Look at Board Elections
It is an annual rite of passage for owners of co-ops and condos. Once a year or thereabouts, they gather in a common area—in my old building it was the basement, right off the washers and dryers—and vote for next year’s board. Sometimes the elections are closely contested. Sometime the same people stay on the board for decades. Sometimes—as was the case with my building—we owners were so desperate not to be on the board that we elected a president who didn’t even live in the building. Read More
Managing the Moving Parts
When an insurance issue comes up, most people will call their broker with simple instructions: “Handle it.” While this approach is not uncommon, it is becoming increasingly dangerous to “abdicate” rather than delegate. Insurance and risk management programs need to be understood by boards and association members for what it is—a means of transferring the financial impact of risk from the balance sheet of the property to a third party. Managing the “moving parts” effectively will allow the organization to use insurance and non-insurance risk transfer to insulate the assets of the organization rather than having possibly significant uninsured exposure. Read More
When Are You Not Covered By Your D&O Policy?
In order to understand circumstances in which you might not be covered by your D&O policy, you must first ask the question, “Where does a community association’s D&O policy fall within the entire insurance puzzle?” Second, “Are all D&O policies created equal?” And third, “How does the community association maximize its coverage?” Read More
Q&A: Assessments and Tax Rebate
Our board has a question that we would very much appreciate general input on. Below is our bylaw concerning assessments. We are considering placing an assessment to balance the tax rebate and are wondering if we can do this, if no specific (a.k.a. “irrevocable”) plans for the reserve fund other than to just keep a healthy reserve fund. (The sponsor does own 30% of the units in the building.) Read More
Q&A: Stopping the Noise
I have a neighbor whose door is just across from mine and whenever she enters her apartment, she closes her door with a very loud bang. Sometimes, I am asleep and I wake up and can’t go back to sleep. This has been going on for years and years. I talked to her about it, begged her, cried to her, shouted at her, but still nothing. Sometimes she remembers and no sound, but 90 percent of the time I am bothered by the banging of her closet and door especially at night. What can I do short of writing to the board? This is a condo building and both of us are renters. Read More
