2009 August
2009 August Vol. 7, No. 8
Focus on...Insurance & Board Training
Examining the Effects, Planning Ahead
The economic crisis has affected many individuals, businesses and markets—the real estate and job markets, to name just two particularly nasty examples.
Until now, one of the few industries that didn’t seem as deeply impacted was the insurance industry, but that is soon to
change, according to certain experts in the field, who say that indicators show
that insurance premiums are most likely set to rise over the next year.
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Covering the Gaps
Unlike individual apartment owners’ insurance coverage, most co-ops, condos, and HOAs’ insurance policies are pretty standard—they include homeowners’ insurance, liability, and umbrella coverage. Usually, a building’s common areas—such as the hallways, roofs, basements and so on—are insured for liability and physical damage, and occasionally, the association’s insurance policy also covers the standard fixtures in each individual unit.
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Understanding Roles & Responsibilities
Most condo and HOA residents understand that there is a board protecting the
interests of their community and individual owners—they’ve probably taken part in numerous board elections, served on committees or
volunteered on behalf of the association in some capacity. But many residents
who’ve never held elected office still don’t truly understand what the board members do.
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Helping the New Kids on the Block
Though often responsible for millions of dollars in property and charged with
the oversight of complex building functions, few co-op/condo board members are
real estate professionals. Board members are resident volunteers who come from
many walks of life and various professional backgrounds—most of which don’t include a lot of experience running a multifamily building or development.
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Leading by Example
No matter what the profession or position, it’s difficult to work where you live. For condo and HOA board members, that can
certainly be the case. These volunteers must make decisions that impact not
only the bottom line, but their friends and neighbors as well. That reality
makes matters of ethics and etiquette even more important for board members as
they strive to be fair and smart representatives of their community at large.
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Collegiate, Charming and Progressive
When one thinks of Princeton, New Jersey, the first thing that comes to mind is
the Ivy League university that put the town on the map—and with good reason. Perennially ranked in the top handful of colleges in the
country and with an endowment roughly equivalent to the GNP of a small
developing country, Princeton University is the alma mater of (to name just a
smattering) presidents James Madison and Woodrow Wilson, the Dulles brothers,
Donald Rumsfeld, Ralph Nader, political pundit George Will, numerous state
governors, senators, and congressmen, the playwright Thorton Wilder and
filmmaker Ethan Coen. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote This Side of Paradise while a
Princeton undergraduate, and the faculty has boasted luminaries like New York
Times economics columnist Paul Krugman, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke,
religion scholar Elaine Pagels and, at the Institute for Advanced Study, an
erstwhile Swiss patent clerk named Albert Einstein.
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Beware of Inadequately/Impropery Insured Contractors
Many directors serving on the boards of co-op corporations and condominium
communities assume that once they have secured the appropriate coverage for
their properties, their problems are largely over. Unfortunately, problems in
the insurance marketplace have created conditions which can leave unknowing
boards exposed to losses from areas they least expect. One of the principal
indirect exposures that all boards face relates to the contractors they engage
to do everything from simple building repairs to large capital projects. These contractors may be plumbers, electricians, roofers, painters, HVAC service
technicians and the like and may be performing a range of tasks on the
property. Understanding what is necessary to prevent potential risks associated
with these contractors is essential for every co-op and condominium board.
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Q&A: Management Company Claims No Quorum
Our tenants’ association recently held its annual shareholder’s meeting. The objective for the new board was to dismiss the current management company. Many proxies had been collected by our door-to-door campaign, and there was also a good turnout. Read More
