Few amenities are as valued and beloved by residents as a private homeowners association’s swimming pool. But pools probably represent the single biggest insurance liability and maintenance expense for associations that have them. …
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 coup…
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 insuran…
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 automaticall…
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…
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 po…
Members of co-op, condo and HOA boards often give a great deal of their personal time to make decisions in the best interest of their association, cooperative or condo community. These volunteers are charged with protecting the community…
There is a joke that is regularly circulated via e-mail among insurance industry professionals. It goes a little like this: A North Carolina man, having purchased a box of 24 rare and very expensive cigars, insured them against fire. (Ye…
To those who don't know much about the subject, insurance for condos and HOAs can seem like a fairly simple thing—like car insurance, or life insurance. It's tempting to just trust their broker or agent, and leave it at that. There'…
It's bound to happen eventually: calamity befalls your condominium development in the form of windstorm damage, fire, personal injury or the like. The first step most associations take is to call the insurance company and file a claim. Howe…