Insurance Considerations for Condominium Associations

Being a part of a condominium association has its perks.  Paying your monthly condo association fee helps to defray the costs of regular maintenance and insurance premiums to protect your investment as a condo owner.  But what type of insurance should your condo association carry?  Depending on the type of condos and their location, there might be different considerations.

There are basically two types of master policies you can have as a condo association: All-In or Bare Walls-In.

• All-In covers fixtures, installations or additions within the interior surfaces of the perimeter walls, floors and ceilings of individual units.
• Bare Walls-In covers all real property from the exterior framing inward, but unlike all-in coverage, it does not cover the fixtures and installations within the condo unit. Individual condo owners would need a separate policy for things like granite countertops, bathroom and kitchen fixtures, and flooring that are not covered by the master policy.

Some additional coverages you might want to consider include:

• Directors & Officers – If a director or an officer is sued while completing work for the association, this insurance would provide coverage. Usually, directors and officers are volunteers, so this is an important coverage to consider in order to protect them.
• Demolition & Increased Cost of Construction – If your building is damaged and is in need of more demolition in order to make it safe, or if your building is damaged and is in need of increased construction in order to comply with newer building codes, this coverage would protect your association.
• Backup of Sewer & Drain – Master policies usually do not include coverage for backup of sewer & drain. Adding this coverage can save a lot of money and time.
• Hired & Non-Owned Auto – Considering most associations are run by volunteers and business may need to be conducted off site, personal vehicles may be used. This coverage would protect drivers using their own vehicles for condo association business.
• Crime & Fidelity – Any stolen condo association funds can be covered under this portion of your policy.

Call us for more details on condo association insurance.

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