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ARE YOU IN GOOD HANDS?
By
Eric Glazer, Esq.
Published
February 3, 2014
Insurance
payments may be the single largest expense of an association's
budget. Typically,
and to over-simplify, the association pays for general liability
insurance should someone get injured while on the association's
property. In
addition, the association pays for windstorm insurance which
covers damages to the common areas should a storm hit and the
property is damaged by wind.
In addition, the association pays for flood insurance
should the common elements be damaged as a result of flooding.
Finally, the association also pays for director's and
officer's liability insurance which insures these people against
claims made against them as a result of their service on the
Board. There may be
other policies the association has as well, like worker's
compensation, and even a policy that covers the association for
liquor liability issues. The
association also better be purchasing insurance for the units
that it now owns as a result of foreclosure, before they allow a
tenant to reside in the unit.
Because the association has all of this insurance, often
times when an owner suffers damages to their unit as a result of
a broken pipe, or a fire, they look to the association for not
only repair of the unit’s walls, floors and ceilings, but also
the personal contents of their unit including furnishings,
appliances artwork and more.
The law is clear however that in the absence of
negligence on behalf of the association, the association must
simply repair or replace the common elements, like the drywall.
Negligence on behalf of the association is often
difficult, if not impossible to prove.
In fact, The Florida Statutes make it clear that the
association has no responsibility to insure most everything
within the unit and reads as follows when it comes to the
association’s master policy:
The coverage must exclude all personal
property within the unit or limited common elements, and floor,
wall, and ceiling coverings, electrical fixtures, appliances,
water heaters, water filters, built-in cabinets and countertops,
and window treatments, including curtains, drapes, blinds,
hardware, and similar window treatment components, or
replacements of any of the foregoing which are located within
the boundaries of the unit and serve only such unit. SUCH
PROPERTY AND ANY INSURANCE THEREUPON IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF
THE UNIT OWNER.
So, if you don’t already own one, you certainly may
want to find out about an HO-6 policy which covers those items
not covered by the association’s master policy.
In addition, the policy provides at least $2,000.00 in
coverage should your association pass a special assessment as a
result of a catastrophic event like a hurricane.
Finally, if your unit causes damage to another unit, the
policy provides you with coverage should a neighbor seek
reimbursement from you for their damages.
We all hate paying for it, but when we need it, we’re
glad we have it.
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About
HOA & Condo Blog
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Eric Glazer graduated from the University of
Miami School of Law in 1992 after receiving a B.A. from
NYU. He is currently entering his 20th year as a
Florida
lawyer practicing |
community association law and is the owner of
Glazer and Associates, P.A. an eight attorney law firm in
Orlando
and Hollywood. For the past two years Eric has been the host of Condo Craze and
HOAs, a weekly one hour radio show on 850 WFTL. See: www.condocrazeandhoas.com.
He is the first attorney in the State of Florida
that designed a course that certifies condominium residents as
eligible to serve on a condominium Board of Directors and has
now certified more than 7,000 Floridians. He is certified as a
Circuit Court Mediator by The Florida Supreme Court and has
mediated dozens of disputes between associations and unit
owners. Finally, he recently argued the Cohn v. Grand
Condominium case before The Florida Supreme Court, which is
perhaps the single most important association law case decided
by the court in a decade.
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