Insurance news and information

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You as a condo association member understand that general liability – the foundation of your insurance program – covers only certain areas within and around the property buildings and grounds. What you may not understand is how your residents view your coverage. While it may seem a no-brainer to you that your insurance policy isn’t going to cover their personal claims, residents may not know this. Time for a little Insurance 101 for your residents.

In general, the condo or apartment association’s general liability policy will cover the following:

• All common areas of the condo association property
• The structure of the units, including roofs, outside walls, the buildings themselves (note: this does not include individual units, but rather the structure they are housed in) 
• The property’s common areas, such as the pool, tennis courts, exercise facilities, offices 
• Liability for injuries to people that occur in common areas Read more…

How much do you trust the staff you’ve hired to manage the front desk? 

I mean we’ve all heard stories about the waiters and waitresses at our favorite restaurant swiping our credit card numbers on a little theft gizmo before running the charge through for the meal.  I’ve actually been a victim of something similar.  Although I love the restaurant dearly (it serves the best Mexican food) I only pay with cash. period. 

Every month large sums of money moves through your books.  Rents come in as income, and then there are expenses – utilities, maintenance, staff, supplies, insurance, taxes, advertising, legal fees, tenant damage, etc.  Do you have safeguards in place to deter sticky fingers?

Do you have one person write checks and another person sign them?  Who reconciles the bank statement each month?  Direct theft is one form of employee dishonesty. 

Another form would be when an employee uses tenant information – credit card numbers, social security numbers, birthdates, etc. to make fraudulent purchases for personal gain.  This form of theft is more difficult to identify.  And yet, you could be named as a party in the lawsuit. Read more…