Living in a condo can be risky business if you fail to discover where you are vulnerable so that you can remove or at least lessen your liability. As always, any liability assessment starts with the condo association’s master policy.
There are four basic types of risks that associations must protect themselves against. The first is property loss, which means physical property as well as intellectual property such as legalities of the association’s operations. The second is liability resulting from a person or legal entity filing a claim against the association. The third is any unplanned loss of revenue or increase in expenses in an accounting period, and the fourth is losses resulting from the inability of an association employee or board member to continue in their current capacity.
In order to manage the risk associated with these losses, condo associations generally have master policies that include:
- General Liability – for claims of bodily injury or property damage
- Workers’ Compensation and Employer’s Liability – coverage of employees against injury while they are working
- Directors & Officers – to cover claims of negligence or malfeasance by association leaders
- Fidelity Bond – for claims of misappropriation of association funds
These policies can be written separately, but they usually are combined into one umbrella policy.
As a unit owner, you need a personal policy to cover personal property. Your policy is typically written on Form HO-6. The liability coverage on Form HO-6 is similar to other homeowner’s policies, but the property coverage is not.
Form HO-6 covers your personal property, as well as improvements, additions, and private ownership spaces such as balconies, private entranceways and private garages. However, the policy only covers physical damage to property if it is caused by a named peril that is specified in the policy. Named perils are standard and include events such as fire, lightning, storm, explosion, riot, aircraft, smoke, vandalism, theft, and broken glass.
Your personal property is not covered for damage resulting from perils listed in the exclusions section of your policy. These usually include damage that occurs from enforcement of building codes, earthquakes, floods, power failures, neglect, war, nuclear hazard or intentional acts of destruction.
As the condo unit owner you also have to be vigilant about property loss in the master policy coverage. In general, a condo association’s master insurance policy will require you to share a part of the loss if the building is damaged by fire, lightning, vandalism or the weight of ice or snow. Remember, as the common owner of shared spaces, you assume the liability connected with damage to those shared spaces. Your personal insurance coverage will provide you some relief from this debt, but be advised that you may want to consider augmenting it. That’s because a policy written on Form HO-6 entitles you to collect up to $1,000 for loss assessments charged to you by the condo association. Be aware that Form HO-6 has a unique feature in this regard. When a loss is covered by both the condominium’s master insurance policy and your individual policy, your homeowner’s insurance will only pay for the balance of the loss that remains after the master insurance policy pays 100 percent of its limit.
Understanding the features of your personal coverage as well as the master policy will help you know your rights and responsibilities in the event it becomes necessary to collect on your coverage.