Condominium Insurance Law : Condo Insurance Lawyers & Attorneys : Merlin Law Group Law Firm : Tampa, Houston, Coral Gables & West Palm Beach

With Tropical Storm Bonnie passing through South Florida this past weekend, I thought this would be a good time to address the importance of hurricane preparedness. There are plenty of resources and guides for preparing property for a disaster, but I want to focus on preparing condominium insurance coverage.

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The second named storm of the year has crossed Florida, and it will only be a matter of time before another tropical system strikes the state. While there are many problems that an association can face after a loss, few are harsher than the effect of a coinsurance penalty that reduces the amount paid on an otherwise valid claim. Many policies, especially large commercial polices, contain coinsurance provisions. Unfortunately, many directors and managers do not understand what they mean or the effect that they can have.

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Here are common problems that arise when an insurance carrier requests examinations under oath in a claim filed by a condominium association:

• The board of directors has changed and the current board members are not familiar with the details of the claim, damages, previous repairs and future necessary repairs;
• The current board members are aware of the voluminous records and documents kept by the previous board through which the insurance carrier would be able to intelligently assess the details of the loss being claimed; and
• The current board members will provide the insurance carrier with the documents and information for the insurer to ascertain all of the details of the claim, damages, previous and future repairs.

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The other day, a colleague and I were discussing potential insurance issues that could come up when another major catastrophe hits Florida. The conversation led to the subject of insurance application errors, which reminded me of Corey Harris’ post from June 8 of this year. Corey’s post accurately describes the rule of law in Florida under Florida Statute § 627.409, that any misrepresentation on an insurance application in Florida, whether innocent or intentional, may void coverage.

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As I previously mentioned in Examinations Under Oath Can Be Tricky For Associations, most insurance policies have a requirement that an insured sit for an examination under oath upon the insurer’s request. As I stated last week, failing to attend an examination under oath may be grounds for an insurer to deny coverage.

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Your first impression after reading the title of this article may be: “well that is obvious since there are residents that live within condominium associations.” Condominium claims are sometimes referred to simply as commercial claims when, in fact, they are classified by Florida Statute as “residential.”

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All insurance policies place certain obligations on the insured in the event of a loss. While most policyholders do not understand all of the terms and conditions of their policy, these post-loss obligations are extremely important. Failing to fulfill these obligations may be grounds for an insurer to deny an otherwise valid claim in some circumstances; therefore, all board members should read and understand what to do after a loss occurs.

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