![]() Sadly over the last 40 years, the confusion and passing of the buck has continued. And remember there is the issue of who has the right and obligation to make repairs due to the wording in condo documents that can often create an ambiguity due to confusion about repair and replacement maintenance issues for everyday wear and tear versus a causality loss. And don’t forget some of the structural part of the unit as well such as the windows, A/C, plumbing, etc., even with all the legal changes ownership may be still up for debate following a loss. When you walk into a condominium unit, you will likely be looking at property that in part belongs to the unit owner and in part belongs to the Master Association. Remember, this is all about who owns what property in a communal living setting, who has to insure it (or self-insure) and who has the right and obligation to make repairs. ![]() These changes were so numerous that I and others in my firm used to carrying around a chart detailing the yearly changes just so we had some idea of what we were dealing with in a particular condominium loss scenario. Over the years, this has led the legislature to rewrite the law defining who owns what and thus who has to insure their property or self-insure.Īs a result of all the uncertainty of ownership rights and the exploding condo industry in Florida, the legislature made many changes over the years to the condo statute 718.111. In a condo, both classes of property are commingled in a building structure, precipitating the need to have some type of separation. Remember, each entity owns parts of items that normally would be unquestionably owned and covered in a single homeowner or commercial policy form. The insurance company I was employed at for ten years we struggled every time a claim was reported trying to understand what was covered in the unit owner’s policy and what was covered in the Master Association policy. condos, insurance policy forms were written to cover these two separate interests. In fact, I can recall back in the 1970’s when the insurance industry realized the growing demand for communal living, i.e. ![]() So with two insurance policies to look to for coverage, why do claims involving unit owner’s property and the Master Association property seemingly always create controversy?Īfter 40 plus years in the claim business, I think I have a fairly accurate picture of the problems. Then there are policies unit owners can purchase called HO6 forms that are tailored to the unit owner’s interest. Why all this controversy? After all, the Master Association will most likely have insurance to cover the value of the association’s property. When a covered casualty event occurs, whether it is water, fire, the dreaded “mold” word or some other peril, the finger pointing starts and in many cases, the unit owner is caught in the middle. This often takes the form of damage to the unit owner’s property which often includes their personal property, i.e., contents, as well as items such as carpet, other types of floor covering, trim items such as door frames, baseboards, cabinets, and the list goes on depending on the type and severity of the damage and the wording in their condominium documents. Not surprising are the calls we get from property owners living in condos, who are looking for help following property damage to their building that affected their unit.
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