OAK BRIDGE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION INSURANCE PROCEDURES Master Policy: Oak Bridge Condominium Association, as stated in Article IV of the By-Laws, maintains Master Policies of casualty and physical damage covering both common areas and facilities and the Units. A certificate of the coverage maintained on behalf of the Owners Association can be secured by contacting the current Insurance Agent for the Condominium. When you call you should have the following information available in order to expedite your request: 1) Unit Owner s Name and New Buyer s Name 2) Number of Unit 3) Mortgagee name and complete mailing address 4) Loan or reference number Home Owner Policy: Each Home Owner is required to carry an H06 Policy. It is the sole responsibility of each individual condominium unit owner to insure his/her own personal effects/contents, personal liability, unit improvements and coverage for the Association s deductible. There is a $5000.00 deductible for the master policy claims and a $25,000.00 deductible for any claims regarding water either interior or exterior. All unit owners should purchase an H06 Policy. The coverage must be coordinated between the individual H06 and Master Policy. Your agent will need to know that our Master Policy provides blanket coverage and is written on a single entity basis. It includes installed fixtures, interior walls, appliances and additions including those within a portion used exclusively by an individual unit owner. Installed items include wall to wall carpeting, domestic appliances, wall coverings, cabinets and plumbing fixtures. IMPORTANT: Should you choose not to purchase the HO-6 policy you will be self-insuring your claim expense. We strongly recommend the basic H06 Policy be endorsed to add H032 which extends perils insured against from a named peril basis to so called all risk coverage although some limitations still remain. The owner should obtain coverage for the Association s deductible. Discuss particulars with your agent. Home owners should also consider H035 Loss Assessment Coverage. These comments are intended as a guide for unit owners to assist them in developing a proper personal insurance program. We recommend to all unit owners to review their own personal insurance requirements with their insurance agent.
Investor Units: Liability is the responsibility if Unit Owners. Often liability may be added to the policy covering the investor s primary residence. Investors should also secure coverage for rent loss in the event that a unit becomes inhabitable. The Master Policy and the Association will not honor any claims for loss of rents. It is also recommended that unit occupants purchase H04 Tenant Homeowners unit Policy. Insurance Claims Against The Master Policy: The following steps should be followed when damage occurs in a unit in excess of the Association s Master Policy Deductible. 1) Identifying Master Policy Claims: When a Unit Owner reports damage, a note will be made to the file. The damage will be inspected to assess the approximate cost of the damage. The Unit Owner should notify his/her Homeowners insurance. The Unit Owner is responsible for the Association Master Policy Deductible for items covered by the Master Policy and is also responsible for all personal property, improvements, rent loss, etc. not covered by the Master Policy. If the damage to areas covered by the Master Policy is less than the deductible than the Association steps out of the process and the Home Owner will resolve the issue with his/her individual insurance company. 2) Processing a Master Policy Claim: The following is a simple guide to filling a claim against the Master Policy. a) Report the damage in excess of $25,000.00 within 72 hours to the Management Agent. Failure to report claims promptly may result in the claim being denied by the Insurance Carrier. The Association will not honor claims that are denied by the Carrier because of failure to report in a prompt fashion. Unit Owners should notify their insurance carrier at the same time. b) The Management Agent will notify the Association s Insurance Agent of the loss. Should immediate repairs need to be made in order to insure the safety of unit occupants; the Management Agent will secure approval for these repairs from the insurance carrier. c) The Management Agent will instruct the Unit Owner to secure bids to repair the damage. These bids are to be submitted to the Management Agent with a cover sheet itemizing the costs and totaling the same. This sheet must contain the Unit Owner s signature. If the damage is less than the Master Policy Deductible, the Unit Owner need not submit anything further and should deal with his/her own coverage.
d) During the bidding and damage assessment process, the Unit owner must work closely both with the management Agent and the Master Policy insurance adjuster in order that the scope of work is agreed upon by all parties prior to commencement of said restoration work. This includes but is not limited to making the unit available for inspection, securing additional bids should the insurance adjuster request it, and promptly responding to requests made by the insurance adjuster and /or Management Agent. The Board will not be responsible for the timeless of insurance claims being paid. If a claim payment is delayed, no interest, penalties or other claims will be honored. e) In the event there is a dispute, the final approval of costs rests with the insurance company and the Unit Owner must abide by its decision. The Management Agent will work with the Unit Owner and insurance company during this period to finalize the scope of work. f) Once it is agreed by all parties what the scope and amount of the claim will be, the Unit Owner will be given permission to commence work. Unit Owners may ask that the Association request payment of the claim in order that the Unit Owner has funds to initiate restoration work. If the insurance carrier forwards this amount to the Association, then the Association may pass the benefit of its early payment to the Unit Owner. The Association will never release more than 50% of the total claim prior to the signing of a release by the Unit Owner. g) Final payment will be made when: i. The insurance adjuster has had the opportunity to inspect all repair work. ii. The Association has received the final payment from the insurance carrier iii. The Unit Owner has signed a release. Board of Directors Approved: 13-Jan-2014
PDFaid.com #1 pdf solutions Dear Oak Bridge Owners and Residents, Enclosed please find information regarding a change to our Oak Bridge Association Master Insurance Policy Coverage. Since July 1st we have had major water damage issues, putting our ability to acquire future Master Insurance Coverage in jeopardy. Therefore, the per unit water damage deductible has been increased from $10,000 to $25,000 effective immediately. To be sure your HO6 policy is coordinated with the master policy, each unit owner needs to be sure their HO6 Dwelling A limit is at least $30,000. Should you choose not to purchase the HO-6 policy or obtain minimum coverage, you will be self-insuring your claim expense. This means if any damage occurs to your unit, you will be held liable for up to $30,000. We are learning that water damage leaks are primarily due to the neoprene gaskets that are used to seal the base of the commode. In the majority of cases, these are the original gaskets which were installed in the late 1980s. These original toilet gaskets are now starting to go bad at a noticeable occurrence and the damages from using wax gaskets as well as time worn gaskets is quite evident. NEVER USE A STANDARD WAX RING only use a NEOPRENE GASKET which must be purchased from a plumbing house (not available at Lowes or Home Depot). NEOPRENE GASKETS must be used for back flow toilets which all our units have. Wax rings are just not suitable and will leak. We suggest that as a proactive measure, owners/residents call in a licensed plumber to replace the old gasket with a neoprene gasket before the old one wears out. The Board has met with legal counsel and will be proactive to insure ALL units have their gaskets replaced by a licensed plumber before we apply for Master Policy Insurance next spring 2014. If you have already had this repair, please keep a record/receipt of this as it will document that such repairs have been accomplished for your unit. You may be required to show this documentation as proof of repair. If you have any questions, please come to the next Resident/Board meeting in September where more details will be discussed. Sincerely, Oak Bridge Board of Directors (oakbridgenh@hotmail.com) Suzanne Sepulveda, Property Manager (Suzanne.Sepulveda@greatnorth.net) August 6, 2013
TO: UNIT OWNERS OF Oak Bridge Condominium FROM: W. T. PHELAN & CO. INSURANCE AGENCY, INC. DATE: August 7, 2013 RE: CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION MASTER POLICY Please be advised the board and management of Oak Bridge Condominium placed the Condominium Master Policy through Middlesex Mutual Assurance Co.. This letter is designed to supply you with a contact for certificates of insurance, and recommendations on how to coordinate your individual HO-6 unit owner s policy with the Condominium Master Policy. Our master policy covers all common and limited common elements including installed fixtures, interior walls, permanent alterations and additions. HO-6 INDIVIDUAL UNIT OWNERS POLICY: It is the sole responsibility of each unit owner to insure their own personal effects (coverage C), additional living expenses (Coverage D) and personal liability (Coverage E) as these are not covered under the master policy. All unit owners should purchase an HO-6 Policy. With the Master Policy all other perils deductible at $5,000 and a $10,000 per unit all water damage deductible, we strongly recommend you purchase a minimum of $25,000 Dwelling (Coverage A) on your HO-6 and include the HO-32 endorsement which broadens the perils insured against from named perils to All Risks. You should discuss this very important issue with your personal agent. IMPORTANT: Should you choose not to purchase the HO-6 policy you will be self-insuring your claim expense. INVESTOR UNITS: Personal liability coverage and the deductible is the responsibility of each unit owner. This would include loss of rental income. We suggest you require the tenants to purchase an HO-4 tenant policy. HO-6 UNIT OWNERS POLICY EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS: There are some important policy exclusions or limitations that should be reviewed when unit owners are analyzing their own personal insurance requirements (i.e. Jewelry, Fine Arts, Business Property, etc.). In many instances these exclusions or limitations can be modified or changed. Please note coverages and endorsements must be arranged through your personal agent! FOR A CONDOMINIUM HOMEOWNERS QUOTE (HO-6) APPLY ONLINE @ www.wtphelan.com FOR CERTIFICATES OF INSURANCE CONTACT US ONLINE @ www.wtphelan.com When requesting a certificate of insurance, please have the following information available: * Unit owners name or new buyers name * Condominium unit number * Mortgagee name and complete mail address along with any loan/reference numbers