Timely Insurance Info for Unit Owners at Start of Hurricane Season

At the onset of another hurricane season, now is one of the best times of the year for condominium associations in Florida to remind unit owners about their insurance requirements and liabilities under state law.

Florida law stipulates that the association will maintain insurance for all portions of the condominium property as originally installed or renovated. However, the statutes do not provide that the association’s insurance coverage must extend to personal property or limited common elements inside of the individual residences. Essentially, the owners are responsible for maintaining their own insurance to cover damages to the floors, walls, ceilings, electrical fixtures, appliances, cabinets, counters and window treatments in their units.

The owners should also be reminded that they can be held liable if, for example, water damage from their unit causes damage to other units or the common elements. This underscores the importance to encourage owners to maintain adequate insurance coverage, as a leak in their residence could seep into the walls and cause significant damage to the units or common elements below.

With the start of another hurricane season, associations would be well advised to develop and distribute a letter to remind their unit owners that it is incumbent upon them to maintain their own homeowner’s insurance policies to cover their personal property, the limited common elements inside of their residences and other property not insured by the association. Our community association attorneys regularly write about important issues for Florida HOAs and condominium associations in this blog, and we encourage association members and directors as well as property managers to submit their email address in the subscription box at the top right of the blog in order to automatically receive all of our future articles.