Posts tagged "Bylaws"

Do I have to purchase Homeowners Insurance if I just purchased a condo in NJ? What are the pros and cons?

What does the Condo Association’s policy cover vs my own Homeowners policy?

Well, that’s a GREAT question. Read the bylaws, it varies wildly.

Some association policies only cover to the studs – you’re responsible for drywall/plaster, paint/wallpaper, carpeting, appliances, obviously your furniture & contents, etc. They don’t cover any LIABILITY inside your unit, either.

Also, they tend to have large deductibles – like $10,000 to $50,000 or even higher.

So, if you don’t have any coverage, and you have a $15,000 kitchen fire, there might not be ANY coverage under the master policy for you. Or they might pay $5,000 of it. I haven’t read your bylaws, or the master policy, so I have NO idea. You’ll have to do that.

Should my condo insurance cover more than just my stuff like appliances, cabinetry, countertops, flooring?

Your condo association purchases insurance on the building and premises. Broadly speaking there are two approaches condo bylaws take to insure the property.

One approach is the condo association agrees to cover only the exterior and common areas. You are responsible to insure the interior this can include walls, wall coverings, flooring, furnace, appliances, lighting, plumbing fixtures, kitchen and bath cabinets (basically everything inside your condo). In this scenario you are responsible not only for your personal property but also the entire interior of your condo. As an insurance agent I did not like this approach because it is very difficult to determine how much insurance you should have to be able to repair or replace everything in within the walls of your condo.

The other approach, which I always preferred, was more comprehensive where the association agrees to cover the entire unit as it was originally built. In this scenario you only insure your upgrades (i.e. bookcases, upgrades, finished basements. etc.) and your personal property.

You need to carefully review your condo bylaws or have a good insurance agent go over the bylaws with you. If you don’t insure the property that you are responsible for you could find yourself woefully under insured and perhaps unable to rebuild your condo.

In addition to insuring the part of the building you are responsible for you need to determine the replacement cost of your personal property within the condo.

Sorry for the long answer but it is a surprisingly complex question.

Know anything about condo insurance?

My wife and I have been condo owners for two years and have had homeowners insurance the whole time. Our expiration period is coming up soon and need to renew, but we’re not sure what coverage we have to have versus what our condo board already provides. Can anyone help?

Yes I could ask the board, but then how would you earn Answers! points?

Your condo association purchases insurance on the building and premises. Broadly speaking there are two approaches condo bylaws take to insure the property.

One approach is the condo association agrees to cover only the exterior and common areas. You are responsible to insure the interior this can include walls, wall coverings, flooring, furnace, appliances, lighting, plumbing fixtures, kitchen and bath cabinets (basically everything inside your condo). In this scenario you are responsible not only for your personal property but also the entire interior of your condo. As an insurance agent I did not like this approach because it is very difficult to determine how much insurance you should have to be able to repair or replace everything in within the walls of your condo.

The other approach, which I always preferred, was more comprehensive where the association agrees to cover the entire unit as it was originally built. In this scenario you only insure your upgrades (i.e. bookcases, upgrades, finished basements. etc.) and your personal property.

You need to carefully review your condo bylaws or have a good insurance agent go over the bylaws with you. If you don’t insure the property that you are responsible for you could find yourself woefully under insured and perhaps unable to rebuild your condo.

In addition to insuring the part of the building you are responsible for you need to determine the replacement cost of your personal property within the condo.

Sorry for the long answer but it is a surprisingly complex question.

Will Condo Board take care of Insurance?

I am subletting my condo and would like to find out if there is a possible fire. I do have a condo owner’s insurance, but it seems to cover only personal belongings. What happens if there is a fire and the condo is damaged? Will the condo board take care of the damages and rebuild?

When you own a condo usually the association has a policy that covers the building itself (outer walls, roof, framing, plumbing, electrical) and the owner is responsible for (and hopefully has their own policy covering) the rest (paint, cabinets, fixtures, etc.) Your condo’s bylaws will spell out what the association is responsible to insure, but state laws (which have often changed to move more of the responsibility from the association to the unitowner) and different insurers can make that broader or more narrow.

Your own individual condo unitowners policy should cover the parts of the building that you are responsible to insure (building coverage, or additions and alterations) and your contents (plus other coverages like Personal Liability). Most unitowner policies have very small limits for building coverage (usually under $10000), so you have to increase that coverage to reflect your own rebuilding costs. (Personally, I carry $50,000 because in my community I’d have to even rebuild my staircase!)

Because you’re going to be renting out your unit you need to:

1. First check if there are any restrictions in your bylaws about renting out the policy.
2. Check with the insurance company for the association to see what the deductible is. If the total amount of your loss is less than the association’s policy deductible it obviously won’t pay, even if it is a covered loss.
3. Check with the company that has your individual policy to see if they will endorse the policy to allow you to rent it out, and if they will cover the association’s policy’s deductible (subject to your own) if there is a fire, etc. (they usually will) .
4. Adjust your own policy to reflect your new needs. For example, if you’re moving out all of y our furniture you don’t need as much contents (personal property coverage).
5. Increase your liability coverage to at least $300,000. As the owner you can be sued over the actions/negligence of the tenant.

So, the bottom line is that generally the association will rebuild for a fire, but unless it is a major fire it’s likely going to fall onto your shoulders, so make sure you are properly covered. There are so many variables you need to do your homework first.

how much condo insurance should one get?

if i have a condo that i want to get insurance for, what is a good amount? the condo is 1215 sq ft w/ 2 bath & 2 bedroom.

Well, you need to sit down with an agent and figure that out. Most of the time, you’re responsible for MORE than just the contents – but you need to read your bylaws to see if you’re responsible for studs in, or paint in, etc. Plus, any customizing you do – like that new kitchen. Plus, what’s the deductible on your master policy? You don’t want to get stuck with THAT much, if only your unit has damage.

Lastly, keep in mind that little talked about coverage – "Loss Assessment", for when you are assessed a portion of total damages that aren’t covered under the master policy, but would be covered if it was just your unit.

Too many variables for an accurate answer from those of us on the ‘net.

Personal Condo Insurance in Florida-what do I need?

Hi. We have purchased a condo in florida, north miami & now trying to figure out what type of coverage we will need for our condo. I think there is personal property & liability-is that the minimum required? Where should we start?

You probably know that your condo association purchases insurance on the building and premises. Broadly speaking there are two approaches that condo bylaws take to insure the property.

One approach is the condo association agrees to cover only the exterior and common areas. You are responsible to insure the interior this can include walls, wall coverings, flooring, furnace, appliances, lighting, plumbing fixtures, kitchen and bath cabinets (basically everything inside your condo). In this scenario you are responsible not only for your personal property but also the entire interior of your condo. As an insurance agent I did not like this approach because it is very difficult to determine how much insurance you should have to be able to repair or replace everything in within the walls of your condo.

The other approach, which I always preferred, was more comprehensive where the association agrees to cover the entire unit as it was originally built. In this scenario you only insure your upgrades (i.e. bookcases, upgrades, finished basements. etc.) and your personal property.

You need to carefully review your condo bylaws or have a good insurance agent go over the bylaws with you. If you don’t insure the property that you are responsible for you could find yourself woefully under insured and perhaps unable to rebuild your condo.

In addition to insuring the part of the building you are responsible for you need to determine the replacement cost of your personal property within the condo.

Sorry for the long answer but it is a surprisingly complex question.

possibly buying a condo, what’s the difference in home insurance and condo insurance?

i am possibly fixing to be buying a condo, but need to find out how much insurance is going to cost me every year. i noticed that there is "condo" insurance as well as home insurance. which one would be better or more appropriate. is condo insurance cheaper? what is the difference in the coverage ?

Your condo association purchases insurance on the building and premises. Broadly speaking there are two approaches condo bylaws take to insure the property.

One approach is the condo association agrees to cover only the exterior and common areas. You are responsible to insure the interior this can include walls, wall coverings, flooring, furnace, appliances, lighting, plumbing fixtures, kitchen and bath cabinets (basically everything inside your condo). In this scenario you are responsible not only for your personal property but also the entire interior of your condo. As an insurance agent I did not like this approach because it is very difficult to determine how much insurance you should have to be able to repair or replace everything in within the walls of your condo.

The other approach, which I always preferred, was more comprehensive where the association agrees to cover the entire unit as it was originally built. In this scenario you only insure your upgrades (i.e. bookcases, upgrades, finished basements. etc.) and your personal property.

You need to carefully review your condo bylaws or have a good insurance agent go over the bylaws with you. If you don’t insure the property that you are responsible for you could find yourself woefully under insured and perhaps unable to rebuild your condo.

In addition to insuring the part of the building you are responsible for you need to determine the replacement cost of your personal property within the condo.

Sorry for the long answer but it is a surprisingly complex question.

What liability should I consider when purchasing Condo Insurance?

When purchasing a condo insurance, how far should I go with liability protection? Can HOA or my neighbors as individuals sue me if it was my barbeque grill (lit cigarette, etc.)?

Yes, the condo association or an individual has a legal right to sue the negligent party that was responsible for a loss. In fact it would probably the insurance company that compensated your association that would ultimately be the plaintiff. That being said it would probably be hard to conclusively prove that it was your sole negligence that was the cause of the loss. Even if you were not at fault the defense costs could be significant. If I owned a condo I would purchase significant limits of liability insurance because the cost is relatively minor (i.e. $1,000,000 or more ).

But I would also be concerned how your insurance matches up with the condo bylaws. Your condo association purchases insurance on the building and premises. Broadly speaking there are two approaches condo bylaws take to insure the property.

One approach is the condo association agrees to cover only the exterior and common areas. You are responsible to insure the interior this can include walls, wall coverings, flooring, furnace, appliances, lighting, plumbing fixtures, kitchen and bath cabinets (basically everything inside your condo). In this scenario you are responsible not only for your personal property but also the entire interior of your condo. As an insurance agent I did not like this approach because it is very difficult to determine how much insurance you should have to be able to repair or replace everything in within the walls of your condo.

The other approach, which I always preferred, was more comprehensive where the association agrees to cover the entire unit as it was originally built. In this scenario you only insure your upgrades (i.e. bookcases, upgrades, finished basements. etc.) and your personal property.

You need to carefully review your condo bylaws or have a good insurance agent go over the bylaws with you. If you don’t insure the property that you are responsible for you could find yourself woefully under insured and perhaps unable to rebuild your condo.

In addition to insuring the part of the building you are responsible for you need to determine the replacement cost of your personal property within the condo.

Sorry for the long answer but it is a surprisingly complex question.

How much is homeowners insurance in IL for townhome that’s not covered by the common insurance?

I’m planning to purchase a townhome and the assessments does include common insurance. I’ve been told it doesn’t protect any misc assets I have in my home in case a disaster occurs. I want to factor this into my monthly expense estimates. I’m looking for a purchase price at $200,000. How much should estimate for homeowners insurance? Is it a monthly and annual payment?

Thanks

You need to call an insurance company for quotes, start with your auto insurance company & go from there. There are many questions, what does the master policy cover? You would need to read the condo bylaws to find out. Does that policy cover everything attached to the unit or only to the studs? Does it cover anything that you add to or alter in the unit? So, you would purchase a condo policy (HO6 form), you would need to find out from the condo association what you actually need to cover. That would be the dwelling limit you need. Then you need to tell the insurance company how much contents coverage you want (if you had to replace everything you own), then get at least $500,000 liability, $5,000 medical payments & get $50,000 (or the company maximum) loss assessment (this covers if you are assessed for damages to common property – simplified definition – you would need to speak to an agent to explain it to you). You would also need to tell the agent the deductible you want (property coverage).
Good luck in your purchase but no one here can give you a quote.
Homeowners insurance is always an annual policy.