The Board of Directors is taking a pro-active approach to addressing issues involving insurance coverage for the Association and individual unit owners. Our intent is to meet the Association’s commitments to its insurer in order to secure the most favorable rates and to provide unit owners with information that would be helpful if they choose to obtain specific coverage for themselves.
On Tuesday, 29 October 2013, Mr. Ron Hrubala of USI Connecticut (the Association’s insurance agent) spoke at an informational meeting held at the Community Center. The following is based on his presentation and the discussions that occurred at the meeting.
Three types of insurance policies were discussed. With respect to property damage coverage, they are as follows:
- Master Insurance Policy — the master insurance policy is the Association’s insurance policy. Chief among its provisions, the master insurance policy provides property damage insurance for Meadow Hill’s common elements. This includes the Community Center, Hollister House, barn, and other facilities. It also includes unit perimeter walls and structures consistent with the boundaries of a unit as described in Section 5.3 of the Declaration. The master policy does not cover damage
to items within units. It also does not cover routine maintenance or repair costs.
- Unit Owner Insurance — unit owners can obtain individual insurance policies for property damage and other items not covered by the master policy. These policies are often referred to as “H06 policies” and/or as “condominium insurance.” The amount of coverage a unit owner obtains depends on each owner’s needs and circumstances. However, because the master policy has a $5,000 deductible limit, unit owners may want to have their individual H06 policies with dwelling damage coverage of $5,000 or higher. This would be in addition to any coverage for unit owner personal property and other items.
- Unit owners may also want to include assessment coverage in their H06 policies. Assessment coverage is very inexpensive and provides coverage for assessments made by the Board of Directors to all or individual unit owners for:
- Damages not covered by the master policy, such as flood damage
- Damages that the Board assesses to an individual unit owner or group of owners based on a determination of responsibility hearing conducted by the Board in accordance with the Declaration and Bylaws.
- Unit owners may also want to include assessment coverage in their H06 policies. Assessment coverage is very inexpensive and provides coverage for assessments made by the Board of Directors to all or individual unit owners for:
- Umbrella Policy — an umbrella policy is typically a liability policy that sits on top of a regular insurance policy to provide additional liability coverage. For example, if the H06 policy includes liability coverage, the umbrella policy can be used to increase that coverage. Note that the master insurance policy IS NOT an umbrella policy.
Lastly, please note the following points:
- Consult with your individual insurance broker as to what types and levels of insurance you may need.
- In an instance of property damage or a liability event, immediately contact Advance Property Management at (860) 657-8981 and your insurance company.
- APM is the point of contact with respect to the Meadow Hill’s insurance broker and insurance company. Please contact APM with respect to any issues that may arise involving the master insurance policy.