Evaluating HOA Insurance

Any advice on researching and evaluating HOA insurance? We have insurance through [large national firm] which is the insurance we've had for a long time, probably chosen by the management company rather than the board. I asked the management company last year to reevaluate the coverage and see if it was still right for us, and got a recommendation for an increase in the fidelity bond, no other change, same company.
If I wanted to evaluate other companies this year, how does the board even go about finding other insurance companies and knowing which ones are the best to talk to?

We are doing the same thing. I asked board members of other HOAs and got their opinion on companies and agents. There are not that many companies that offer association insurance.

We are fortunate to have an umbrella association of about 300 associations that is only for advice. They are NOT a master association and have np authority. They have workshops throughout the year and I recently attended one on association insurance.

We will be raising our deductible and increasing law and ordinance coverage when we make the change this summer.

Be aware that many insurance companies like to "Bundle services". What is in those bundles are not negotiable nor will you need all of them. It is their way of saying it saves costs. For example: Our HOA never owned an HOA vehicle nor would ever need to. However, if you read the insurance policy there was a section that provided for coverage for a HOA vehicle. I asked to remove this option. They would not because they said it was built in as part of a "bundle" deal. Now they did say that if a board/officer of the HOA did have an accident while doing HOA business, this part of the insurance would kick in to cover the difference our personal insurance paid out. It would be considered an "HOA vehicle" at that point.

So do ask more detailed questions and go deeper with what ifs. I also found that the replacement cost of our clubhouse was based on the original build prices back in the 80's. It would NOT cover today prices for replacement. If our clubhouse had burned down, we would have been on the hook to cover the difference. Which was well over 20K or more. A cost that would require a special assessment from ALL the members to kick in to cover. Our CC&R's required property to be rebuilt if demolished.

We also were able to save some money by spreading out the payments on a longer term throughout the year. We paid it on a 10 month payment plan. That way we could work out the 2K monthly payment into our monthly budget. It lowered our monthly payments so we could afford it. However, due to it being spread out, they did put in a little bit of an extra charge for this option.

Lastly, make sure you meet the requirement your rules dictate you must have. Most HOA's require to maintain a 1 million dollar policy at minimum. Which does not mean one gets 1 million upon suing. Another area to ask. Ask what the real payout is upon a court judgement. You have to factor in the legal expenses. Surprisingly, a payout is only around 80K on a lawsuit after legal expenses. So if someone does sue for 2 Million and wins, your HOA will have to pay out the difference of what the insurance limits are.

There are not a lot of insurance companies that cover HOA's. Shoppping and comparing is a good thing. Just know your not going to get a "dream" insurance policy with everything you all want or need. It's best to know where to compromise and to spend money.