HOA INSURANCE POLICY

We have a insurance policy for our HOA - a basic policy to cover our HOA and support our Board Members for any law suits. etc.

But, like every thing in our lives the policy keeps going higher every year. Last year $2,300 this year $2,600.

How are y'all other HOAs finding the cost of your insurance? Do yu have it??

thanks

roger Martin

San Antonio 16Aug 2021

Insurance costs have been rising all over the country, especially for condo communities. Our insurance agent said that a big culprit is the increase in extreme weather events and resulting increase in claims. The condo collapse in Florida won't help.

Our CC&Rs spell out what kinds of insurance we must have, and some of the things (eg. Fidelity coverage) is based on things like our reserve accounts, annual budget, and annual assessments. Other things are left up to the board to decide how much is enough.

One area that boards can overlook is worker's comp insurance. When budgets are tight boards can be tempted to rely on volunteer labor because they think it's "free". It's not - volunteers are often considered employees for insurance purposes even if they're not paid, so if they get hurt or damage something while carrying out their duties, the HOA/COA is probably liable. (A properly-worded and signed Release of Liability form may help, but you shouldn't rely totally on that.)

One thing you can do to keep premiums down is to avoid making lots of small claims. If a loss is reasonably close to the amount of your deductible and you can afford it, consider paying for it out of pocket and limit your claims to the big stuff. And shop around - rates can vary by a lot.