HOAs and COAs What's your property worth? Are you sure?

Remember when your association board first purchased the property insurance policy for your complex

? No? Then chances are you're underinsured.

If you're like most apartment associations or condo boards, you simply renew the policy each year, assuming that the cost-of-living increase in coverage is adequate. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Properties change. Buildings age, new buildings go up, new property features are added, and renovations are completed. If associations were doing things correctly, there would be a review of coverage every time the property is altered or at least annually.

Worse, some associations decide early on that covering the property at less than its replacement value will save them money. That may have been true years ago when property values were much lower. But do you know how much that deductible translates into in today's dollars?

For example, Skyline Apartments' association bought their policy in 1995. They decided that the property, then valued at $800,000, could be covered at 80 percent. The association put aside the additional 20 percent $160,000 for their deductible. Each year at renewal, they simply renew without reviewing their coverage. Board members came and went, and still the property coverage was left unchanged.

Flash forward to 2010. Skyline's association is now filing a claim for damages due to a tornado, which destroyed the building. However, the damages amount to $1.8 million thanks to increased property values. The association is now on the hook for $360,000.

Worse, since the association didn't properly evaluate the replacement cost of the building, the insurer might reduce the claim settlement to match only that amount originally insured, and could even tack on penalties if they were included in the contract.

When did you last review your property coverage? Do you carry deductibles? If so, what can your association afford to pay? Is that in line with what you are contractually in line to pay should something occur? Property values have become so unstable in this economy. It's important for the life of your association and the trust of your homeowners that the values on the properties are accurate. If you don't have a current valuation, put it on the agenda, get it done, and then make sure to have your insurance policies updated.

HOAs and COAs What's your property worth? Are you sure?

By: Emerson Poort

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