For Florida condominium owners who live in a community, the question of whose insurance pays for damages and repairs that are covered by insurance–the condo owner or the condo association–is a question that gets batted around repeatedly. In fact, not understanding exactly whose insurance policy is responsible can easily become a nightmare.
Noble Public Adjusting Group decided that this was a good day to discuss this issue with our blog readers. By understanding the laws and the language of insurance governing Florida condo owners and condo associations ahead of time, there can be peace maintained and things can run smoothly if damages occur. However, even then, there can still be much confusion when damage occurs to a condo that belongs to an association. Let’s talk about why.
When a Florida Condo in an Association Has Damage, Whose Insurance Pays?
Since Florida condo owners have their own insurance policies, and the condo association in their Florida community has insurance to cover the value of the complete property, you would think with two insurance policies in place, things would run smoothly. But that is often not the case. Over the years, since there are so many condos and condo associations in Florida and controversy have caused major issues, this has led the Florida legislature to rewrite the law defining who owns what and thus who has to insure the property and who has to self-insure.
However, even with rewritten laws governing Florida condos and condo associations, there is still confusion and passing of the buck. Because a condo community is made up of individual condo unit owners, no one unit owner or group of owners own the building or buildings that make up the whole. This makes deciding who is responsible for damages and repairs a big problem for many Florida condo owners and their condo associations.
The most common loss in a condominium community in Florida is water damage. Let’s create a scenario and you can easily see how trouble can happen. Say there is a water leak in one condo from a broken washing machine that causes water to leak into the condo below it. The condo owner with the broken washing machine knows they are responsible for filing their own insurance claim, but who takes care of the people downstairs? The condo owner in the unit below knows he/she is not responsible, and the condo association doesn’t feel responsible since this is an individual condo issue.
Even if the innocent condo owner who lives in the unit below files an insurance claim, the staff adjuster sent out by the insurance company, totally aware of the controversy surrounding condos and associations, will use that to his advantage. When the truth of what happens comes out, the insurance company is going to refuse to pay that claim. The staff adjuster from the insurance company may suggest that the condo owner who is faultless turn things over to his condo association, and the wheels on the bus go round and round.
This is just one example of problems that occur with insurance and Florida condos and condo associations. When there is controversy following a loss and the condo owners and association members don’t understand the rules, regulations, laws or the language in their own condominium documents, things can quickly get out of control. That is why condo owners and associations should always hire a public adjuster to handle insurance claims. Noble Public Adjusting Group has handled many insurance claims for both individual Florida condo owners and Florida condo associations. We are intimately familiar with the laws, statutes, and insurance language involved in the condo niche.
Call us today if you are a condo owner or condo association board member in Florida to talk about this blog post, a current claim you need to have filed, or any questions you have about condo insurance or public adjusting. Noble has offices in several Florida locations. However, if you arrived at this blog post from another state, we can handle a condo insurance claim anywhere in the US. Don’t get caught up in what can become an insurance nightmare. Let Noble handle everything from day one. This will assure that you as a policyholder receive the best treatment and the biggest settlement possible from your condo insurance policy when you have damage, either to an individual condo or the condo community as a whole.
Noble Public Adjusting Group
107 Amar Place Suite 103
Panama City Beach (West End), FL 32413
(850) 249-MY-PA