Some Florida condominium association board of directors might find themselves in the situation where they have adopted special assessments to pay for repairs related to Hurricane Irma. This might occur if the condominium’s master policy covers a loss, but the damage exceeds the coverage available in the building insurance policy. In this situation, the association may seek from individual unit owners a shared portion of the coverage that the underlying association insurance was insufficient to cover.
As a condominium unit owner, you may be asking yourself, would my individual policy cover a portion of those repairs instead of me having to pay a special assessment?
Section 718.111(11)(g) of the Florida Condominium Act states that “a condominium unit owner policy must conform to the requirements of Section 627.714.”
Section 627.714(1) of the Florida Statutes provides:
(1) For policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2010, coverage under a unit owner’s residential property policy must include at least $2,000 in property loss assessment coverage for all assessments made as a result of the same direct loss to the property, regardless of the number of assessments, owned by all members of the association collectively if such loss is of the type of loss covered by the unit owner’s residential property insurance policy, to which a deductible of no more than $250 per direct property loss applies. If a deductible was or will be applied to other property loss sustained by the unit owner resulting from the same direct loss to the property, no deductible applies to the loss assessment coverage.
If you are a condominium unit owner, your policy must include at least $2,000 in property loss assessment coverage. This may be a resource for the association to obtain some of the necessary funds to make repairs when faced with a loss not fully covered by the master policy, and can help you avoid paying out of pocket when a common area claim requires your assistance. Now is a good time to check your current policy and make sure you are adequately prepared for the 2018 hurricane season that officially begins June 1st.
