The Carriages at Indigo Ranch HOA
The Carriages at Indigo Ranch HOA
Insurance Review
The board of directors for The Carriages at Indigo Ranchrenewed the HOA’s insurance coverage with American Family Insurance for the 2015 – 2016 renewal. I would like to take this opportunity to review and to answer questions concerning the coordination of the HOA’s insurance and your current policy.I would also like to give you some insight as to what is happening in the HOA insurance world and what you need to protect yourself and your possessions.That being said how do you the homeowner provide adequate protection foryour property? You do that by purchasing a HO6 policy. This type of policy protects you on a “walls in” basis. This coverage will protect your Real and Personal Property.I have listed key coverages below.
- Real Property refers to your appliances and flooring. You should consider having at least $25,000 of coverage.
- Personal Property covers all your personal items such as furniture, clothes, collectables, electronics, etc. What should you do to adequately protect yourself? Call your agent and review your coverages. You will have to determine what you have in personal property.
- Loss Assessment, this coverage will protect you in the event that you receive an assessment from the board due to a covered loss. The most common types of covered losses include Wind and Hail, Fire, Theft and Bursting of Pipes. You should have at least a minimum of $10,000. I recommend $25,000 to $50,000 to my clients, it costs very little to increase it.Ask your agent for the difference in price.
- Sewer Backupshould be consideredif you have a finished basement.You should have at least $10,000 and depending how it is finished you may want to talk to your agent about $20,000.
- Liability coverage is an important part of your policy and needs to be discussed with your agent. With the value of your homes and todays legal climate, you should look into at least $500,000 of liability coverage. Some may have an umbrella that sits on top of your liability coverage. If you do that’s great, you should be in good shape.
- What’s new? Howthe insurance industry is providing coverage to HOA’s especially with regards to Wind and Hail has changed. Most companies have a separate deductible for Wind and Hail, usually 2% to 5% of the covered property amount. Example, if an HOA has property coverage of $30,000,000 at the 2% level the deductible amount would be $600,000. Because the HOA doesn’t have that amount of money in the bank they need to get it from somewhere and that somewhere is the residents. Let’s say we have 100 units in the HOA, each resident would receive an assessment letter in the amount of $6,000. Because you have Loss Assessments coverage on your policy you would then file a claim and send a copy to your agent. The company would send you a check minus your deductible. You would then deposit that check into your account and send a check to the HOA for $6,000. This is why it is imperative that you add Loss Assessments coverage to your HO6 policy.
- These are the essentials; your agent can tailor your policy to fit your individual needs. If you have questions concerning any of the coverages I am always available to help. My office number is 719-630-7557 my office manager’s name is Elaine, my sales associate is Bryan. We feel privileged to assist you.
Mike Brandl
American Family Insurance.