Q: There are rumors floating around that our condominium does not have enough insurance in the event of a hurricane or other casualty. How can we determine if the Board is maintaining sufficient insurance?
– Y.R., West Palm Beach
A: Pursuant to Florida Statutes, Section 718.111(12)(a)(8) a copy of the insurance policies are required to be maintained by the association as official records, and pursuant to Florida Statutes, Section 718.111(12)(c), the association is required to make the policies available upon the written request of an owner or its authorized representative for inspection within ten (10) business days from receipt of your request.
Another option is to send a written inquiry to the Association. Pursuant to Florida Statutes, Section 718.112(2)(a)(2), if you send a substantive question to the condominium via certified mail, the Board is required to provide you with a substantive response within thirty (30) days after the receipt of the inquiry. Note that if a legal opinion is requested, the Board has sixty (60) after the receipt of the inquiry to provide you with a substantive response.
After you have a copy of the policies, you should compare them to the statutory requirements set forth in Florida Statutes, Section 718.111(11) which provides that the condominium must maintain “adequate property insurance” which is for the full insurable value, replacement cost, or similar coverage, and must be based on replacement cost of the property as determined by an independent insurance appraisal. Presumably, the condominium should also have the appraisal (or an update thereof) as an official record as well for inspection so you should be able to determine whether the association is in compliance with this information pursuant to the applicable statute.
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Avi S. Tryson, Esq., is Partner of the Law Firm Goede, DeBoest & Cross. To ask Mr. Tryson questions about your issues for future columns, send your inquiry to: question@gadclaw.com. The information provided herein is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. The publication of this article does not create an attorney-client relationship between the reader and Goede, DeBoest & Cross, or any of our attorneys. Readers should not act or refrain from acting based upon the information contained in this article without first contacting an attorney, if you have questions about any of the issues raised herein. The hiring of an attorney is a decision that should not be based solely on advertisements or this column.
