Preparing for a Condo Association Insurance Quote
As the member of a condo association, a big part of your job is making sure your insurance is sufficient for what you need. We understand that getting a quote for insurance probably isn’t the most exciting thing you will do this week. However, it might be the most important. Having enough insurance is vital to protecting your complex from liability and from natural disasters. Here’s how you can prepare for the process of getting quotes.
Information to Gather Before Getting Quoted
Before you launch into calling agents, filling out online forms, and collecting quotes, you should gather the proper information to make sure your time is well spent. You’ll be thankful you have this information on hand as you start. Later on in the process, you will likely need to supply more in-depth information, but for most companies the following information should be enough to get a good start.
6 Things You Need Before Getting a Condo Association Insurance Quote
Here are 6 key pieces of information you will need:
- General Association Information: this should be easy. Have the official, legal condo association name, the property address, and contact information.
- Construction Information: this includes the physical construction type, whether it be brick, wood frame, fire resistive, etc. Also include the year of the construction and any other relevant information.
- Property Updates: it’s important that the insurance company knows about remodeling or updates to the building. Include the date and where the work occurred. Some likely candidates are the roof, windows and doors, electrical systems, HVAC, and plumbing.
- Number of Units, Stories & Square Footage: provide the total number of units and stories in the building. For square footage, include both totals for units in addition to common areas.
- Desired Coverage Amount: while your agent will help walk you through the process of determining what you need, it’s good to have an idea before you begin. Usually the replacement cost of the building is used. One method is to find out the replacement cost of the building is to use a rate per square foot. This means for each square foot there will be a certain amount of coverage needed. Once you have the rate and the square footage you can simply multiply them to find out.
- A Property Photo: use a decent quality camera to take a few photos of the exterior of your building. Try to get a few angles and include some common areas and unit shots if possible.
Once you have compiled this information you are ready to start your search for insurance. It’s important to have the right coverage for your condo association. Now that you have the information you need, start by reviewing your current policies and needs with an expert at H&K Insurance. Contact us about any questions you have. Our experts would love help you out.
Brendon Kilcoyne is a licensed insurance agent who has been with H&K since 2003, who specializes in providing risk management for condominium associations and apartment complexes. He has obtained the designation of Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) and is an active member in both CAI (Community Associations Institute) as well as IREM (Institute of Real Estate Management). Along with access to his expertise, he can provide you with direction in determining what kind of program best suits your needs.
