Condo Media - February 2020 - 28

Deep Trouble
Pierce thinks boards should adopt
maintenance-related policies and
procedures, requiring owners to maintain
minimum temperatures, fix or report
leaks, and maintain washing machines
and other appliances, for example. "But
you don't want an insurance policy that
makes adhering to those requirements,"
a condition for coverage, he says. "That's
not a concern with occupied units," he
notes, but it could become a serious
problem in vacant units, where leaks
might not be detected.
INSURANCE DISCOUNTS?
Some insurers do require-or strongly
encourage-leak-prevention devices, and
Fielding thinks that's a good idea. He also
thinks insurers should offer discounts to
condominium associations that install
the devices or require owners to do so.
"When a water heater fails, the
average insurance payout is $6,500
plus the deductible," he notes. Premium
discounts, he suggests, would be sensible

and cost-effective for insurers as well as
for condominium associations and unit
owners, and he doesn't understand why
more insurers don't offer them.
Pierce has an explanation. Property
owners have an obligation to maintain
their property and mitigate insurance
risks, he observes. "Insurers shouldn't
pay them for doing what they are
supposed to do."
People who say it would cost insurers
less to subsidize leak prevention devices
than to pay for water damage make the
same argument about flat roofs, Pierce
points out: "They say the insurer will
pay to replace the roof if it collapses;
so why not pay a lot less to have
someone remove the snow instead?
But maintenance isn't the insurer's
responsibility," Pierce argues.
Owners who remove snow from their
flat roofs benefit, he notes, because their
roofs don't collapse and they don't have
to file claims that would boost their
insurance premiums. Owners who install

leak prevention devices also get credit for
those measures, albeit indirectly, Pierce
says. "You're making yourself a good
insurance risk. You're giving brokers the
tools they can use to negotiate the best
rate for you."
MAINTENANCE AND MITIGATION
There is no question that insurers
like to see proactive maintenance and
risk mitigation policies in place in
the condominium associations they
insure. Periodic inspections of toilets,
dishwashers and washing machines, and
their related hoses and water lines, can
identify potential problems before they
cause major water damage.
Making sure owners understand their
maintenance obligations is essential,
Paula Solemina, director of sales and
marketing for Pro-Care Inc., a disaster
remediation company, emphasizes.
"Owners are busy," she notes. "They see a
small leak and think they don't have time
to call a plumber. They don't understand

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28

CONDOMEDIA February 2020

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Condo Media - February 2020

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