Insurance—Did you Know?
It appears premiums have stabilized for most condominium corporations that are claim - free for 3 years or more, and newer (builds) than 40 years of age.
Some ways to mitigate rising premiums
Increase Deductibles A lower deductible may provide long terms savings, that is to say if your corporation does not have claims. Let ’ s say you increased your deductible from $5,000 to $10,000, after approximately 8 years later you would be ahead if there was a claim. (this is rule of thumb based on a savings of $600 annually, there are many variables) Some feel they want a higher deductible as they would not make a small claim. Decide what your corporation threshold is, for example you may have a $5,000 deductible but will pay for claims of $7,500 or less. Where a unit owner is responsible for the corporation ’ s deductible, you may wish to increase that threshold. As a unit owner you may never have a claim; but as a corporation, there are many units which can drastically increase the likelihood of a claim. Going 8 years without a loss at a condominium corporation is rare. Get 3 quotes! Well, this practise hasn't applied to condominium insurance for many years. Most corporations are insured on a program and the brokers are always on the lookout for better. Today there are very few insurers that are competitive when quoting on condominium corporations. Asking for a quote every 3 years is good practise; however, don't be surprised if there is no alternative. Your condominium manager and insurance broker value your business and want to do the best they can for you. They are always on the lookout for better and when better is available they will react. Maintain your property You can't afford to save money here. It will cost you in the long run. Put yourself in the position of the insurer, would you want to insure a corporation with uneven or sunken sidewalks, pot holes in the pavement, roofing that is past due for replacement and is a leaking structure? Prevent an issue, don't react to an issue. Having a corporation that is in excellent condition not only increases the resale value, it potentially saves you more than you invested because the slip and fall or water damage claim never occurred. Maintain your dryer vents, have your smoke detectors and sump pumps checked annually, keep ice melt at doorways so unit owners can spread it when needed – snow maintenance crews can't be on site 24/7 Maintain your unit Where Corporations are or are approaching 40 years of age: ask unit owners to invest in their unit, specifically heating, electrical, and plumbing, including the water heater. It would be rare that a unit would have a 40 - year old furnace, ask the unit owner to advise when their furnace was replaced (it is usually labeled on the furnace). Insurance companies are not keen on fuse panels, make note of the units that have breaker panels and when they were put in. NOTE: some insurers are OK with tamper proof fuses (type S).
Chris DiPietro, R.I.B. (Ont) is an account exsecutive with Selectpath Insurance (formerly May McConville), specializing in condominium management. Chris was first elected to the Board of Directors of the CCI London and Area Chapter in 2015 and joined the Golf Tournament Committee. In 2015 he was elected by the Board as Vice President in 2016 and President for 2017 and 2018, continuing to assist on the Golf Tournament. Chris has also contributed as a writer and presenter expert on insurance at our education events.
Water heaters have a life of approximately 15 years (my last one was leaking at 11 years). Replace them at 12 years and keep record of when it was replaced. One can
CCI Review 2021/2022 - 4 May 2022 Page 18
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker