Smokey Robinson’s Condo Insurance Advice

B.G. from Fairfield County writes:

Dear Mister Condo,

The insurance for our Association is extremely expensive. Do you know what the best companies are that are most affordable? We are a small Association.

Mister Condo replies:

B.G., I am reminded of the Smokey Robinson classic, “Shop Around”, where Smokey sings “My Momma told me: You Better Shop Around”… Seriously, community association insurance is expensive and there are many factors that go into the pricing of premiums for condo associations and HOAs. Your best bet is to work with a community association insurance specialist who understands not only your association but also the risk factors that tend to drive up premiums. In Connecticut, you can find a list of such insurance professionals right on the CAI Connecticut website at http://www.caict.org/?page=Directory#Insurance. In fact, you’ll even find one such company on the right hand side of this column in the “Sponsored by” section. Size of association has little effect on the cost of your insurance. The value of the property, the risk factors, and even the claim history all play a role in determining premium. I saw one recent list of recommendation for a Connecticut association that included banning grills from decks as the grills were seen as potential fire hazards. I have seen limiting association tree heights as a risk factor to prevent claims from trees falling into buildings. There are too many factors to list here but I do suggest you take Smokey’s advice and “Shop Around”. Good luck!