Master Insurance Coverage

We are lucky to have Duncan Kirk so close to us: his visit to the Forum in March helped many of us focus on this critical issue.

There may be nothing more critical, mysterious and confusing as master policy insurance and how it is required to cover the real estate assets that we own in common with all other owners. Duncan de-mystifies it and is fully willing to engage in questions and answers so that anyone can learn the basics of master insurance coverage.

Duncan makes many general points to consider when evaluating your coverage, including

• Read your governing documents to determine what they require in terms of basic coverage
• Be smart about what additional coverage you need relative to floods, earthquake and other natural disasters
• Absolutely encourage owners -- make it a requirement if possible -- to take out HO6 policies on the interiors of units not covered by the master policy
• Require owners to document their upgrades, so that master policies that cover them are appropriate
• Choose backward-reaching coverage for Directors and Officers policies, to protect past board members
• Establish values for your real estate assets using sources other than insurance models
• Work with a knowledgeable vendor when choosing master insurance coverage -- and plan to work with the vendor for several months before coverage can take effect