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Construction Law Authority / Posts tagged "Insurance" (Page 2)

Hurricane Isaac Preparedness

As of 8AM this morning, the entire state of Florida is in the 5-day projected path for Tropical Storm Isaac. Isaac is predicted to become a hurricane before hitting Cuba. If you want to follow Isaac's path you can go to www.noaa.gov and do so. Although things may change it is always best to be prepared. For individuals this means securing adequate food, water and medication as well as ensuring personal safety along with the safety of loved ones and pets. For Condominium and Homeowner Associations Becker & Poliakoff has a 12-point Hurricane Preparedness Checklist to prepare for Hurricane Isaac: 1. Disaster Plan – If you have a disaster plan be ready to implement it. At a minimum, designate a responsible community member as Disaster Plan Coordinator and another as Information Facilitator to field queries and respond to from community members. These individuals should be outside the impacted areas so that they...

Why Should the Condominium Association Require Bonds from the Renovation Contractor

               We often encounter Condominium Associations who have difficulty understanding why they should bond their exterior renovation contract.   Many Associations consider it money wasted on another layer of liability protection when they would rather spend the money on actual scope – sticks, bricks, and finishes. They do not expect the surety to pay the claims even if they are made against the Contractor’s Performance and Payment Bonds.  Association Boards often ask, “Isn’t the risk already covered by all the insurance required from the Contractor?” The short answer is, “No”, and here’s why.             A performance bond, unlike insurance, assures the Association that the Contractor, or its Surety, will complete the project even if the contractor goes bankrupt or cannot competently perform to complete the contract. In addition, sometimes a Surety can be required to pay Association claims for work not properly performed even after occupancy. See, Federal Ins. Co. v. The Southwest Florida Retirement Center, Inc.,...

ARE YOU AN ADDITIONAL INSURED – MAYBE OR MAYBE NOT?

Condominium associations, developers, and contractors will typically want to be named as an additional insured on casualty insurance policies of their respective contractors and subcontractors performing work on a construction project. One of the main advantages of being an additional insured is the existence of insurance to potentially cover certain casualty losses that may arise from the construction process. But, how does one truly know if they are an additional insured? Ideally, the insurance policy should have an endorsement that specifies who is an additional insured and that insured’s coverage. In this context, the policy should be examined to verify the nature and extent of coverage, including the policy period(s), any qualifications, limitations or other conditions that may affect an additional insured’s status and available coverage. At times, an additional insured will receive what is commonly referred to as an Acord Certificate of Insurance. This document generally summarizes a policyholder’s insurance coverage and...

Hurricane Season – Disaster Planning Webinar Q and A

As readers of this blog know, one June 1 we put on a webinar to begin preparations for hurricane season. The webinar is available here under the title Disaster Planning for the 2011 Hurrican Season: Are You Ready to Weather the Storm? for those who were unable to join us live. During the course of the webinar we received a number of questions we were unable to answer live due to time constraints. I have listed below some of those questions and the answers. For the sake of clarity and brevity some of the questions have been modified. As always, the below answers are not intended to be legal advice but solely informational.   Q- Can the Board of Directors of a Condominium Association forbid owners and/or guests from entering the property after a natural disaster.  A- Generally, for the Association to prohibit access to the condominium a governmental entity would have to declare the building or surrounding area to...