Articles

Our Cooperative maintains its own insurance policy covering the buildings, exteriors and common areas. After some recent requests for replacements and repairs, and instances of units suffering damages, our Board of Directors is concerned with finding ways to trim costs in paying for damages that occur within the dwelling units, while ensuring that adequate insurance policies cover both the exterior buildings and common areas, but also everything within the units. Are there any ways that the Cooperative can save on having to go out of pocket to cover damages that would otherwise be covered in a traditional homeowner’s insurance policy?

In these days of economic distress, insurance companies are facing the same plight as other sectors of business. Like financial institutions, many insurance firms have gone under, stranding their customers with enormous unfunded exposure. For this reason, it has become more important than ever to conduct a periodic review of the Co-op’s insurance policies.

When purchasing insurance for single-family homes or apartment dwellings, consumers usually purchase very broad and inclusive policies that are relatively simple to shop for. Cooperative housing, in contrast, divides insurance risks among several individuals and entities through multiple insurance policies affording fairly specific coverages. Although the cooperative dweller likely has a fairly simple shopping experience, cooperative directors must consider coverages for the complex as a whole, individual dwellers and for the themselves in their capacities as directors, officers and employees.