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A Vigorous Fraud Prevention Program
Jonny J. Frank is managing director of Decision Strategies International, an investigative consulting firm that specializes in consulting with corporations on internal fraud prevention and investigation. His firm recently added the metropolitan real estate management industry to its cadre of business sectors served when, in the wake of the scandal, several management firms engaged the company to institute internal monitoring procedures. Here's what Frank recommends to boards: Read More
Containing Insurance Costs
Members of the insurance industry do not agree on much, but if they agree on one thing it's that Read More
Examining the Effects, Planning Ahead
The economic crisis has affected many individuals, businesses and markets—the real estate and job markets, to name just two particularly nasty examples.
Until now, one of the few industries that didn’t seem as deeply impacted was the insurance industry, but that is soon to
change, according to certain experts in the field, who say that indicators show
that insurance premiums are most likely set to rise over the next year.
Read More
A Look at Workers' Compensation
Workers’ compensation, according to the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board, is insurance that provides cash benefits and/or medical care for workers who are injured or become ill as a direct result of their job. Read More
Unusual Insurance Claims
The world of insurance, although not necessarily simple, is usually cut and dry, not the stuff of excitement. While condos and co-ops have insurance for the common areas like roofs, stairways, lobbies and often the apartments as well, the practice of individual unit owners buying homeowners' insurance is more and more common. Read More
A Look at Contractor Liability
Part of the process of bidding and hiring a contractor to work in your building
is verifying their insurance coverage. Uninsured or inadequately insured
contractors pose a serious threat to a co-op or condo community’s finances and can cause huge legal headaches. To avoid exposing a co-op or
condo to serious liability and expense, it’s up to boards and managers to thoroughly vet the people they bring in to do
even basic maintenance projects in their building.
Read More
On the Rise, or Holding Steady?
Just like in our own personal budget, it seems that the everyday expenses of a co-op or condominium building just keep going up. Among the most prevalent cost hikes, as readers surely know, are fuel, salaries, repairs and the price of materials. Read More
Getting Dumped By Your Insurance Company
Simply put, insurance equals protection. Insurance will help protect your investment if your building is damaged or destroyed by fire or other causes. Public liability coverage will protect you if someone is hurt in the building and sues you. This insurance is vital to the financial stability of a building—without it, and one big loss can place a building in financial turmoil. Read More
Covering the Gaps
Unlike individual apartment owners’ insurance coverage, most co-op and condo buildings’ insurance policies are pretty standard—they include homeowners’ insurance, liability, and umbrella coverage. Usually, the common areas such as
the hallways, roofs, basements and so on are insured for liability and physical
damage, and occasionally, the building’s insurance policy also covers the standard fixtures in each individual unit.
Read More
What's New? What's Necessary?
It’s capitalism’s most basic tenet: supply and demand. When supply is sparse and demand high, prices go up. When supply is plentiful however, prices go down—and suppliers are forced to diversify their offerings in order to distinguish themselves and remain competitive in a flooded marketplace. Read More
Reducing Liability in a Co-op or Condo
Insurance can be a hassle to deal with when it comes to your property, but failing to pay attention to the details of your policy could cost you money now and in the future. Knowing the specifics of your building's insurance policy, and also being familiar with the property that the policy covers, can save you money now and for many years to come. Read More
Understanding Roles & Responsibilities
Most co-op and condo residents understand that there is a board protecting the
interests of their building community and individual owners—they’ve probably taken part in numerous board elections, or even served on
committees, or volunteered on behalf of the building in some capacity. But many
residents who’ve never held elected office still don’t truly understand what the board members do.
Read More
Buildings Have Plenty of Insurance Options
If you live in a condo or co-op in New York City, your building is obviously protected with insurance—but do you really know about the various layers of protection standing between your community and a broad array of risk factors? Does your building get by on a bare-bones policy, or do you have every conceivable base covered? Read More
Filing an Insurance Claim vs. Settling
Sometimes bad things happen to good buildings. It's just a fact of life. And sometimes, bad things happen to good buildings with an unforeseeable and unavoidable frequency. That is also a fact of life. Usually, when those bad things happen, the building's insurance carrier is there to step in and make things right. Read More
Helping the New Kids on the Block
Though often responsible for millions of dollars in property and charged with
the oversight of complex building functions, few co-op/condo board members are
real estate professionals. Board members are resident volunteers who come from
many walks of life and various professional backgrounds—most of which don’t include a lot of experience running a multifamily building.
Read More
Tips for Efficient, Effective and Productive Boards
Inefficiently-run board meetings are time-wasters that can make even the most
enthusiastic board member cringe at the thought of an upcoming session. By
contrast, a well-run board meeting can be a productive hour or two that
benefits the entire building. Here are a few tips from the pros for getting the
most out of your meetings.
Read More
It's More than Just Keeping the Water Blue
It’s a scorching 92 degrees in Manhattan and many city-dwellers are dreading the traffic-filled ride to the beach or the long bus or rail commute to the Hamptons. But for some lucky co-op and condo owners, relief—in the form of an in-house swimming pool—is just steps away. Read More
A Look at Manhattan's East Village
While the grid of streets and avenues may remain rigid and unchanging as the
years go by, New York City’s neighborhoods are organic entities, constantly shifting and evolving as new
features emerge and old ones fade away. Nowhere is this perpetual reinvention
more evident than in Manhattan’s East Village.
Read More
When Are You Not Covered By Your D&O Policy?
In order to understand circumstances in which you might not be covered by your D&O policy, you must first ask the question, “Where does a community associations D&O policy fall within the entire insurance puzzle?” Second, “Are all D&O policies created equal?” And third, “How does the community association maximize its coverage?” Read More
The Importance of Intelligent Insurance Underwriting
The property and casualty insurance market can provide a slippery slope for co-ops and condos in the New York metropolitan area. Insurance companies can be your best friend orworst enemy. Working with the right insurance broker is key to making sure you are getting the most comprehensive coverage at reasonable costs. Read More
Beware of Inadequately/Impropery Insured Contractors
Many directors serving on the boards of co-ops and condominium communities
assume that once they have secured the appropriate coverage for their
properties, their problems are largely over. Unfortunately, problems in the
insurance marketplace have created conditions which can leave unknowing boards
exposed to losses from areas they least expect. One of the principal indirect
exposures that all boards face relates to the contractors they engage to do
everything from simple building repairs to large capital projects. These contractors may be plumbers, electricians, roofers, painters, HVAC service
technicians and the like and may be performing a range of tasks on the
property. Understanding what is necessary to prevent potential risks associated
with these contractors is essential for every co-op and condominium board.
Read More
Insurance and Your Contractor
Co-op buildings routinely require contractors to provide a Certificate of Insurance before any work is started either in a building or for individual shareholders. Read More
