At the heart of volunteerism is the notion of doing something for the common good. For many, choosing to live in a co-op or condo community is also choosing volunteerism – specifically, volunteering for board service. But within that sense …
It’s that time of the year again: the Christmas lights are up; the air smells of pine trees and potato pancakes; and there’s a possibility of snow, sleet and ice. There’s also a chance that someone might slip and fall at your co-op or co…
Property insurance is one of the most important components of protection for common interest communities. It protects the property, association, corporation, board members, and residents from potentially financial consequences in the event…
In a scene from the 1985 historical drama Out of Africa , Lord Delamare (portrayed by Michael Gough) asks the Danish writer Isak Dinesen (played by Meryl Streep) if she had insurance after her coffee farm in Africa burnt to the ground. “…
Suddenly, the room was shaking and the plants around Ron Tepperman’s desk were moving—it took a second for him to register what was happening. Until a real live earthquake shook the city and created panic along the East Coast, that grou…
Insurance is designed to be there for us when we need it most. Without knowing the full extent of our coverage, though, we may find ourselves facing an emergency with less protection than we thought. For shareholders or unit owners, it…
Phone hacking. Password hijacking. Virtual identity theft. With new technology comes new challenges, and online security threats are chief among them. When it comes to protecting and insuring the privacy of one's residents, it's impera…
Time was when the average New Yorker didn’t think much about floods. Sure, there were severe storms here, such as the infamous Hurricane of 1938 that hit Long Island and the Great Nor’easter of 1992, but these were few and far between. …
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 ins…
Imagine the panic that sets in when a home is lost or damaged. Now imagine navigating through that fear alone. Whether it’s fire or flooding or the violent effects of a storm, anything that damages or destroys a home will have a lastin…