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You may be a commercial property manager who manages office buildings, strip malls or main street properties. You may, on the other hand, be a residential property manager who is responsible for apartments and condos. In either case, you will need the appropriate insurance for the properties you manage. Because different types of properties have different types of exposures, insuring adequate limits and proper coverage can be challenging. And keeping track of multiple projects and policy expiration dates can be extremely overwhelming. That’s why it’s important to have a specialist on your side.

Who should have property management insurance coverage?

If you are involved in any of the following activities, you should speak to a professional who understands the unique insurance needs of property managers:

• Renting or leasing real estate to others
• Managing real estate for others
• Selling, buying or renting real estate for others

In 2002, the number of lawsuits filed against the real estate industry escalated. The biggest increase and largest claim type was property management. (National Association of Realtors)

What protections do property managers need?

While the insurance needs of property management companies are in many ways similar to other businesses – property, liability, work comp, group health – there are many distinctive insurance considerations as well, including:

Tenant discrimination insurance:

Tenant discrimination is a major issue for property managers and an exposure not covered by general liability policies. By adding tenant discrimination insurance coverage, property managers are covered when current, prospective or former tenants allege wrongful discrimination.

Habitational coverage:

Many apartment or condo building claims are catastrophic in nature. If you’re not working with the appropriate sources, coverage for habitational properties can be expensive and hard to secure. Insuramerica of Florida helps habitational property managers obtain this important coverage, making sure adequate limits are in place and coverage is written properly.

Errors and omissions coverage:

If you manage 50 properties for others and you forget to secure insurance coverage on a building, and it has a loss – you may be accused of professional negligence. An errors and omissions policy protects property managers against liability claims stemming from a variety of client/tenant financial losses, including failure to perform.
Builders risk insurance:

Builders risk exposure is another important consideration. Many property managers make the mistake of having the contractor purchase builders risk insurance on their behalf. At Insuramerica, we recommend that property managers buy coverage themselves, because the policy owner, or first name insured, has control over the direction on any claim settlement and receives the claim checks from the insurance adjuster.

Loss prevention:

Insuring commercial properties requires loss prevention experience appropriate for the business renting your property. For example, if you rent to a restaurant, fire protection in the ventilation system may be required. Your insurance partner should alert you to these issues and assist with proactive measures.

How the right property management insurance broker makes your job easier

Many times, property managers buy individual insurance policies for each property that they manage. With multiple policies in place, there are separate deductibles for each property, even if they are damaged in a single storm. And the administrative load can be overwhelming. At Insuramerica, we place all of your location exposures on one master policy whenever possible. With all of your exposures on one policy, we can negotiate with underwriters and obtain rate concessions to save you money. Using master programs also makes expiration dates easier to manage. And we focus on risk control, offering professional advice to help ensure you comply with carrier requirements.

A smart solution

If you need property management insurance, or if you just want to learn more, Insuramerica can help. Our experienced property management brokers will help you obtain cost-effective insurance coverage – tailored for your business’s unique needs. One client recently had several properties hit by a major hailstorm and the result was one common loss deductible instead of many – saving $60,000. We represent a variety of “A” rated carriers so you can rest assured that your livelihood is protected with stable, reliable coverage.

To help you get the property management insurance protection at the competitive rates, Insuramerica of Florida:

• Negotiates on your behalf to provide program options designed to cover different aspects of your property portfolio with coverage that matches your described needs.
• Develops commercial property insurance programs for property managers on behalf of the owners of the properties that they manage.
• Implements services plans with checkpoints for every large account, and we provide formal reviews of covered properties. We regularly monitor property activity to control and prevent claims.

Ready to learn more?

Insuramerica of Florida is ready to help with insurance solutions for property management businesses.

Community Associations Insurance

If you need property management insurance, or if you just want to learn more, Insuramerica can help.
We research your association’s needs to identify your unique risks and then create a risk prevention solution that protects your association, board and unit owners. We can even attend board meetings, meet with developers and help design and implement communication strategies to keep your unit owners informed.

Types of Community Association Insurance

Property Insurance:

Property insurance coverage is intended to cover the residential structures, monuments, fencing, community buildings that are part of an association.

General Liability Insurance:

General liability provides coverage for legal claims arising from bodily injury, property damage, personal injury and advertising injury.

Hired Non-Owned Liability Insurance:

Hired non-owned liability insurance is intended to cover the association’s exposure in situations when a volunteer, who is driving their own car, is in a car accident while out on association business.

Umbrella Liability Insurance:

The purpose umbrella liability insurance is to offer additional liability coverage for associations. The policy is triggered when the underlying coverage have been exhausted.

Crime & Fidelity Insurance:

Crime and Fidelity insurance is intended to protect the monies the association has in operating and reserve accounts.

Directors & Officers Liability Insurance:

The intention of directors & officers insurance is to protect the association from wrongful acts by the association, the Board of Directors, the Officers and certain other volunteers.

Volunteer Accident Insurance:

Volunteer policies are designed to bridge the possible gap in Association policies. Volunteers are not covered under workers’ compensation policies and depending on the situation there may be limited coverage.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance:

Workers’ Compensation policies are designed to protect the association when hiring a contractor who does hold the workers’ compensation coverage but defaults on their insurance premium.

_{The above description provides a brief overview of the terms and phrases used within the insurance industry. These definitions are not applicable in all states or for all insurance products. Please read your official policy for full details about coverages. If there is any conflict between these definitions and the provisions of the applicable insurance policy, the terms of the policy control.}