2006 Aug
Focus on... Insurance

In 2001, the Amalgamated Houses co-op in the Bronx paid $287,000 in insurance premiums. The following June, when the existing policy terminated, the yearly tab rose to a staggering $427,000—an increase of almost 50 percent. And wasn’t …

Having insurance means having financial protection—protection from being financially crippled by having to pay excessive costs to rebuild a life or a home—or a whole building—when tragedy strikes. Just as individual homeowners h…

Since they were first built, apartment buildings have been insured for disasters and unforeseen circumstances—the things nobody ever wants to happen, but has to admit are possible. Things like fires, floods, earthquakes and so on. In t…

Insurance sounds like a simple concept: you pay a premium to your insurer, and then when you file a claim, your insurer pays you. Simple. Insuring a co-op or condo building shouldn’t be much different than insuring yourself—just on a b…

Any number of things can set off an insurance claim in a co-op or condo building. Someone can slip and fall in the lobby; there can be aesthetic damage from a construction project, or a leaky roof can cause major water damage— sometime…

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…

While there are many similarities between co-ops and condos, are the two very different when it comes to things like insurance and liability? The answer is both yes and no. There are similarities, but some significant difference…

Paleolithic whale-hunters, American revolutionaries, an adored president, French castles, and bathtub gin all combine to paint a portrait of one of New York’s richest historical landscapes—and one that perhaps few people fully apprecia…

Individuals and companies all need to be properly covered by insurance but the wide variety of choices can make obtaining that coverage a daunting process. To help buildings and companies make the best choice with minimal hassle, the I…

There are myriad of ways to get back and forth from Manhattan to Nassau County. Whether you’re driving, taking a train, or bussing it, there’s no shortage of access to what has become an exurban retreat for many commuters and families …

For many people, their home is their greatest asset. Yet studies show that 59 percent of today’s homes are underinsured by an average of 22 percent. To protect their investment this hurricane season, homeowners should update their insura…

Q We have only three board members in our building. The current board has been in place for about seven years, and our shareholders would like to remove them because they’re ineffective. They failed to replace a board member who resigne…

Q After serving on my board for the past two years as a vice president, I have now been elected president of my 83-unit Manhattan co-op. The equity sponsor (and 14 percent shareholder) has always been on the board, and for the last thre…

Q Our six-story Queens condo is considering replacing our elevator. We have stairs, obviously, but getting up and down six stories will be difficult for some of our older unit owners. What legal obligations do we have as the board to p…

Q I have a one-bedroom co-op in a six –story, 78-unit building in the Bronx on the market for $53,000 and have a prospective buyer who filled out the board application and provided the financial information required by the board. After …