Community Association clients of the Jay Steven Levine Law Group have questioned why should they be ready for a hurricane season when experts have for the past five years predicted a busy hurricane season which did not materialize. We believe that this year will be more like the hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted for the 2010 hurricane season that there will be 14 to 23 named storms, 3 to 7 of which will be major storms, with winds in excess of 110 miles per hour. Waters in the West Tropical Atlantic are abnormally warm – a factor for storm formation and strength. Atmospheric conditions are more favorable to storm development and the probability of landfall in the United States, because the El Niño influence over the past few years which impedes storm development and keeps storms away from land is dissipating and instead there will be an influence from La Niña which tends to increase storm development and draw them toward land. The Jay Steven Levine Law Group recommends that community associations not be complacent and instead be prepared.
Condominium Association Insuring Obligations
The Jay Steven Levine Law Group is often asked what are the insurance coverage obligations of the Condominium association.
For years the condominium statute contained express insuring coverage obligations of the condominium, but set forth enumerated exceptions which the condominium does not insure. In 2008, a prior exclusion was removed, namely the entire air conditioning and heating system from the compressor all the way up to and including the thermostat - so the condominium association had to insure for this component for the first time. The 2010 statute continues this arrangement as the condominium association insuring obligation.
The 2010 legislature made it clear that the excluded items must be located within the boundaries of the unit and serve only that unit.
Since 2008, the condominium statute has required that the amount of insurance be determined every thirty-six (36) months. The 2010 statute clarifies that the determination must be based on full insurable value.
Effective July 1, 2010, the condominium statute was amended to provide that the notice of the meeting of the Board to approve of the insurance policy including the deductible, no longer needs to detail the proposed deductible and the authority upon which the board relies to determine the deductible amount, nor must the notice estimate the potential assessment against each unit.
Stay tuned for Part 3 of the 2010 Hurricane Season Guide: BP Oil Spill
About the Jay Steven Levine Law Group
The Jay Steven Levine Law Group specializes in Florida community association law and Florida commercial litigation. The lawyers at the Jay Steven Levine Law Group have over a combined fifty years of legal experience, maintaining offices in Boca Raton and Palm Beach Gardens, and by appointment in the Treasure Coast.
For more information about the Jay Steven Levine Law Group, please email jsl@jsllawgroup.com. Additional information may be found at: http://www.jsllawgroup.com
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