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.
BP Oil Spill
The BP deepwater horizon oil spill provides an additional risk to Gulf state communities for this upcoming hurricane season. Experts are predicting that the oil spill can be forced onto land creating an environmental disaster. Recently, CNN aired a story stressing that should oil be forced onto the land, residents would be forced from their homes, and may not be able to return until the oil and contamination were cleaned up. As a result, Gulf state communities should be that much more prepared in the event of such possibilities.
The question is whether associations will be insured for oil spill damage. Officials from the National Flood Insurance Program have indicated that oil damage to buildings and contents will be covered, but site contamination will not. Community associations should realize that flood insurance covers damage only from rising water but not from wind-driven rain containing oil contamination. Many (non-flood) property, casualty and windstorm policies contain exclusions from pollutants (which would include oil), and as such, these communities should discuss with their insurance agents whether there is coverage for oil stains on the property.
Stay tuned for Part 4 of the 2010 Hurricane Season Guide: Condominium Association Unit Owner Insurance Coverage Obligations
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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