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 Unit Owner Insurance Coverage Obligations
The Jay Steven Levine Law Group is frequently asked to define the condominium unit owners' insurance coverage obligation.
The 2010 legislature adopted numerous amendments to the insurance provisions in the condominium statute addressing condominium unit owner insurance obligations, effective July 1, 2010.
The 2004 legislature required each unit owner to maintain property insurance coverage for the building components which were excluded from the condominium association coverage obligations. The 2008 legislature deleted this requirement, suggesting that the owner was no longer obligated to carry insurance for those excluded items. The insurance industry also took this position. The 2010 legislature further addressed this question and provides that if the owner wishes to carry such coverage, it will be the responsibility of the owner to place and pay for the insurance. However, such coverage is not mandatory.
The insurance code was amended to clarify that the coverage obligation of the condominium owner is limited to not less than $2,000.00 in property loss assessment coverage and dictates the maximum deductibles for such coverage.
Owners are no longer required to provide proof of insurance to the condominium association - a 2008 condominium law imposition that was burdensome to the entire management, association and insurance industries. The association can no longer force place such insurance which associations could previously do under the 2008 condominium statute.
Condominium associations are no longer required to be additional named insureds and loss payees on property insurance policies issued to unit owners.
Finally, the 2010 law deleted a provision in the 2008 statute which obligated owners to carry insurance for improvements or additions which benefit the owner only.
Stay tuned for Part 5 of the 2010 Hurricane Season Guide: Condominium Association Reconstruction 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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