Insurance Duties & Disputes

An association’s governing documents will require that it carry a variety of different types of insurance coverage. While the reasons for carrying property and liability coverages might be relatively obvious, thorny questions can arise as to the need for (and required levels of) other types of coverage, such as workers’ compensation and crime or fidelity insurance.

 In regard to attached condominiums, the Board of Directors must take special care to assess the level of property coverage required by the condominium’s bylaws, which, in Michigan, can range anywhere from “bare walls” to “all in” coverage. An association’s failure to properly insure the condominium can result in undesirable coverage “gaps” or even catastrophic uninsured losses.

 Our firm’s attorneys have extensive experience in counseling condominium and homeowner association Boards of Directors regarding the unique insurance issues that they typically face, including the resolution of casualty/water losses and insurance coverage disputes, as well as subrogation matters. Where such issues require the direct involvement of insurance professionals, our firm has contacts and extensive experience in working with many of the insurance companies and agencies that provide coverage to condominium, cooperative and homeowners’ associations in Michigan.