The question is not whether every association buys every policy. It is whether the board has identified each material exposure, decided how it will be financed, and understood where one policy stops and another must begin.
1. Master property insurance
Property insurance may cover association-owned buildings, residential structures, common elements, contents, equipment, and related time-element losses. The governing documents and unit boundaries help determine the intended scope.
Board questions
- What property is scheduled, and at what values?
- Is the valuation basis defensible and current?
- How do replacement cost, roof settlement, coinsurance, margin clauses, inflation, and ordinance or law work?
- Which catastrophe perils are included, excluded, or separately placed?
- How is the deductible calculated and allocated?
2. Wind, hail, named storm, flood, and earthquake
Catastrophe terms may sit inside the property policy or in separate placements. Percentage deductibles can be applied per building, location, unit, or occurrence depending on wording.
Board questions
- What dollar amount could the association owe after a major event?
- Does a buy-down policy actually follow the same trigger and calculation?
- Are wind pools, flood programs, or earthquake limits aligned with total values?
- What losses remain for owners or reserves?
3. Commercial general liability
General liability generally addresses covered bodily injury, property damage, and certain personal or advertising injury arising from premises and operations.
Board questions
- Are amenities, events, docks, pools, playgrounds, trails, streets, and common areas accurately described?
- Are vendors contractually required to protect the association?
- Do exclusions remove expected operations?
- Are volunteers and the management company included as intended?
4. Umbrella and excess liability
Umbrella or excess insurance adds limits over scheduled underlying policies, but it does not automatically broaden every excluded exposure.
Board questions
- Which policies are scheduled underneath?
- Does the form attach over D&O, employment, auto, or employer’s liability?
- Is it true follow-form excess or a separate umbrella form?
- Are underlying limits and notice conditions satisfied?
5. Directors and officers liability
D&O addresses covered wrongful-act allegations involving governance and management decisions. Defense, insured-person definitions, exclusions, retention, and prior-acts terms are central.
6. Crime and fidelity
Crime or fidelity insurance can respond to covered theft and fraud involving association money, employees, officers, volunteers, and, when properly addressed, management-company handling.
Board questions
- Is the limit tied to cash, reserves, assessments, and governing or lender requirements?
- Are employee theft, computer fraud, funds transfer, forgery, and social engineering addressed?
- Does the definition of employee or third-party service provider fit the management arrangement?
- What dual-control and verification procedures does the carrier expect?
7. Cyber liability
Associations and management companies store personal information, use online payments, depend on vendors, and can receive fraudulent instructions. Cyber coverage can address response costs, privacy liability, network interruption, ransomware, and some fraud events.
Board questions
- Which entity owns the data and systems?
- Who responds when the incident begins with a management company or vendor?
- Are social engineering and funds-transfer fraud inside cyber, crime, or both?
- Are multifactor authentication, backups, training, and verification procedures in place?
8. Workers compensation and employer’s liability
Workers compensation requirements vary by jurisdiction and workforce. Associations can still face exposure involving employees, uninsured contractors, casual labor, volunteers, or audit classification.
Board questions
- Does the association employ anyone directly?
- Could a worker be treated as an employee despite being called a contractor?
- Are certificates current for vendors?
- What employer’s liability limit sits under the umbrella?
9. Auto, equipment, pollution, fiduciary, and other specialty coverage
Owned, hired, and non-owned auto; inland marine; equipment breakdown; pollution; fiduciary; flood; earthquake; terrorism; builder’s risk; and event or special-risk policies may be appropriate depending on the community.
10. Unit-owner insurance coordination
The association should communicate—not attempt to individually place—the owner’s need to discuss interior property, betterments, personal liability, loss assessment, water backup, flood, earthquake, and master-policy deductible exposure with an insurance professional.
The board-level comparison
A usable renewal presentation should show at least:
- Carrier and financial-strength information
- Coverage form and major endorsements
- Limits and sublimits
- Deductibles and dollar exposure
- Important exclusions and coverage restrictions
- Premium, taxes, fees, and buy-down cost
- Open subjectivities and binding conditions
- How the policies coordinate
- Items requiring legal, engineering, reserve, or lender review
This article is general insurance information, not legal or individualized coverage advice. The full policy, endorsements, governing documents, contracts, facts, and applicable law control.