GENERAL LIABILITY
Whether your Association is at fault or not you may find yourself brought into a lawsuit for something that your Association is otherwise considered potentially liable for. The courts will ultimately decide where fault lays though cost of an attorney alone is worth the value of the policy. In the event that your association is found liable this is the coverage that would pay out.
General Liability provides coverage for the legal costs, compensatory and general damages arising from suits against the Association for personal or bodily injury, property damage to others, and advertising injury.
We recommend the following coverage as basis:
• Minimum of $1,000,000
• Include as insured, the association, the board and managing agent
• Include Unit owners as additional insureds
There are 6 typical elements of a General Liability Coverage
I. Each Occurrence Limit: $1,000,000
2. Personal and Advertising Injury Limit: $1,000,000
3. General Aggregate Limit: $2,000,000
4. Products and Completed Operations Limit: $1,000,000
5. Legal Liability Property Damage: $ 100,000
6. Medical Expense Limit: $ 5,000
Element 1: Each Occurrence limit sets a maximum amount the carrier will pay for any one claim. Any amount owed to a claimant beyond the covered limit will need to be picked up by an umbrella policy, if you have one in place.
Element 2: Personal and Advertising Injury limits will pay for any claim arising out of personal injury; such as libel, slander, false arrest, discrimination, and invasion of privacy. And advertising injury; claims made for the same elements of of personal injury, but were committed via the media of advertising. This is not physical harm
Element 3: The General Aggregate is the maximum amount a carrier will pay during the policy period for all claims incurred. So if you have a $1,000,000 occurrence limit with a $2,000,000 aggregate you can sustain TWO $1,000,000 claims within the policy period.
Element 4: Products and Completed Operations usually not applicable for the community associations. As it provides coverage for Liability arising out of defective products or completed work.
Element 5: Legal Liability also known as Rented Premises is coverage for damage caused by the insured to a third party’s property. So if you hold your board meetings in a library or other rented facility and happen to bring a coffee pot which somehow fails and starts a fire, this is the coverage that pays for the damage as a result.
Element 6: Medical Expense is coverage to provide medical expense compensation for person’s injured on the insured’s premises. It keeps your friends, your friends as they do not need to file a legal claim against you or the association for this to payout. Often times by responding quickly to an injured party with this coverage they are not as inclined to sue for significantly larger amounts, causing your insurance costs to rise.