Condominium associations, homeowners associations, and community associations face insurance challenges that are fundamentally different from those confronting individual homeowners. Association-held policies typically cover common areas, building exteriors, shared structures, and — depending on the policy type — individual unit interiors as well. When damage occurs, the stakes are high, the values are large, and the carrier’s incentive to minimize the payout is significant.
From hurricane and roof damage affecting common areas to water intrusion impacting multiple units, association claims involve high values, governance obligations, and carrier tactics designed to minimize large payouts. We represent condominium associations, HOAs, and their boards in disputes with insurers — ensuring the association’s policy is interpreted correctly and the community receives the full recovery it’s entitled to.
What Makes Association Claims Different
Unlike a single-family homeowner’s claim, an association claim affects an entire community at once. The dollar amounts are larger, the structures involved are more complex — roofs, elevators, parking garages, clubhouses, shared plumbing and electrical systems — and the claim typically has to move through a board or property manager before any decision gets made. Insurers know this, and large, high-value claims tend to draw more scrutiny, more adjusters, and more pushback than an individual homeowner’s claim of the same type.
Common Issues in Condo & HOA Claims
- Confusion or disputes over what the association’s master policy covers versus what falls to each unit owner’s individual policy
- Carriers attempting to split one large loss into several smaller claims, evaluated separately, to reduce the total payout
- Delays while a claim waits on board approval, property manager sign-off, or a vote — time an insurer doesn’t always account for
- Disputes over the pre-loss condition of major common-area systems — roofs, parking structures, elevators, pools — used to argue damage was pre-existing or due to lack of maintenance
- Underpayment on the cost to fully restore shared structures and amenities, not just the units directly affected
- Engineering and causation disputes that get more complicated simply because more of the building — and more systems — are involved
Who We Represent
We represent condominium associations, homeowners associations, and their boards in claims against the association’s own policy. We also represent individual unit owners dealing with isolated incidents — such as a plumbing leak from the unit above — where the dispute is with the owner’s own insurer rather than the association’s.
If your association or your unit is facing a denied, delayed, or underpaid claim, we can help you evaluate your policy, document the loss, and push back on carrier tactics designed to minimize what you or your community recovers.
Related to Association Claims
Frequently Asked Questions
How are condominium and HOA claims different?
Association claims often involve master-policy questions, splitting a claim between the association and unit owners, board approval delays, disputes over pre-loss condition, and engineering and causation issues. See our condominium and association page.
Who does the firm represent?
We represent Florida homeowners, business owners, and condominium and community associations. In some situations we also represent individual unit owners, for example when a leak from a neighboring unit leads to a dispute with the owner’s own insurer. See our condominium and association page.
What is ordinance or law coverage, and why does it matter?
Ordinance or law coverage helps pay for upgrades that building codes require when you repair or rebuild after a covered loss. Under Fla. Stat. § 627.7011(1) and (2), insurers must offer options of 25% or 50%, and 25% applies automatically unless you refuse it in writing on an Office-approved form. It is not flood insurance and does not guarantee every modernization cost. Read our article, Building-Code Upgrades After a Major Loss.
How long do I have to file a property insurance claim in Florida?
Florida law generally requires you to notify your insurance company of a new or reopened property insurance claim within one year after the date of loss. A supplemental claim for additional loss or damage from the same peril generally must be reported within 18 months after the date of loss. See Fla. Stat. § 627.70132.
Special rules may apply in certain situations, including condominium loss-assessment claims and claims involving servicemembers deployed to a combat zone or combat-support posting. For hurricanes and certain other weather events, Florida law also has specific rules for determining the date of loss.
Your insurance policy may impose additional notice requirements, so you should report property damage to your insurer as soon as reasonably possible. Waiting to report a loss can create problems with your claim even if the statutory deadline has not yet expired.
How much does it cost to hire a property insurance attorney?
We handle property insurance claims on a contingency fee basis. This means you do not pay attorney’s fees upfront. We advance the costs of pursuing your claim, and we are paid only if we obtain a recovery for you.
If we recover money on your behalf, our attorney’s fee is a percentage of the recovery, and our fee and case costs are paid from the recovery in accordance with the written contingency fee agreement. If we do not obtain a recovery for you, you owe us nothing.
We do not charge a fee or deduct costs from insurance payments you received before hiring our firm.
Your initial consultation is free. Before you decide to hire us, we will explain the contingency fee agreement, including how attorney’s fees and costs are calculated. Contact us or call 727.896.7777 for a free consultation.
Representing Your Association’s Interests
Schedule a free consultation to discuss your association’s claim.