Condo Media - December 2017 - 33

profile. Buildings at higher elevations
may qualify for lower rates, even if they
are in flood zones, Pierce explains.
The NFIP may not be the only option. Some private carriers are now
offering flood insurance, and associations in low-risk areas "have a decent
chance of obtaining at least some coverage," from private carriers, Pierce
notes, although the deductibles will
be higher than on standard policies.
For communities with multiple buildings, he says larger carriers may offer
lower premium rates on buildings at
higher elevations. "They will look at
the location, construction, and elevation for the buildings, and then offer
different coverage limits and different
deductibles" based on those variables,
Pierce explains.
EARTHQUAKES IN NEW ENGLAND?
The arguments for obtaining flood
coverage, strong before the hurricane

trifecta (Harvey in Houston, Irma in
Florida and Maria in Puerto Rico)
have increased to irrefutable in its
wake. The photos of communities
under water, littered with debris and
lacking power are persuasive, to say
the least.
There are no comparable photos of
earthquake damage in New England
(fortunately), so it's harder to make the
case for that insurance, but the risks,
though largely unrecognized, are high.
Massachusetts sits on the secondworst fault line in the country, behind
California's much better-known San
Andreas Fault, Marcus notes, making
insurance essential for high-risk buildings (some structures built in downtown Boston would certainly qualify)
and a good idea, in his view, for almost
all multi-story structures in the state.
Boards assessing insurance coverage
for disaster-related damage should
make sure their policies include

"Ordinance or Law" endorsements,
to cover the cost of complying with
"governmental orders," which would
include requirements adopted since
the buildings were constructed. Without this coverage, your policy would
pay to restore a damaged building to
its original condition, but it would not
cover the cost of installing sprinklers,
creating parking spaces, increasing
setbacks, or making other changes an
updated building code may require.
Ordinance or law coverage would
also kick in if your insurer is willing to repair a damaged structure,
but the municipality says it must be
demolished. Without that endorsement, Pierce explains, if half a building
is damaged by a fire and the insurer
doesn't agree with local officials that
it's a total loss, your policy will pay
only to repair the damaged portion; it
won't pay for the cost of demolishing
the entire structure and rebuilding it.

Solutions geared specifically for
Condo Associations and Property Managers
*	 Capital	improvement	and	repair	loans	
up	to	$50	million
*	 Amortization	schedules	up	to	15	years
*	 10	year	fixed	loans
*	 No	personal	guarantees	required
*	 Revolving	lines	of	credit

*	 Draw	periods	for	construction	projects
*	 Competitive	interest	rates	on	loans	and	
deposits
*	 Condo	Association	team	assigned	
to	support	all	of	your	Association	or	
Management	Company	banking	needs	

Contact one of our Condominium Association Banking specialists for more info:
Timothy	W.	Murphy
774-454-9918
Timothy.Murphy@RocklandTrust.com	
Jen	Macaluso
781-982-6566
Jennifer.	Macaluso@RocklandTrust.com

www.RocklandTrust.com/CAB
Subject to credit approval.

Member FDIC
December 2017

33
Condo Media - December 2017

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