Starting the year strong, FS Insurance Brokers successfully renewed insurance policies for 265 associations in the Houston market. On the heels of a challenging 2017, the HOA program continues to thrive, entering 2018 with the rollout of a new Umbrella policy program that aims to save our clients even more money on annual premiums while consistently improving coverages.
Last year, in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, our team worked tirelessly on behalf of affected FirstService Residential associations. Our program proved to be a positive experience throughout the entire process. By self-adjudicating all insurance claims (that’s insurance lingo for “we are our own decision maker on payment of claims”), FS Insurance Brokers was able to expedite the process and maintain the lowest loss ratios for our associations as compared to other managed properties in Houston. Even better, FSIB’s efforts kept 2018 renewal increases to a very modest 3-5%, well below market averages of 15-20%, and practically unheard of after a major natural disaster!
See below for some highlights of the Texas HOA Program:
Property/Casualty
- Special causes of loss coverage on buildings, contents, loss of income, and extra expense
- In-house claims settlement authority
- Increased backup of sewer and drain protection
- Pollutant clean-up and removal
- Abuse and molestation coverage included
Fidelity
- Covers board member, committee member and employee for theft, forgery, computer fraud and more
- Property Manager included
Umbrella
- Offers $5,000,0000 limit; no deductible
- Full limit available for each association
- Coverage sits excess of liability coverages including directors & officers and workers’ comp
- Defense costs do not impact limits
Directors & Officers
- Broadest coverage form that includes “Insured vs. Insured”
- Protects personal liability & assets of board members and their spouses/domestic partners
- Prior acts coverage; No retroactive date
- Defense costs do not impact limits
- Monetary and non-monetary claims covered
- Option to select legal counsel
- Optional privacy breach coverage to protect homeowner in case of personally identifiable information theft
Workers Compensation
- Coverage for all volunteers including board and committee members
- Protects association from claims of injured employees of uninsured vendors & contractors