This month’s Coverage Corner comes to us from Tracie at Associa Northern California: “A company re-roofed two buildings at an association and has since gone out of business. It was recently discovered that they omitted necessary flashing. Does the HOA have any recourse?”

The answer is “YES!” This is the exact reason why you get certificates of insurance from each contractor and have then name the association as an additional insured. From the certificate, you can find out who their insurance agent or broker is and contact them to file a liability claim. If the agent is not willing to file the claim for you, you can go directly to the insurance carrier listed on the certificate.

Remember that, in addition to the certificate of insurance, you should also request a copy of the endorsement showing that the association is named as an additional insured on the policy. This is really the “proof” that the association has been named on the policy by the insurance carrier.

Understand that this is a general liability claim, not a bond claim. Bonds are for money, not work. If you paid the contractor and they didn’t do the work, then the bond would help get your money back. It doesn’t pay for damages or poor workmanship. Also, General Liability policies are “occurrence” policies, meaning that as long as the insurance was in effect when the work was being completed, you should be covered.

Terri Guest is the Northern California Sales & Marketing Representative for Berg Insurance Agency and can be reached at Terri@berginsurance.com. Have an insurance question? Ask Terri and your question may be the subject of next month’s edition of Coverage Corner! If your question is picked, you will win a gift card!