Many in our industry attend the Law Seminars put on by The California Association of Community Managers (CACM) in Northern and Southern California. This year’s theme is “Grand Adventure”.” When embarking on a grand adventure, the Berg Insurance folks believe it is best to “be prepared.”

In our last edition, we talked about resolutions for the new year. I would like to elaborate on a couple of those in the spirit of “being prepared” for 2024.

The first resolution was to increase your insurance budget. Most budgets are already done for 2024 and if you didn’t include an increase, you may be in for a shock when you get your insurance renewal. If your renewal premium is over budget, you may need to consider a special assessment to pay the premium or reducing coverage (if allowed by your governing documents and state law). You may also consider a mid-year budget revision that reflects the correct amount of the insurance costs. Remember, you can only make these sorts of revisions if your original budget was presented to the community in compliance with California Civil Code, so consulting your attorney might be a good plan.

Another resolution had to do with aging infrastructures. If your community is over 25 years old, don’t wait for your insurance professional to ask for information. Start gathering it now so you are prepared well before your renewal.

• If your buildings have electrical components that are on the “bad” list, hire an electrician to conduct an inspection as well as get proposals for replacements. Last I heard, 18 months is the minimum wait for replacement panels right now. Get this inspected ASAP because the LAST thing you want is to have someone’s home burn down in the middle of the night, putting lives at risk. Also, an inspection report showing no current issues will help your insurance professional ease the concerns of underwriters.

• Gather information on your roofs – warranties, permits, dates of last replacements and updates – underwriters have asked for this information for every account I’ve submitted lately.

• Confirm if your plumbing is galvanized, copper or PEX pipes. Consult a plumbing professional if needed.

• Make a list of life safety components in your community. Does every unit have a smoke detector? How about a carbon monoxide detector? Are they battery or hard-wired? Are there fire alarms? Are they monitored? How about fire sprinklers? Have they received their 5-year inspection certification?

As you embark on what is sure to be the “Grand Adventure” of 2024, we encourage you to Be Prepared. One way to do that is to visit Berg Insurance at booth 610 in the Northern California CACM Law Seminar on February 8-9 in Oakland, or booth 308 on February 29 & March 1st in Anaheim. You can earn your very own “Insurance Merit Badge,” pick up some cool goodies, and enter our raffle!

Terri Guest, CIRMS, CMCA, EBP, is the Northern California Senior Sales & Marketing Representative for Berg Insurance Agency and may be contacted at Terri@berginsurance.com.