Last month, I was fortunate to attend the CAI Annual Conference in Las Vegas. I attended several educational sessions, as well as a “shoptalk” session with insurance professionals from across the country. I wanted to share some takeaways that I thought relevant.

Updated Reserve Study Standards
Standards for reserve studies and what should be included in them have been revised and were published in spring of 2023. Major changes included that components are no longer restricted to physical items, so things like electrical panel inspections and building services may qualify as a reserve expense. They also noted that if items do not appear on your reserve study (for example, electrical panel replacements), you can request that they be added.

Winning the Hard Insurance Market Game
While most of the information in this concurrent session was not news to us, it was reassuring to hear that our experiences are common across the US. Higher property damage deductibles, lower sub-limits, and proposals and renewals arriving at the very last minute are all common frustrations reported across the nation. While most of these things we have no control over, they made several recommendations on things we can control, including:

• Policies for requiring water heater replacements, dryer vent cleaning, and chimney inspections and cleaning
• Reserve study updates
• Not deferring preventative maintenance
• Updating aging infrastructures
• Creating firebreaks (in high wildfire hazard areas)
• Creating a Risk Management Plan
• Having a certified insurance appraisal conducted

The Rippling Consequences of Aging Infrastructure
This session actually took aspects of the prior two and wrapped them in a nice little bow. They also discussed how legislation is being added in many states (starting with Florida) regarding structural inspections. In addition to the very well-known issues with recalled electrical panels, aluminum wiring and galvanized plumbing, carriers are taking issue with asbestos, lead paint, deferred maintenance, and outdated safety and security measures.

Managing Technology – Understanding Risks & Evolving with Them
This session discussed the different types of cyber liability insurance and crime coverage. The number of ways data and money are being stolen is growing, and most community associations are not insured for such losses.

Shop Talk for Insurance and Risk Management Professionals
This was a time for the CIRMS (Community Insurance Risk Management Specialist) group to get together and compare notes. We all are experiencing the same frustrations (as noted above) and it was comforting to know we were not alone. We also had a group picture taken with all the CIRMS present. There are currently 123 active, according to CAI, and 22 of them gathered for a group photo.

Terri Guest, CIRMS, CMCA, (CA License #0F92313) is the Director of Client Experience & Education for Berg Insurance Agency in partnership with LaBarre/Oksnee and can be reached at Terri@berginsurance.com.