Recently, Community Associations Institute (CAI) held their annual Law Seminar, where members gather together to learn about recent legal cases as well as earn continuing education credits.. Several LaBarre/Oksnee employees, including myself, Michael Berg, Kimberly Lilley, and Cole Adams flew to San Antonio to attend the conference and offered their notes toward this recap. Some of us also enjoyed the Riverwalk, hence the photo.

• “A key takeaway for me was the new FHFA appointment and the likelihood that Fannie/Freddie will loosen requirements on deductible percentages which will greatly open up the market.” Cole Adams, Senior Vice President

• “From the PR Nightmares session, Jame McCormick dropped something I hadn’t heard. In California, new legislation prohibits an HOA from retaliating against someone who posts on a social media website. So, let’s assume someone posts a complaint about the board on Nextdoor then the association issues a fine to that owner for a legitimate reason. It could be seen as a retaliation and expose the HOA to a D&O claim.” Michael Berg, Vice President of Education & Company Culture

• “During one of the case law sessions, they discussed Blakeney Preserve HOA v. Hanover Insurance. A wind/hailstorm caused damage to an association roof. Hanover agreed to pay to fix the storm damage, but the association wanted them to REPLACE all of the roofs (because they were old). That did not fly with the courts. We have great case low to support what we’ve been telling folks for years: insurance is NOT a maintenance contract!” Kimberly Lilley, Director of Advocacy, PR & Marketing

• “’Hazard creep’ is resulting in terms like ‘100-year’ and ‘500-year flood zones’ no longer being accurate. Climate change has altered hazard zones across several different types of perils including flood, wildfire, named windstorms, etc.” Terri Guest, Director of Client Experience and Education

Of course, the Law Seminar delivers several learning opportunities, but it also delivers a lot of peer learning opportunities. That is, we get a chance to chat with others in our field and gain insight that might help us be better at what we do. Plus, there is a chance to connect with colleagues and carrier representatives that we don’t see often. Gathering information from them is quite helpful as well. For example, we learned that the insurance market in Florida is improving. This is great news because California insurance trends often follow what happens in Florida.

As you know, we are BIG supporters of education. That goes not only for educating our clients, but also for ourselves and our employees. Next up – Michael Berg and Terri Guest will be guests on a webinar with Adrian Adams and Adams | Stirling Law on Tuesday 3/4, Michael Berg will be presenting at the CAI Bay/Cen Educational Summit and Kimberly Lilley and Terri Guest will be presenting at the CAI Annual Conference in Orlando Florida!

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