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Insurance needed for property, liability

BY DAVID MACK

Q. My husband and I are first-time condo owners. What insurance do we need? This is our primary residence.

A. Insurance for condominium units is similar to rental insurance, but it goes beyond that. It provides limited coverage for real property in addition to protection for personal property, such as furnishings and clothing. It also provides liability protection in case a visitor is injured within the dwelling, or if an event in an owner's unit, such as a toilet or bathtub overflow, causes damage to other units.

Under Section 12 of the Illinois Condominium Act, an association can require unit owners to have at least this liability coverage for damage to other units. But many associations have not adopted this requirement.

Individual unit owner condominium insurance is wrapped in what is referred to as an HO 6 policy. If you don't have one, check with your auto insurer since most reputable companies offer discounts for having both auto and property policies. The premiums can vary between insurers, but it is not nearly as expensive as a homeowner's policy on a single-family home.

Associations provide most of the coverage for physical loss in common areas and up to the interior walls of units. Inside that perimeter is where an owner's individual policy kicks in.

To read the rest of the questions and answers section, please visit http://www.chicagosuntimes.com/output/hlife/hof-news-mack16n.html.

The Missing Link In Roof Considerations Preventive maintenance can provide priceless value and protection.

By Michael Finney, D.C. Taylor Co.

What's the one part of a building that's rarely seen and seldom thought about, but it provides protection and security for people, products, and equipment? It's the roof, and for the most part, it's out of sight, out of mind. Like the rest of a building's infrastructure, the roof adds nothing to the bottom line. But if a leak constantly interferes with the people and equipment below, it definitely impacts productivity and profits. Ignoring the roof often leads to premature roof failure, which means water can invade the building and wreak havoc with people, equipment, and productivity. Clearly, regular preventive roofing maintenance should move up higher on the facility professional's list of major priorities.

Getting Priorities Straight

The first rule of preventive maintenance is to protect what's under the roof to make sure the building and everything inside can operate at maximum efficiency—without major disruptions. Every time inventory gets soaked and has to be thrown away or written off, or a worker slips, falls, and files a claim, the roof is no longer out of mind. Roofing peace of mind can even take the form of corporate policy.

"Preventive maintenance is very important to the success of our business," says Bruce Malecha, facilities maintenance technician for the Northfield, MN-based Malt-O-Meal Company. His company has a zero tolerance policy for roof leaks.

"We make every effort to prevent leaks before they start....Our view is that we simply cannot afford roof leaks, because of the way they could impact our business, which is the production of food items," Malecha explains.

To read the rest of this article, please visit http://www.facilitycity.com/tfm/tfm_04_11_news4.asp.