When the property manager changes, a thousand things change hands: keys, codes, the books, matters in progress. Insurance is typically pushed to the end of the list – yet if it gets lost in the handover, the building may be confronted with it at the worst possible moment: at a claim, or at a missed renewal date. This article is the insurance chapter of a handover: what the new manager should take over, item by item.
- The insurance minimum for a handover: the policy and the terms, the premium payment status, the renewal date, the claims history, the claims in progress and the contacts.
- The most common handover casualties: a forgotten premium instalment, a missed renewal date, lost claims documentation.
- A change is also an opportunity: the new manager can look at the building's insurance with fresh eyes – with a full review.
The handover list: six items
1. The policy and the terms – the current, effective version, together with any endorsements. 2. The premium payment status – when the last payment was made, when the next instalment falls due, on what schedule the building pays; arrears endanger the cover, which makes this the most time-sensitive item (details: the article on premium payment). 3. The renewal date – the date itself, and what needs to be done around it. 4. The claims history – the list of claims from recent years, because it will be needed both for quotes and at renewal. 5. The claims in progress – with case numbers, current status and the correspondence. 6. The contacts – the insurer's details and the broker, if there is one.
The typical handover accidents
Three recurring cases. The forgotten premium: in the confusion of the handover the transfer or the payment slip is missed, and the cover can lapse once the grace period runs out – without anyone noticing. The missed renewal: the new manager does not know about the notice period, and the building is stuck for a year with a policy it no longer wants (the rules: the article on switching). And the lost documentation: without the claim photos and correspondence left on the previous manager's computer, a case in progress runs aground. All three can be prevented – with a tidy insurance file.
The change as an opportunity
A new manager's fresh eye is valuable: in the first months after the handover it is worth reviewing the building's insurance in full – are the sums right, is every necessary cover in force, when was the last time quotes were compared. This is not distrust towards a predecessor but a responsible start; the article on reviewing an existing policy describes how it goes. And if the building has a broker, a short conversation at the handover puts everything in place: the new manager receives from me a summary of the state of the building's insurance – I keep the handover list too.
The legal frame, briefly
The rules of the handover and the duties of the property manager are governed by condominium law and by the organisational and operational rules (SZMSZ) – the legal procedure is not the subject of this article; the list of insurance items, on the other hand, can be used as an annex to any handover record. A related situation is the replacement of the management company: that has an article of its own, a change of managing agent and the policy.
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