It’s no secret the Atlanta Georgia condo market is on fire. From Downtown, Midtown, Buckhead, and even Dunwoody they are going up as fast as interest rates and gas prices. This means a lot of new to high rise building neighbors, and people who may not be aware of all the possible insurance claims that are plaguing both new and old buildings throughout Atlanta.
Yes, your building new, or old should most likely have an insurance policy, but that’s not for you. The buildings insurance policy only covers what the building itself is responsible for. Things like the building itself of course, should there be a fire, lighting strike, liability issues in the common areas, but that will do little for you, and your stuff inside your unit. On top of that, your high rise buildings policy deductible may be as high as $10,000, $25,000, or even a $100,000. These policies aren’t designed for the small claims, but the big problems building can have.
If you have your own Kitchen fire, tub overflow, or pipe under the sink burst open the building policy, and management will say “you’re on your own”. What’s worse is in a high-rise condo it’s very easy to cause damage to other units besides your own, and never mean it, or even know it. The old saying “fire goes up, and water goes down” could never be more true than in a high rise condo.
Recently a Midtown Atlanta client of Georgia Best Quote Insurance had a poorly connected water line going to the icemaker, and it was estimated to be leaking months before anyone even knew. A neighbor 3 floors directly below noticed moisture coming through the back of a closet wall and called building management. Management notified all adjoining units and called in a water remediation company to assess the source and damage. In total 5 different residences had water damage, 3 of which had severe mold damage, and needed remediation.
Lucky the unit owner who had the leak had $500,000 of liability coverage on his condo policy, over the regular $300,000 that many condo owners purchased on their policy. That one condo unit owner was liable to pay for everyone’s damage, and without good coverage, it would have been a whole different story. High rises in Atlanta may be trendy and gaining popularity, but remember, insurance claims can find you from 10 units away.
Even more important, not everyone carries condo insurance, and event those that do, may not have enough. Your home, weather a house, a condo, or even an apartment, make sure you keep it safe, with great insurance coverage. Make sure you use an independent agent that can shop lots of companies to match you with the best companies.