Deductible and uncovered amount in condominium policies

In a condominium policy the deductible is a fixed sum that always remains with the insured, while the uncovered amount is a percentage of the loss that the company does not pay. Both reduce the indemnity: the uncovered part falls on the condominium and is shared among owners according to the criteria of the expense that caused the damage. Knowing these mechanisms in advance lets the administrator estimate the real outlay and explain it clearly at the meeting.

The deductible: a fixed sum borne by the insured

The deductible is a predetermined amount in the policy that is subtracted from the indemnity due. If, for example, the assessed damage is 3,000 euro and the deductible is 500 euro, the company pays 2,500 euro and the remaining 500 stays with the condominium. If the damage is lower than or equal to the deductible, the company pays nothing. The deductible serves to exclude small claims, often costly to manage, and to contain the premium: policies with a higher deductible generally carry a lower premium but leave more damage with the owners.

The uncovered amount: a percentage of the loss

The uncovered amount is expressed as a percentage of the loss, often with a guaranteed minimum. With a 10 percent uncovered amount on damage of 3,000 euro, the condominium bears 300 euro and the company pays 2,700. Unlike the deductible, which is fixed, the uncovered amount grows as the damage grows, so on major claims the uncovered share can be substantial. Many policies combine a percentage uncovered amount with a minimum in euro: the greater of the two applies.

Deductible and uncovered amount compared

• The deductible is a fixed amount, the uncovered amount is a variable percentage
• Below the deductible threshold the company pays nothing; the uncovered amount always leaves a share on every covered claim
• High deductibles or uncovered amounts lower the premium but increase the risk borne by the condominium
• On large losses the uncovered amount weighs more than the deductible; on small losses the opposite is true
• Some accessory covers have their own deductibles or uncovered amounts, different from those of the main cover

Who pays the uncovered part

The uncovered share is a condominium expense in every respect. If it stems from damage to the common parts, it is shared among owners with the criteria applicable to that specific part: for example by general thousandths (millesimi), or by special tables when the asset serves only part of the building. If the damage concerns a system serving only some units, the uncovered part follows the same allocation logic as the related expense. The administrator must therefore identify the criterion correctly, because incorrectly allocating the residual share is a frequent cause of dispute.

How to assess deductible and uncovered amount before signing

When choosing the policy the meeting should look not only at the premium but at the relationship between premium, limits, deductibles and uncovered amounts. A cheap policy with high uncovered amounts can prove costly at the first serious claim. It is useful to ask the broker for a simulation on some typical building scenarios, for example flooding from a burst pipe or storm damage, to see how much would actually remain with the owners. Transparency on these figures lets the meeting resolve with awareness.

Accounting for the share borne by the condominium

When the company settles the damage, the administrator records the indemnity received, the restoration costs and the difference left uncovered. The latter is charged to the financial year and shared among owners in the statement. Keeping these entries separate avoids confusion between the full cost of the repair and the share actually paid by participants. A management software such as AmministraPro allows the claim to be linked to invoices, the uncovered share to be calculated automatically and distributed with the correct thousandths criterion, with full traceability for the meeting: the features are described on /funzioni and the plans on /prezzi.