Storm and catastrophic events in the condominium building policy

Cover for storm and catastrophic events is the condominium policy guarantee that responds for damage to the building caused by natural phenomena. Typical storm events include strong wind, hail, tornadoes and snow load; catastrophic events include earthquake, flood and inundation. In the global building policy these guarantees are usually optional extensions, not automatically included in the basic cover: for this very reason they must be requested and sized with care, taking into account the area and the building's features.

Storm events: what the cover includes

The storm events cover pays for direct material damage to the building caused by phenomena such as wind, hail, tornado, rainfall of exceptional intensity and, often as a separate item, snow load on roofs. These are the most frequent among damages of natural origin: torn-off tiles, broken skylights, damaged roofing, seepage following bad weather. The cover usually specifies a threshold of intensity of the phenomenon for it to operate and may exclude damage due to pre-existing maintenance defects, distinguishing the exceptional event from mere deterioration.

Catastrophic events: earthquake and flood

Catastrophic guarantees cover damage from earthquake, flood and inundation, traditionally excluded from the basic cover. They are important extensions in seismic or hydrogeological risk areas, where a single event can compromise the entire building. Given the potential size of the damage, these guarantees usually have specific limits, deductibles and uncovered amounts, sometimes higher than those of the other covers. The assessment should start from the risk classification of the territory where the building stands.

Typical exclusions and limits

Guarantees for natural events also have precise boundaries that are worth knowing before a claim. Recurring exclusions include several situations.

• Damage from wear, construction defects or maintenance shortcomings pre-existing the event
• Damage to buildings that do not comply with applicable construction or anti-seismic rules
• Phenomena below the intensity threshold provided by the storm guarantee
• Indirect damage, such as loss of use of the property, unless specific extensions apply
• Assets and parts expressly excluded, such as certain accessory or temporary structures

How to size the cover for the condominium

Sizing starts from three elements: the risk area, the reconstruction value of the building and the building's vulnerability. A condominium in a flood-prone area has an interest in good flood cover, while in a seismic area the priority is earthquake cover. Limits that are too low leave the most costly part of the damage uncovered precisely in the major events, the ones for which the cover really matters. Under-insurance of the value must also be avoided, because the proportional rule would reduce the indemnity even on these claims. The comparison between proposals must consider premium, limits and deductibles together.

Maintenance and prevention reduce the risk

Insurance cover does not replace prevention. Roofs and coverings in good condition, clean gutters and downpipes, efficient drainage systems reduce damage from storm events and strengthen the condominium's position in the event of a dispute over the origin of the damage. Documentation of the maintenance carried out is useful to demonstrate that the damage derives from the exceptional event and not from neglect, an element that guarantees tend to distinguish carefully. Prevention and insurance work together in the building's risk management.

Keeping policies, risks and deadlines together

To decide which extensions to activate, the administrator needs an ordered picture of the covers in place, past claims and deadlines. A management software such as AmministraPro allows the policy to be archived with its catastrophic guarantees, the maintenance register of roofs and coverings to be kept, claims to be linked to their files and renewals to be monitored, so as to present the meeting with proposals based on concrete data: the features are described on /funzioni and the plans, suited both to the small practice and to the portfolio with many condominiums, on /prezzi.