BUILDING INSURANCE

The Law of Ownership, among other things, regulates management-related issues in residential buildings. Here are some of the most important obligations prescribed for the homeowners by law:

  • forming a communal reserve
  • appointing a communal representative within whose authority there lies the task of negotiating a „suitable insurance “

The notion of „suitable insurance “stands for insurance from fire and other dangers, as well as from responsibility towards third parties.

Most of the insurance companies, in their Special Conditions offer:

  • Insurance of a residential building from fire and other dangers, based on NEW VALUE

This kind of insurance covers damage from:

Basic dangers:

Fire and thunderbolts,

Explosions, except explosions from nuclear energy,

Storms,

Hail,

Impact of a personal vehicle or working machine into an insured construction object,

Fall and impact of an aircraft,

Manifestation and demonstration.

Additional dangers (arranged with the insurance company of choice along with the basic), from which we emphasize:

Outburst of water from plumbing or sewage system,

Floods and torrents,

Landslides and landslips.

Insurance on „NEW VALUE “, that is, on the amount suited for the price of constructing a new building, is convenient for the insurer (policy holder), because the amortization (deterioration) is not subtracted from the compensation calculation.

  • Responsibility insurance for the owners (homeowners), for owning and usage of communal and special parts of the residential building, towards third parties

This insurance covers the damage made towards bodies and health of third parties or damage to their things. Homeowners are also considered to be third parties, unless the damage to the homeowner(s) was made by collective responsibility of all homeowners.

(For example, falling of the roofing tile or chimney onto a car of one of the homeowners, is not considered to be compensable damage, because all the homeowners are responsible for communal parts of the building.

Contrary to this, there is the case of a flower pot falling from one apartment on to the car of another homeowner from the same building. This kind of damage would be compensated via responsibility of the flower pot owner from using the apartment as a special part of the building.)

But, because of the interest vested by the homeowners, within the Special Conditions there is a need for expanding insurance to:

  • Insuring communal installations and appliances of the building from breakage and other dangers

Objects of insuring from such dangers can be:

Communal plumbing and sewage networks,

Communal central heating installations, without the boiler room,

Communal electrical installations,

Communal boiler room, which is co-owned by the condominium homeowners,

Elevators as a whole or just the electrical motors of the elevator, or just the engine

room equipment.

  • Insuring glass from breakage in communal parts of the building
  • Insuring contents of the homes of the condominium homeowners (co-owners)
  • Insuring from breakage of glass on windows and doors of the apartment, as well as partition walls (this insurance goes along only with previous insurance on contents of the home)