Master planned communities continue to pop up everywhere around Texas. These communities offer lots of amenities like pools, water slides, playgrounds, golf courses, and other cool things like s'mores fire pits! Who wouldn't want to live in a community like that? Those communities come with a price tag that includes Homeowners Association dues to cover the expenses that those amenities generate. What happens if they have a cash shortfall to take care of something?
What Is An HOA Special Assessment?
Properly functioning home owners associations issue assessments periodically to their members. The funds collected from these assessments provide the liquidity required to cover ongoing expenses like maintenance, repairs, insurance, and other items. This money will typically also produce a reserve amount to cover anything that is larger than expected. However, some times there are certain bills that come up that the reserve will not be able to cover. This is when your HOA can issue what is known as a special assessment to cover these costs.
These bills are created from events that can range from something as simple as a major pool refinishing on up to a car crashing into a major structure requiring replacement that ends up costing more than the auto insurance limits. When these come up, the cost is spread across all members and can be as little as $500 on up to thousands of dollars. And for condo associations, roof deductibles on hail claims can make these amounts When the cost begins to creep up, the member has to determine the best path of paying the bill.
Can I Insure Against These HOA Special Assessments?
The bottom line is that you can find relief for these special assessments on your Texas Home Insurance policy. Many of the home insurance companies offer at least minimal Loss Assessment coverage as part of their base plan or the ability to add up to $25,000 or more on either your homeowners insurance or your condo insurance policy. While you may not want to make a claim against Loss Assessment for smaller amounts, you absolutely have the right to do so! But remember, small claims can lead to big rate increases later which can potentially leave you with a bigger bill and fewer options to find a new home insurance policy.
If you aren't sure whether or not you have Loss Assessment coverage on your Texas Home Insurance policy, do a review with your Independent Insurance Agent today. The agents at Insurance For Texans can help you find the right combination of great coverage and great price to make sure that your family is properly protected whether your worried about hail, water, or special assessments from your HOA!
