Live & Life in Palmas New October Edition 2021

AT ECONO HUMACAO!!
Steve Santiago, Kathy Burleson, Esteban Santiago, Cecilia Virsida,
Rafael Nigaglioni your local Insurance brokers
UNDERSTANDING THE BAREWALL...
Dra. Grisely Soto Ortiz • Dra. Iliana Alvarado Díaz
• Costa del Mar
• Lamb • GX
• BCBG
• RayBan
• Kenneth Cole
• Guess
• Carrera
• Oakley
• Tom Ford
• Swarovsky
• Prada • Dolce
Gabbana
• Line Art
• Michael Kors
• Marc Jacobs
•Tiffany
• Primary Eye Care
• Complete Eye Exam
• Glaucoma and Diabetic
Retinopathy Screening by
Certified Optometrist
• Contact Lenses
• Great Selection
in Sunglasses
All Mayor Health Plans Accepted
Open Monday to Friday
9:00AM to 6:00PM
Saturday 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM
939.428.1140 • 787.852.2125 • 787.266.8855
877.496.5503 (fax) email: asoptical@live.com
asopticalvisualclinic
As the end of the year approaches, we want to revise the insurance needs
of people who live and/or own an apartment in a condo or a walk-up
complex. The basic difference from the people who own houses, is the
property structural coverage. When you buy an apartment the property insurance
you pay for, forms a part of a master policy that covers the whole
building structure. As an apartment owner, there are various insurance
needs regarding your property that need to be taken into consideration.
First, you need to find out the type of master policy your condo has covering
the buildings. It could be Full Value or Barewalls coverage. Full Value
will include everything structural that came originally with your apartment,
so if you made renovations, those will need to be insured separately. If the
master policy is Barewalls, then you need to know about original private
elements. These are all the added furnishings that came originally with
your apartment. Such as: bathtubs, showers, toilets, videts, sinks, vanities,
floor and wall tiles, kitchen cabinets and countertops, closet doors
and shelves, fascias, among others.
The “Barewall” policy covers the buildings (including your apartment)
and common areas of the condominium, but excludes said original privative
elements – so it is the responsibility of each unit owner to insure the
property that is excluded in a Barewall policy.
Your condo’s resident association should have the information on the
value of the original private elements of your apartment. In order for you
to get a quote, you need to know the limit (value in dollars) that you’re
responsible for. Your condo’s association needs to have a valuation done
on the building every two years, and it should include the value of the
original private elements. Also, make sure to ask for the insurance company
name and policy number of the master policy in your condo.
There is a difference between original privative elements and improvements
(renovations). When an owner remodels and makes changes to
the original privative elements, that property must be covered under Additional
Improvements coverage. Let’s say for example that you had your
kitchen cabinets remodeled and changed the floor tiles in your living
room. Those are not considered original anymore and have to be insured
as an additional improvement.
Once you have the value of the original privative elements of your apartment,
and the master policy number and name of the insurance company,
we can offer you a quote for a HO-6 policy, designed specifically for this
purpose, or as an alternative, if you have a personal “package” policy
currently active with us, we can quote you an endorsement covering your
original privative elements with a broader coverage. Please note that both
alternatives above apply as long as your property is located farther than a
thousand feet from the coast line.
You can always give us a call to answer questions about your policies or
to get a quote that fits your needs, free of commitment. At Palmas Insurance
we are here to serve you.
Call us for more information at 787-850-9209
or send us an email at palmasinsurance@outlook.com