One of the most needed types of insurance coverage by many condominium owners is also one of the most commonly overlooked, or even known about.  It's called Ordinance or Law Coverage.  As your home becomes older certain changes in your county's building codes and ordinance change to reflect new standards for home construction.  If your older property suffers a substantial loss, fixing it may require a higher construction standard to reflect new laws, therefore simply replacing your home as it was just isn't good enough to meet these new laws and codes.  

Let's say, for example, your home was built in 1972 and the building code called for your home to be built 5 feet off the ground, and in 1993 the building ordinance was upgraded to call for the same building to be 10 feet above the ground following a minor flood a few years earlier. Complying with this code requires a change in design and building materials, and will incur substantial additional costs for labor and materials. 

As this occurs the cost of replacing your dwelling is greatly increased.  If these new laws are not met during re-construction the codes inspector must stop construction and name the dwelling as uninhabitable until such time as these building standards are properly met.  If your insurance doesn't cover this increase in government standards then you risk being in a "catch 22" situation where you will have to pay for these upgrades before completing the repairs and resuming residence.

As your independent insurance specialists we may offer many types of policies from many different insurers.  Although the companies we represent have different ways of offering coverage for ordinance or law based upon costs and inclusions, you need to be aware of your policy's specific protection value.  Please review your policy to find out exactly what it offers for ordinance or law coverage, or contact us to help in your personal policy review.