13 Articles
03/11/2021
November 3, 2021— It is clear that confusion still persists today with the concepts of market value and insurance value. Indeed, many people and stakeholders in the real estate field do not distinguish between these two values, as well as between the concepts of replacement cost and reproduction cost, or even between the cost of new construction and the cost of reconstruction. But, first of all, how to distinguish the market value from the insurance…...
12/10/2023
Collectively, we owned the old Champlain Bridge. We neglected it for years, pumped money into it to keep it afloat in its final days, and eventually had to shell out more than 4 billion to cross the same shore, using the same access routes. Can we draw a parallel to co-ownership? While it may seem logical to think that low co-ownership fees are an advantage and high co-ownership fees are a disadvantage for a buyer…...
09/08/2022
Your co-ownership is exposed to various risks, as an example, fires, water damages, theft and acts of vandalism, which are required to be insured against. When a loss occurs, the insurance of a co-ownership covers the building as well as the general liability of the syndicate of co-owners. For the syndicate, subscribing to this type of insurance is mandatory. The law and most Acts of co‑ownership require it. The insurance contract specifies the coverages offered,…...
14/08/2023
The smoke clears, the air cools. The hot summer of 2023 will soon be behind us, and the boreal forest is not complaining. At the time of writing, an area a hundred times larger than the annual average in Quebec was devastated by the historic fires of the summer of 2023. Even though many people's vacations were quite wet, fires are still raging in many places in Quebec, Canada, and around the world....
10/09/2024
Managing a co-ownership involves many responsibilities, among which loss prevention is essential. Among the risks most feared by directors, co-owners, managers and insurers, water damage occupies a prominent place. Indeed, a water leak, if not detected in time, can cause considerable damage, both material and financial. In addition to repair costs, water damage can lead to interruptions in the daily lives of residents, disputes between the syndicate and the offending co-owners and a deterioration in the…...
16/04/2023
The life of the co-ownership is not only of interest to its owners and occupants, but also to their insurers. This is all the more true since it is known to all that condominium disasters are numerous: water leak, water damages, vandalism, fire, etc. Let's go back to the basics of property insurance. The Syndicate is required to take out insurance covering the common portions, the private portions (excluding improvements made to them) and movable…...
04/07/2023
No one on earth is now old enough to have experienced the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906, the oldest woman of humanity having been born in 1907. Nevertheless, this great earthquake has marked history, minds and ... insurance....
09/08/2022
October 3, 2021 - When it comes to determining the insurance premium based on the insurance value of a building (for insurance purposes), the broker or insurer will require his client to provide the cost of "reconstruction". Indeed, this premium is established according to the risks which are attributable to the building and the premises, but also according to the cost of reconstruction. We obviously understand that after a disaster we have to rebuild the…...
05/11/2021
November 10, 2021 - It's well known, Covid has been blamed for a lot. Your favorite restaurant is now closed three days a week? It's because of Covid. There's a two-hour wait to talk to a representative at a call center? It's because of Covid. Is there a chlorine shortage for the pool? It's Covid's fault. Hurry up and buy your winter tires, Christmas toys, and storage cabinet because all of this might soon be…...
01/10/2024
Recently, I was confronted with a situation that raises important questions regarding insurance in divided co-ownership. After a loss caused by torrential rains, a co-owner refused to allow the contractor designated by the insurer to intervene in their private portion, preferring to hire their own contractor. This case led me to reflect on several issues: Can the co-owner refuse the contractor proposed by the insurer or the syndicate of co-owners? What are the possible alternatives…...