I have been a condominium owner in Jupiter for five years. Over that period our condo’s property insurance has doubled, as well as our reserve contributions. Fortunately, we have not had any assessments, and our condo has completed its Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) requirement.
During the same period, the market value and replacement cost of our condo have doubled.
A February 5 column published in The Palm Beach Post suggested that these increases for all Palm Beach County condos are due to climate change, and that county and state officials should act. Your opinion ignores both science and math, and does not suggest a solution to mitigate projected costs.
Concrete buildings have a service life of 50-100 years. In coastal and snow/salt environments, it tends to be closer to 50 years and the concrete needs to be well-maintained. As the Surfside condo collapse confirmed, many condo associations chose not to maintain their structure, which can end in a catastrophe.
When owners defer maintenance, isn’t it reasonable to expect a bigger bill in the future? Owners have been “holding the bag” with their own money for years.
Inexplicably, your opinion blames climate change and the lack of action in Tallahassee for crumbling concrete of poorly maintained buildings. There is no connection, but you don’t stop there. “Insurance lobbyists”, while a convenient punching bag, have never encouraged deferred maintenance.
While no one likes higher bills for insurance that you hope not to use, the math is simple. If you insured a building with a replacement cost of $100 for $x dollars, the price will be $2x when the replacement cost doubles. And if the building is in a poor state of maintenance with bad concrete or a roof membrane that hasn’t been maintained, the risk of claims increases. Should insurance companies not be allowed to price these risks, or should they leave the state?
If Tallahassee was able to make Florida 100% green next year, is there any science that shows where this would influence climate change? And to the premise of your opinion, would it mitigate increases to retirees’ condo fees?
Requiring structural integrity reviews and condo reserves to pay for what you use was a proper decision. In my opinion, the schedule for fully-funded reserves was too aggressive and should have been phased in. But eventually, the cost to live in beachfront condos will likely exceed what a moderate-income retiree can afford.
“You never let a serious crisis go to waste,” but you need to find a better bogeyman.
Clifford Eby is a resident of Jupiter. He wrote this for The Palm Beach Post.