Pay it as a common expense
The association pays the deductible out of its own budget, which every owner funds through assessments. No single owner gets a separate bill for it.
Keep the board's notice of how the deductible was paid.
Condo insurance claims in Chicago: your claim next to the association's
When water or fire damages a condo unit, two insurers pay for one loss. The association's master policy is adjusted with the board. Your own unit-owner policy is yours to claim, and that is the claim I file and negotiate for you as a licensed Illinois public adjuster.
"Any loss covered by the property policy under subdivision (a)(1) must be adjusted by and with the association."
Volodymyr Lukaniuk
Public adjuster IL #19461872 and IN #3556317. Licensed general contractor. The consultation and the inspection are free.
+1 224-481-2095
Two claims run at the same time
The top row belongs to your board. The bottom row is the work I do for you, from the first call to the payment. Who pays for which layer of the unit is set out in my guide to water from the condo above.
Report
Inspection
Scope
Agreement
Payment
The association's claim
ReportThe board or the management company reports the loss to the master policy insurer.
InspectionThat insurer's adjuster looks at the building and at the bare walls, floors and ceilings of the units hit.
ScopeThe scope covers common elements, such as risers and hallways, and the bare surfaces inside units.
AgreementThe amount is settled with the association, because section 12(g) says so.
PaymentThe money goes to the association or its insurance trustee and is spent first on common elements and bare surfaces.
Your claim, with me
ReportYou report the loss to your own insurer. I read your policy and your declaration before anyone tears out a floor.
InspectionI photograph every room and measure what was damaged: flooring, cabinets, paint, trim, fixtures, belongings.
ScopeI price your layers as a licensed general contractor, plus your contents and the cost of living elsewhere if the unit cannot be used.
AgreementI negotiate that scope with your insurer, line by line against its estimate.
PaymentYour insurer pays you for the parts the association's money does not reach.
I do not take over the association's claim. I keep its scope in the same file as yours, so the line between the two policies is drawn once. Nothing gets left in the gap, and nothing gets claimed twice.
The master policy deductible: three things your board may do
Section 12(c) of the Condominium Property Act gives the board of managers these choices for a claim on a unit or the common elements. Your bylaws or a board rule may already say which one it uses.
Charge the owner where the damage started
After notice and a chance for a hearing, the board may charge the owner who caused the damage, or the owner of the unit where the loss began. This is the route where the cause of the leak or fire decides who gets the bill.
Keep the plumber's report naming the part that failed and the units it serves. I write down the cause of loss as I find it, before the hearing.
Split it among the damaged units
The board may require the owners of the units that were damaged to pay the deductible themselves. Each owner then looks to their own policy for that amount.
Keep the board's written decision and the deductible shown on the master policy declarations page.
What I do for a condo unit owner
I read your unit-owner policy next to the declaration, to find where your building drew the line between bare walls and finishes.
I inspect the unit and the source. For a burst pipe or a leak from above, the same documentation that a water damage claim needs; after a kitchen fire, what a fire damage claim needs, smoke included.
I price flooring, cabinets, appliances, paint and trim at what it costs to put them back in your building, with its elevator, parking and working hours.
I file your claim and negotiate it. If your insurer has already paid less than the repair costs, it works the way an underpaid claim does: the scope is reopened with the missing lines.
If the board charges you the deductible, I put the cause-of-loss evidence in writing for you, and I check your own policy for a line that may pay that charge.
The consultation and the inspection are free. If we work together, my fee is a percentage of what your insurer pays, written into a signed contract before I start.
On the board of your building?
The master policy claim is a claim on a building the association manages: roof, risers, hallways and the bare surfaces of every unit. That work is on my commercial property claims page, with the reports a board can follow.
Send me what you have before I visit the unit
Most owners have half of this on the first day. That is enough to start.
Useful on the first call
- The declarations page of your unit-owner policy.
- Any letter from the board or the management company about the loss or the deductible.
- Photos of ceilings, floors and cabinets taken before cleanup.
- The estimate your insurer sent, if one came.
Mon–Fri 7 AM–7 PM, Sat–Sun 9 AM–5 PM
Condo owners ask me these first
A public adjuster works for the policyholder and does not practise law. What you are paid is set by your policies and your declaration, and this page promises no outcome.
- Can I hire a public adjuster for my unit if the association already opened a claim?
- Yes, for your own unit-owner policy. The claim on the master policy is adjusted with the association under section 12(g) of the Condominium Property Act, so the claim I file and negotiate for you is the one on your HO-6.
- Does the master policy pay for the kitchen I put in?
- Only if your association chose to insure owner upgrades. Section 12(b) does not require it, and it lists built-in cabinets and appliances installed by owners among the things that belong to the unit owner. Your declaration and the master policy show which way your building went.
- Who pays the master policy deductible after a leak?
- Your board decides. Section 12(c) lets it pay the deductible as a common expense, charge it after notice and a hearing to the owner who caused the damage or where it started, or require the owners of the damaged units to pay it.