What a Complete Compliance Program Actually Covers
A 190-unit condominium board asked their new property manager to conduct an insurance compliance audit in the first month of the management contract. The audit found three distinct categories of gaps: the association's own master policy had a $500,000 sublimit on water damage that the bylaws required to be $1 million; 9 of 22 active vendor COIs were expired; and 6 vendor COIs had no additional insured language for the association despite the vendor agreements requiring it.
Total estimated uninsured exposure from the identified gaps: over $2 million across three potential loss scenarios. None of the gaps were discovered through the prior management company's compliance process - because the prior process focused on the vendor COI collection and ignored the association's own coverage requirements and the systematic comparison of submitted COIs against the vendor agreements.
This checklist covers all three dimensions: the association's own insurance, contractor COIs, and vendor COIs - and the ongoing management process that keeps compliance current.
Part 1: Association Own Coverage Checklist
The association's master policy and related coverages must meet the requirements set by the master deed, bylaws, and the association's lender (if applicable).
Master Policy (Property)
- Building coverage at replacement cost value (not actual cash value)
- Coverage includes all common elements and building systems
- Unit-level coverage definition matches the bylaws (all-in, bare walls, or original specifications)
- Business personal property covering association-owned contents
- Loss assessment coverage included (for individual unit owners facing special assessments)
- Inflation guard / automatic increase provision in place
General Liability (Association's Own)
- Association's own GL coverage is in force
- Per occurrence and aggregate limits meet or exceed bylaws requirements
- Directors and officers liability coverage in place (protects individual board members)
- D&O coverage includes defense costs outside the limits
- Employment practices liability coverage in place if association has employees
Other Required Coverages
- Fidelity / crime / employee dishonesty coverage meeting statutory minimums or bylaw requirements (covers misappropriation by board members, employees, or management company staff)
- Umbrella / excess liability coverage if required by bylaws or lender
- Flood insurance if required by lender or location (FEMA flood zone)
- Earthquake insurance if in applicable zone and required
- Directors and officers runoff coverage if there has been a recent board change
Lender Requirements (If Applicable)
- Master policy meets Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac guidelines if applicable to unit sales
- Certificate of insurance provided to lenders as required
- Loss payee endorsements in place for lender-required coverage
Part 2: Contractor COI Checklist (Association-Hired Contractors)
Apply this checklist to every contractor hired directly by the association before work begins.
Coverage Completeness
- Commercial general liability - present and occurrence form
- Workers' compensation - statutory; required if contractor has employees
- Employer's liability - limits meet association standard
- Commercial auto - required if contractor uses vehicles on property
- Umbrella / excess - required for Tier 1 (major construction) contracts
Limit Verification
| Coverage | Association Minimum | COI Shows | Pass/Fail |
|---|---|---|---|
| CGL per occurrence | $_____ | $_____ | |
| CGL aggregate | $_____ | $_____ | |
| P&CO aggregate | $_____ | $_____ | |
| WC employer's liability | $_____ | $_____ | |
| Auto CSL | $_____ | $_____ | |
| Umbrella per occ | $_____ | $_____ | |
| Umbrella aggregate | $_____ | $_____ |
(Fill in the applicable minimums from the tier requirements for this contractor type.)
Additional Insured and Endorsements
- Association full legal name appears as additional insured
- AI status is primary and non-contributory
- AI covers ongoing operations
- AI covers completed operations (for projects with post-completion exposure)
- Waiver of subrogation in favor of association on GL policy
- Waiver of subrogation in favor of association on WC policy
- Management company named as AI if required by contract
Named Insured and Policy Period
- Named insured matches contractor entity in the association's contract
- Policy effective date covers project start
- Policy expiration date is confirmed and calendared
- If project extends past policy expiration: renewal COI requirement is documented
Part 3: Vendor COI Checklist (Recurring Service Providers)
Apply this checklist to all recurring vendors at each contract renewal and annual policy renewal.
Coverage Completeness
- All coverage types required for this vendor category are present
- Policy forms are as required (occurrence vs. claims-made - occurrence required for most categories)
- Any specialized coverage required for this vendor type is confirmed (pollution for pool/pest control; E&O for professional services; crime for management company)
Limit Verification
- Per occurrence limits meet the tier standard for this vendor category
- Aggregate limits meet the tier standard
- Products and completed operations aggregate confirmed if applicable
Additional Insured and Waiver
- Association named as additional insured
- Primary and non-contributory basis confirmed
- Waiver of subrogation confirmed
Policy Status
- Policy has not expired
- No mid-term cancellation notices have been received
- Expiration date entered in renewal calendar (60-day alert set)
Part 4: Renewal Calendar Management
- All active COI expiration dates are in the tracking system
- 60-day renewal request workflow is in place for all active vendors
- 30-day follow-up workflow is in place
- 10-day escalation workflow is in place
- Vendor access suspension protocol is defined and documented
- Re-verification process is defined for all renewal submissions
Part 5: Unit Owner Contractor COI Management
- House rules include specific COI requirements for unit owner contractors
- COI requirements are stated in plain language (specific coverage types and limits)
- Pre-approval process is defined: unit owners know they must submit COIs before work begins
- Building access can be denied to contractors without verified COIs on file
- COIs for unit owner contractors are filed separately from association vendor COIs
- Expiration tracking applies to unit owner contractor COIs for long-duration projects
Part 6: Non-Compliance Escalation Procedures
- Written notice procedure is defined (who sends it, what it says, what timeline)
- Work suspension authority is defined (property manager can suspend without board vote for immediate safety issues)
- Board escalation threshold is defined (which issues require board involvement before escalation)
- Payment withholding procedure is documented (for contractors with outstanding compliance issues)
- Alternative vendor procedure is documented (for cases where primary vendor cannot or will not comply)
- All non-compliance incidents are documented in writing
Part 7: Board Documentation Requirements
- Quarterly compliance status report is prepared for board meetings
- Annual compliance summary is prepared and approved by the board
- Open deficiencies are reported to the board with status
- Any period of non-compliance during which an incident occurred is documented with the board's response
- Board minutes reflect insurance compliance discussions and decisions
Automating the Checklist
Manual application of this checklist across 20-40 active vendor relationships - plus contractors, unit owner contractors, and the association's own coverage - represents a significant ongoing management burden. For property managers overseeing multiple associations, the burden multiplies with each property added to the portfolio.
Bramble automates the contract-to-COI comparison at the core of this checklist. It reads vendor agreements and community rules, extracts applicable requirements, compares submitted COIs field by field, and flags deficiencies with specific contract citations. Renewal tracking is built in. Board-ready compliance reports are generated automatically.
Property managers who use Bramble spend their time managing the exceptions - the deficient vendors, the non-responsive contractors, the complex endorsement questions - rather than processing every submission manually. Compliance rates improve from the industry average of 30-40% first-submission compliance to over 90% with systematic automated verification.