Why You Need to Ensure That Your Resident Unit Manager Is Adequately Protected
Posted on: 15 December 2018
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If you are the principal of a property that features a number of individually owned flats or apartments, then you know that you are in control of a very dynamic environment. You will need to have a very strong strata management facility to help deal with these individual owners and take care of all the common areas. At the head of that structure will be a resident unit manager, who will be the "point" man or woman and provide the link between the residents, the management team and the principal owner. When you consider just how fluid this situation is and the risks that this manager could face, you must make sure that they have adequate insurance coverage.
Risks Are Everywhere
While the majority of owners may be very fair and reasonable people, they will undoubtedly be quick to stand up for themselves. If they feel that they have been wronged in any way, then they can easily launch a new lawsuit, and your team will need to defend against it. At the very least, your resident unit manager should be protected in this eventuality. To do this properly, they will need both public liability and professional indemnity insurance, as they will have exposure in both areas.
Layers of Protection
Somebody could slip and injure themselves as some of the equipment in a hallway was not properly maintained. This is where public liability insurance would help to protect the manager against a claim that they did not do their job properly leading to this bodily injury. However, this type of coverage does not protect them from a claim that they breached their professional duty. This separate type of insurance will protect the manager should somebody claim that their error or omission led to the maintenance failure, and the subsequent injury.
Tailored to Your Environment
In order to ensure that you have adequate resident unit manager insurance coverage, you may need a suite of products, and these might have to be tailor-made for your specific environment. It's best to bring in a broker who specialises in this area so they can look at your situation from every angle and make sure that you are fully underwritten from day one.
Advanced Products Available
If you want to sleep more easily at night and ensure that your staff are well protected, competitive insurance is a must. There are so many potential risks involved in a multi-family development, so it's not surprising that the insurance industry in this area is so developed.