Chubb Rolls Out Policy in New York to Address Condo and Co-op Insurance Gaps
WARREN, NJ, October 17, 2005 – The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies has rolled out insurance packages for the owners of luxury condo and co-op apartments
in New York. The policies address coverage gaps created by building associations reducing their commercial insurance limits
and increasing their deductibles during the last few years. In addition, by bundling together several contents-related and
other coverages, the policies provide insureds with savings of approximately 15 percent.
Masterpiece® Condominium PreferenceSM and Masterpiece® Cooperative PreferenceSM provide high limits of property and liability insurance coverage. They include $100,000 in coverage for assessments to all
unit owners for incidents that may not be adequately addressed by a building association or its master insurance policy. Separate
$10,000 limits apply for assessments resulting from deductibles under the association’s policy.
“Rising property insurance costs have led building associations to purchase higher deductibles and/or reduced limits of coverage,
enlarging the gap between their policies and those of unit owners,” said Daniel McCabe, vice president of Chubb & Son and
national marketing manager for Chubb Personal Insurance. "Masterpiece Condo and Co-op Preference provide unit owners with
greater coverage than standard insurance policies for property and liability losses that occur within their residential units.”
McCabe explained that while many condo and co-op owners tend to focus on insuring their furnishings and other personal belongings,
they should also be concerned about their responsibility under a master deed to pay for repairing damage to interior portions
of their units. This often includes kitchen cabinetry and appliances, bathroom fixtures, flooring, interior walls, ceilings,
electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems, windows and exterior doors. Owners also should realize that their association may assess
them for uninsured or underinsured property or liability losses that occur in common areas.
Preference includes $25,000 in jewelry coverage, $50,000 in fine arts coverage and $25,000 in silver coverage, written on
either a blanket or itemized basis. Other features include $10,000 for off-premises electronic data processing equipment and
$10,000 for electronic data restoration, which respond to the theft of laptop computers and personal digital assistants as
well as corruption of personal data due to computer viruses. Separate limits of $2,500 are included for both lock replacement
and fire department charges.
"Preference is not only very broad," said McCabe, "but it also is cost effective. If you were to buy all of these coverages
separately, it could cost an additional 15 percent in premium."
Preference, which also is available in Illinois, is Chubb’s latest offering in the condo and co-op insurance marketplace.
Masterpiece® Deluxe Condo and Masterpiece® Deluxe Co-op, introduced in the mid-1980s, helped Chubb to become one of the top
insurers of condominiums and cooperatives. Although the Deluxe policies continue to provide more coverage than many standard
industry policies, Preference offers even higher limits and added coverages. Like Masterpiece Deluxe, additions and alterations
extended replacement cost coverage is available for eligible New York residences.
A leading insurer of custom, historic and other fine homes, Chubb also is noted for providing highly-regarded insurance products
and services for luxury automobiles, fine arts and antiques, and other valuable possessions. The insurer can provide up to
$50 million in personal liability protection. Additional information on Chubb’s personal insurance offerings can be found
at www.chubb.com/personal.
Member insurers of the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies form a multi-billion dollar organization providing property and
casualty insurance for personal and commercial customers through 8,000 independent agents and brokers worldwide. Chubb’s global
network includes branches and affiliates throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australia.
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