Co-ownership claims settlement process

A loss occurred in your condo unit and also affected the other portions insured by your co-ownership syndicate. How does the claims settlement process work for you and for the syndicate?

Overview of the 10 main steps*

1. As a co-owner, you must first contact your insurer and your syndicate.

2. Once you have reported the loss, your syndicate is responsible for managing the loss and its claim.

3. Claims adjusters will handle your claim and that of your syndicate.

4. If the damage is covered, a team specialized in post-disaster clean-up will be mandated to empty and clean the damaged premises.

5. In all cases, your claims adjuster and the syndicate’s claims adjuster will assess the cause of the loss, the insurance policy coverage and the applicable deductibles. They will explain the steps to follow, depending on the nature of the damage suffered and insurance coverage.

6. Urgent work will be carried out to avoid further damage. Your syndicate will be responsible for this, but if your unit is affected, you will also have to act to limit the damage.

7. Specifications will be drawn up to repair or rebuild the damaged premises.

8. A list of your damaged or destroyed property will be drawn up.

9. Depending on its state and condition, your personal property will be cleaned, repaired or replaced (based on the settlement option chosen when you purchased your condo insurance).

10. The rooms in your condo unit will be rebuilt according to the description of the private portions and, where applicable, improvements made to your condo.

* These steps may vary from loss to loss, or from one insurer to the next; they are presented for information only.

Since there is more than one claims adjuster to settle the claim, they will work together to establish the amount of the compensation payable under each insurance policy and coordinate their efforts to efficiently settle the claim. As for the settlement terms, they will depend on the condo claims settlement situations which may apply.

Replacing destroyed or damaged personal property

Your insurer will have the repairable damaged personal property repaired.

If your personal property must be replaced, your insurer will replace it with new items of the same nature and quality, if that is the settlement option you chose when you purchased your insurance. Otherwise, it will reimburse you according to their value on the day of the loss.

Choice of supplier or contractor

To repair or replace personal property or to rebuild the damaged premises, you can contact the supplier or contractor of your choice. However, you must first discuss this with the claims adjuster in charge of your file.