Property Managers have a range of duties which depend on the type of property being managed. Some Property Managers specialize in Condominium and Homeowner Associations, while others have a slightly different client base of commercial building and residential property owners that rent out space. Property Managers’ daily responsibilities include site safety & security, grounds maintenance, amenity cleaning and maintenance, tenant approval, rent or association dues collection, accounting and insurance functions. These roles pose many challenges of their own. Here are a few scenarios to help you understand the risks involved.
Scenario 1 - A prospective tenant whose application was rejected for occupancy at a managed property, alleges discrimination, claiming that they were denied approval because of prejudice. When your integrity is questioned in court, you are able to prove that the denial was based on a negative credit check and lack of positive references. Though you were successful in court, your professional liability insurance was there to pay for the defense costs and protect your reputation.
Scenario 2 - A tenant’s guest slips and falls at the swimming pool complex; they allege that the deck finish was too slippery for an outdoor area. They obtain a lawyer and sue for their medical bills to be paid and for pain and suffering from their broken hip. Your general liability insurance will respond to slip and fall type incidents.
Scenario 3 - One of your managed condominium associations receive notification from their bank that their account is overdrawn. The president of the association is frantic as there should have been several thousands of dollars in the account. After research, it is determined that your employee whose job it was to deposit the condo association’s dues payments received from its members was fraudulently depositing those payments into his own bank account. Your Crime Coverage, more specifically your employee dishonesty bond would pay to replace the lost money while pursuing prosecution of the guilty party and recovery of funds.