Review: (1) the building's last three years of property insurance premium history; (2) the hurricane deductible structure, typically 2–5% of total insured value; (3) reserve funding adequacy — reserves funded at the level the building's structural integrity reserve study recommends reduce the risk of a special assessment when deductibles are triggered; and (4) whether the building has had any special assessments related to insurance costs or weather damage in the past five years.
Updated October 10, 2026
Insurance diligence at the luxury tier is not just about the unit — it is about the building's ability to absorb a hurricane deductible without triggering a special assessment.
Premium history. Request the last three years of property insurance declarations pages and premium invoices. A building whose premium has increased 80% and is now stabilizing is in a different position than one that managed the period well with adequate reserves.
Deductible structure. Florida hurricane deductibles are typically 2–5% of total insured value. For a building insured at $200 million, a 3% deductible is $6 million — enough to trigger a special assessment if reserves are thin.
Reserve funding. Florida's 2022 condo safety law (SB 4-D), as amended, requires a structural integrity reserve study at least every 10 years for condo buildings three habitable stories or higher, and for budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, owner-controlled associations can no longer vote to waive or reduce reserves for the items the study covers. Ask for the latest study, check whether the budget funds what it recommends, and confirm operating reserves can absorb a deductible-sized event.
Assessment history. Ask whether the building has had any special assessments related to insurance costs or weather damage in the past five years — and what the disclosed forward pipeline looks like.