§ 81-313 Insurance.

25 DE Code § 81-313 (2019) (N/A)
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(a) Commencing not later than the time of the first conveyance of a unit to a person other than a declarant, the association shall maintain, to the extent reasonably available:

(1) Property insurance on the common elements and, in a planned community, also on property that must become common elements, insuring against all risks of direct physical loss commonly insured against or, in the case of a conversion building, against fire and extended coverage perils. The total amount of insurance after application of any deductibles must be not less than 80 percent of the actual cash value of the insured property at the time the insurance is purchased and at each renewal date, exclusive of land, excavations, foundations, and other items normally excluded from property policies;

(2) Liability insurance, including medical payments insurance, in an amount determined by the executive board but not less than any amount specified in the declaration, covering all occurrences commonly insured against for death, bodily injury, and property damage arising out of or in connection with the use, ownership, or maintenance of the common elements and, in cooperatives, also of all units; and

(3) Fidelity insurance.

(b) In the case of a building that contains more than 1 unit having horizontal boundaries or vertical boundaries that comprise common walls or other boundaries between units, the insurance maintained under paragraph (a)(1) of this section, to the extent reasonably available, must include the units, but need not include improvements and betterments installed by unit owners.

(c) If the insurance described in subsections (a) and (b) of this section is not reasonably available, the association promptly shall cause notice of that fact to be hand-delivered or sent prepaid by United States mail to all unit owners. The declaration may require the association to carry any other insurance, and the association in any event may carry any other insurance it considers appropriate to protect the association or the unit owners.

(d) Insurance policies carried pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section must provide that:

(1) Each unit owner is an insured person under the policy with respect to liability arising out of such unit owner’s interest in the common elements or membership in the association;

(2) The insurer waives its right to subrogation under the policy against any unit owner or member of the unit owner’s household;

(3) No act or omission by any unit owner, unless acting within the scope of the unit owner’s authority on behalf of the association, will void the policy or be a condition to recovery under the policy; and

(4) If, at the time of a loss under the policy, there is other insurance in the name of a unit owner covering the same risk covered by the policy, the association’s policy provides primary insurance.

(e) Any loss covered by the property policy under paragraph (a)(1) and subsection (b) of this section must be adjusted with the association, but the insurance proceeds for that loss are payable to any insurance trustee designated for that purpose, or otherwise to the association, and not to any holder of a security interest. The insurance trustee or the association shall hold any insurance proceeds in trust for the association, unit owners, and lien holders as their interests may appear. Subject to the provisions of subsection (h) of this section, the proceeds must be disbursed first for the repair or restoration of the damaged property, and the association, unit owners, and lien holders are not entitled to receive payment of any portion of the proceeds unless there is a surplus of proceeds after the property has been completely repaired or restored, or the common interest community is terminated.

(f) An insurance policy issued to the association does not prevent a unit owner from obtaining insurance for the unit owner’s own benefit.

(g) An insurer that has issued an insurance policy under this section shall issue certificates or memoranda of insurance to the association and, upon written request, to any unit owner or holder of a security interest. The insurer issuing the policy may not cancel or refuse to renew it until 30 days after notice of the proposed cancellation or nonrenewal has been mailed to the association, each unit owner and each holder of a security interest to whom a certificate or memorandum of insurance has been issued at their respective last known addresses.

(h) Any portion of the common interest community for which insurance is required under this section which is damaged or destroyed must be repaired or replaced as soon as practicable by the association unless:

(i) The provisions of this section may be varied or waived in the case of a common interest community all of whose units are restricted to nonresidential use.

76 Del. Laws, c. 422, § 2; 77 Del. Laws, c. 91, §§ 48, 49, 82.