What insurance for a condo ?

[zenplay]

Hi.

If someone buy a condo and live inside, do he need special insurance for condo in Thailand ?

I mean insurance for coverage in case of : Fire, Lightning, Explosion, Water or electricty Damage, Earthquake, Theft, Robber, Public liability ...

Does the developpers of condo (Sansiri, Ramon Lands ...) contract their own insurance ?

Thank you for your feedback !

Edited May 6, 2015 by zenplay

[tolsti]

The fabric of your building and the common area will be insured via your CAM fee and will be itemised on your monthly financial statement posted on your notice board. However you are responsible for insurance of your unit interior, your furniture and contents and third party against damages caused from your unit onto the common area or into other units..... The bath overflows, you set fire to your room accidentally etc. Some developers appoint an insurance company for the first year for you and you can upgrade this cover however once that policy comes up for renewal you can choose who to go to. Dependant on the rules and regulations of your Condo there may not be a requirement to be insured... avoid at your peril.

[AlQaholic]

The post suggest little knowledge about condominiums in Thailand, so I would like to mention a few important points:

The whole condominium building is insured by the Condo management to which you pay a fee every year for building insurance, security, manager salary, housekeeping, swimming pool maintenance, minor maintenance, water, common electricity, elevator maintenance, light bulbs etc...The Insurance usually is enough so that every owner get back at least 70-80% of their investment in case of total destruction of the building itself.

For the inventory in your condo unit, there is no insurance covering that from the management, and in our case we have searched for a company in Thailand willing to insure this but so far have not found any company willing to do this for a reasonable cost. In Europe there is something called "home insurance" that cover this aspect, but I have not found this in Thailand.

In the case you accidentally damage another condo unit/units adjacent to your condo unit due to water leakage of a pipe considered to be part of your condo, electric short circuit or similar, you are solely responsible for covering all the repair costs, both for your unit and other units that may be damaged. There is no insurance company in Thailand willing to cover this either for a reasonable cost. In some cases there may be a grey area as to who is responsible for the damage, in those cases a negotiated solution by the condo management/committee would be needed, in which case funding by the whole community would most likely be needed.

The Condominium that you buy into is required by law to have something called a sinking fund that is a certain percentage of the total value of the building (cannot remember exactly how much, think it is around 7%). This sinking fund is to be used for health and safety issues. For example emergency repair of elevator or staircases, broken tiles, perimeter wall repair etc.

When buying a condo unit in Thailand, make sure before you buy, that there is a condo management present, that the Sinking fund is fully funded, there is a building insurance and that the condo unit that you buy is debt free. Contact the management before buying to make sure of these issues. Also make sure there is a parking space for the condo, as by law if the condo do not have a parking area, it is by definition not a condominium.

When you buy a condo unit in Thailand, please remember it is not like buying a house, you are buying a part of a community owned building, with this comes certain responsibilities and commitments.

If anyone knows about insurance companies that specialize in these kind of insurances, please post.

Edited May 7, 2015 by AlQaholic

[smutcakes]

The post suggest little knowledge about condominiums in Thailand, so I would like to mention a few important points:

The whole condominium building is insured by the Condo management to which you pay a fee every year for building insurance, security, manager salary, housekeeping, swimming pool maintenance, minor maintenance, water, common electricity, elevator maintenance, light bulbs etc...The Insurance usually is enough so that every owner get back at least 70-80% of their investment in case of total destruction of the building itself.

For the inventory in your condo unit, there is no insurance covering that from the management, and in our case we have searched for a company in Thailand willing to insure this but so far have not found any company willing to do this for a reasonable cost. In Europe there is something called "home insurance" that cover this aspect, but I have not found this in Thailand.

In the case you accidentally damage another condo unit/units adjacent to your condo unit due to water leakage of a pipe considered to be part of your condo, electric short circuit or similar, you are solely responsible for covering all the repair costs, both for your unit and other units that may be damaged. There is no insurance company in Thailand willing to cover this either for a reasonable cost. In some cases there may be a grey area as to who is responsible for the damage, in those cases a negotiated solution by the condo management/committee would be needed, in which case funding by the whole community would most likely be needed.

The Condominium that you buy into is required by law to have something called a sinking fund that is a certain percentage of the total value of the building (cannot remember exactly how much, think it is around 7%). This sinking fund is to be used for health and safety issues. For example emergency repair of elevator or staircases, broken tiles, perimeter wall repair etc.

When buying a condo unit in Thailand, make sure before you buy, that there is a condo management present, that the Sinking fund is fully funded, there is a building insurance and that the condo unit that you buy is debt free. Contact the management before buying to make sure of these issues. Also make sure there is a parking space for the condo, as by law if the condo do not have a parking area, it is by definition not a condominium.

When you buy a condo unit in Thailand, please remember it is not like buying a house, you are buying a part of a community owned building, with this comes certain responsibilities and commitments.

If anyone knows about insurance companies that specialize in these kind of insurances, please post.

Most of the big brokers can easily provide in unit insurance for your belongings and 3rd party cover.

I know Lawton Asia and Aon to name just two brokers that can organize it for you, and just checking on my computer LMG Insurance provide this coverage starting from around 3,000 baht per annum.

Its a complete no brainer at those types of prices, regardless of how wriggly insurance companies can sometimes be.

[DGS1244]

A lot depends upon the condo being a Juristic person, this will affect who pays for what. There are many companies here covering the insurance such as AIG also many brokers such as Trafalgar who can help. My insurance for personal effects, liability etc. was always around 3,000 TB year.

The post suggest little knowledge about condominiums in Thailand, so I would like to mention a few important points:

The whole condominium building is insured by the Condo management to which you pay a fee every year for building insurance, security, manager salary, housekeeping, swimming pool maintenance, minor maintenance, water, common electricity, elevator maintenance, light bulbs etc...The Insurance usually is enough so that every owner get back at least 70-80% of their investment in case of total destruction of the building itself.

For the inventory in your condo unit, there is no insurance covering that from the management, and in our case we have searched for a company in Thailand willing to insure this but so far have not found any company willing to do this for a reasonable cost. In Europe there is something called "home insurance" that cover this aspect, but I have not found this in Thailand.

In the case you accidentally damage another condo unit/units adjacent to your condo unit due to water leakage of a pipe considered to be part of your condo, electric short circuit or similar, you are solely responsible for covering all the repair costs, both for your unit and other units that may be damaged. There is no insurance company in Thailand willing to cover this either for a reasonable cost. In some cases there may be a grey area as to who is responsible for the damage, in those cases a negotiated solution by the condo management/committee would be needed, in which case funding by the whole community would most likely be needed.

The Condominium that you buy into is required by law to have something called a sinking fund that is a certain percentage of the total value of the building (cannot remember exactly how much, think it is around 7%). This sinking fund is to be used for health and safety issues. For example emergency repair of elevator or staircases, broken tiles, perimeter wall repair etc.

When buying a condo unit in Thailand, make sure before you buy, that there is a condo management present, that the Sinking fund is fully funded, there is a building insurance and that the condo unit that you buy is debt free. Contact the management before buying to make sure of these issues. Also make sure there is a parking space for the condo, as by law if the condo do not have a parking area, it is by definition not a condominium.

When you buy a condo unit in Thailand, please remember it is not like buying a house, you are buying a part of a community owned building, with this comes certain responsibilities and commitments.

If anyone knows about insurance companies that specialize in these kind of insurances, please post.

[rak sa_ngop]

A lot depends upon the condo being a Juristic person, this will affect who pays for what. There are many companies here covering the insurance such as AIG also many brokers such as Trafalgar who can help. My insurance for personal effects, liability etc. was always around 3,000 TB year.

My condo insurance is with Axa through a local agent. I decided to go one up from the cheapest policy so pay about 4,000 baht a year for the insured sum of 1.5 million baht.

I was told (hopefully true) that if you get flooded out etc. from the condo above, the insurance company will pay 'immediately' for the repairs, and reclaim the costs from the offending condo owners at a later date. So now need to wait for court proceedings to complete to get compensation.

With the number of faulty washing machine floodings etc that have occurred in my condo building it seems crazy not to pay such a small amount.

[Time Traveller]

A lot depends upon the condo being a Juristic person, this will affect who pays for what. There are many companies here covering the insurance such as AIG also many brokers such as Trafalgar who can help. My insurance for personal effects, liability etc. was always around 3,000 TB year.

My condo insurance is with Axa through a local agent. I decided to go one up from the cheapest policy so pay about 4,000 baht a year for the insured sum of 1.5 million baht.

I was told (hopefully true) that if you get flooded out etc. from the condo above, the insurance company will pay 'immediately' for the repairs, and reclaim the costs from the offending condo owners at a later date. So now need to wait for court proceedings to complete to get compensation.

With the number of faulty washing machine floodings etc that have occurred in my condo building it seems crazy not to pay such a small amount.

That is the pitfalls of living in a condominium.

[rgrdns]

If I can help you out with this, the process steps u have to undertake……eventually you’ll find out how it works here.

1) It’s first of importance you asked the Juristic Person they should/must have a “Building” Insurance (Thai law) and should/must display on a info board, to provide you a copy of their “current” Building Insurance policy (Thai version).

2) Translate complete or some important paragraphs and read this thoroughly, you’ll find that this Building Insurance usually only covers the shell/structure (incl. foundation) of the building. However there is a possibility that the condo’s has some extra coverage in this policy if it states in the way you “new” purchased it (basic materials described in your purchase contract), usually the fittings/fixtures as tiling, kitchen, laminated floor and etc….

3) With this information you know how to insure your condo, what’s left is basically “only contents” this means all fitting/fixtures, furniture, clothing and more private stuff.

4) See to it that you’ve a good 3^rd party liability.

5) Contact all the broker/agents and insurance companies you can find and ask for a quotation.

6) Read carefully the details and see to it that what you exactly want is written down on the quotation/application form before you signed.

Good luck on this rollercoaster.

[Maestro]

Some banks also act as I insurance brokers. I know someone who got it from Siam Commercial Bank.

[KittenKong]

I personally think that individual condo insurance is quite overpriced in Thailand, but so many things are.

The cover is minimal and the premiums quite high, and they dont even cover rebuilding costs (which as rightly mentioned already are covered by the building insurance).

In our building we have been looking at getting group insurance for water damage etc, and if we signed up the whole building we were looking at about a 50% discount on the standard 2000B/1MB cover that most insurers offer. Another option was to get between-unit water damage only for 150B/100,000B cover. Needless to say between-unit water damage seems to account for 99% of all such problems in our building. Theft almost never happens, except when it is done by persons who have been invited into the unit in the first place (in which case the insurance wont pay anyway).