2018 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 47 - Property Law
Article 7C - Condominium Act - Management of Condominium
Section 47-7C-13 - Insurance.
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 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 shall be not less than eighty 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; and
(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.
B. In the case of a building containing units having horizontal boundaries described in the declaration, the insurance maintained under Paragraph (1) of Subsection A of this section, to the extent reasonably available, shall 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 deems appropriate to protect the association or the unit owners.
D. Insurance policies carried pursuant to Subsection A of this section must provide that:
(1) each unit owner is an insured person under the policy with respect to liability arising out of his 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 his household;
(3) no act or omission by any unit owner, unless acting within the scope of his authority on behalf of the association, shall 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 the 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 (1) of Subsection A 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 mortgagee or beneficiary under a deed of trust. The insurance trustee or the association shall hold any insurance proceeds in trust for unit owners and lienholders as their interests may appear. Subject to the provisions of Subsection H of this section, the proceeds shall be disbursed first for the repair or restoration of the damaged property, and unit owners and lienholders 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 condominium is terminated.
F. An insurance policy issued to the association does not prevent a unit owner from obtaining insurance for his 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, mortgagee or beneficiary under a deed of trust. The insurer issuing the policy may not cancel or refuse to renew it until thirty days after notice of the proposed cancellation or nonrenewal has been mailed to the association, each unit owner and each mortgagee or beneficiary under a deed of trust to whom a certificate or memorandum of insurance has been issued at his last known address.
H. Any portion of the condominium for which insurance is required under this section which is damaged or destroyed shall be repaired or replaced promptly by the association unless the condominium is terminated, repair or replacement would be illegal under any state or local health or safety statute or ordinance or eighty percent of the unit owners, including every owner of a unit or assigned limited common element which will not be rebuilt, vote not to rebuild. The cost of repair or replacement in excess of insurance proceeds and reserves is a common expense. If the entire condominium is not repaired or replaced, the insurance proceeds attributable to the damaged common elements shall be used to restore the damaged area to a condition compatible with the remainder of the condominium, and the insurance proceeds attributable to units and limited common elements which are not rebuilt must be distributed to the owners of those units and the owners of the units to which those limited common elements were allocated, or to lienholders, as their interests may appear, and the remainder of the proceeds shall be distributed to all the unit owners or lienholders, as their interests may appear, in proportion to the common element interests of all the units. If the unit owners vote not to rebuild any unit, that unit's allocated interests are automatically reallocated upon the vote as if the unit had been condemned under Subsection A of Section 6 [47-7A-7 NMSA 1978] of the Condominium Act, and the association promptly shall prepare, execute and record an amendment to the declaration reflecting the reallocations.
I. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection H of this Section, Section 30 [47-7B-18 NMSA 1978] of the Condominium Act governs the distribution of insurance proceeds if the condominium is terminated.
J. Unless the declaration otherwise provides, the provisions of this section do not apply to a condominium all of whose units are restricted to nonresidential use.
History: Laws 1982, ch. 27, § 46.
Compiler's notes. — This section is similar to § 3-113 of the Uniform Condominium Act, with the following main exceptions: Subsection I of this section of the state Condominium Act is not contained in § 3-113 of the Uniform Condominium Act; and Subsection J of this section of the state Condominium Act substitutes "Unless the declaration otherwise provides, the provisions of this section do not apply to" for "The provisions of this section may be varied or waived in the case of" appearing in subsection (i) of the § 3-113 of the Uniform Condominium Act.
COMMISSIONERS' COMMENT
1. Subsections (a) and (b) [Subsections A and B] provide that the required insurance must be maintained only to the extent reasonably available. This permits the association to comply with the insurance requirements even if certain coverages are unavailable or unreasonably expensive.
(2) Subsection (b) [Subsection B] represents a significant departure from the present law in virtually all states by requiring that the association obtain and maintain property insurance on both the common elements and the units within buildings with "stacked" units. See Comment 3. While it has been common practice in many parts of the country (either by custom or as mandated by statute) for associations to maintain property insurance on the common elements, it has generally not been the practice for the property insurance policy to cover individual units as well. However, given the great interdependence of the unit owners in the stacked unit condominium situation, mandating property insurance for the entire building is the preferable approach. Moreover, such an approach will greatly simplify claims procedures, particularly where both common elements and portions of a unit have been destroyed. If common elements and units are insured separately, the insurers could be involved in disputes as to the coverage provided by each policy.
The act does not mandate association insurance on units in town house or other arrangements in which there are no stacked units. However, if the developer wishes, the declaration may require association insurance as to units having shared walls or as to all units in the development. Many developments will have some units with horizontal boundaries and other units with no horizontal boundaries. In that case, association insurance as to the units having horizontal boundaries is required, but it is not necessary as to other units.
3. The distinction between what is a common element and what is a unit with respect to the insurance coverage required by this section is complex. The definitions of common elements and a unit in § 1-103(4) and (25) [47-7A-3D and AA NMSA 1978] are not sufficient for this purpose. To determine the distinction between the common elements and units, one must refer first to the declaration's section on unit boundaries. That section will define the unit boundaries. If the declaration fails to do so, the provisions of § 2-102 [47-7B-2 NMSA 1978] apply.
In summary, § 2-102 [47-7B-2 NMSA 1978] provides that, if the declaration is silent, all non-loadbearing and non-structural portions of the walls, floors and ceilings are part of the unit, while all loadbearing and structural portions of the walls, floors and ceilings are common elements. Further, with respect to any structure partially within and partially outside of the boundaries of a unit, any portion thereof serving only that unit is a limited common element (see definition in § 103(16) [47-7A-3P NMSA 1978]), and any portion thereof serving more than one unit or any portion of the common elements is a part of the common elements. This treats and defines ownership of all portions of the electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems serving the building not entirely within the boundaries of a unit.
All spaces, interior partitions, electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems and all other items within the boundaries of the unit which are attached to the unit boundaries, whether or not deemed fixtures under state law, are part of the unit.
Put simply, if any item is installed, constructed, repaired or replaced by the declarant or his successor in connection with the original sale of a stacked unit, the item is insured by the association. Clearly, this does not include items of personal property easily movable within the unit or easily removable from the unit (whether or not deemed a fixture under state law), such as a vase, table or other furnishings. If installed by the unit owner, the item should be insured by the unit owner. Those items, installed by the unit owner and not covered by the association policy, are called "improvements and betterments."
4. Although "all risk" coverage is not required as to conversion buildings, but merely fire and extended coverage, this is not intended to imply that such coverage is unnecessary. "All risk" coverage is not required because it may not be appropriate in the case of an unrenovated conversion where cost is a critical factor.
5. The minimum requirement as to the amount of insurance, which is 80% of the actual cash value, should not be viewed as a recommendation; rather, the 80% is a floor. Typically, many condominium documents require insurance in an amount equal to 100% of the replacement cost of the insured property. The act permits greater flexibility, however, inasmuch as different types of construction and varieties of projects may not require such total coverage with its attendant higher premium cost.
6. Subsection (a) (2) [Subsection A(2)] covers only the liability of the association, and unit owners as members, but does not cover the unit owner's individual liability for his acts or omissions or liability for occurrences within his unit.
7. Clause (i) of the third sentence of subsection (h) [Subsection H] would operate as follows: (1) if the condominium consists of campsites, restoration after fire damage might consist of merely resodding the area damaged; (2) if the condominium consists of separate garden-type buildings, restoration after fire damage might consist of demolishing the remaining structure and paving or landscaping the area; and (3) if the condominium consists of a single highrise building, restoration may not be required (if the building is substantially destroyed) inasmuch as "a condition compatible with the remainder of the condominium" would be damaged and unrestored.
8. The scheme of this section, as set forth in subsection (h) [Subsection H], is that any damage or destruction to any portion of the condominium must be repaired (if repairs can be made consistent with applicable safety and health laws) absent a decision to terminate the condominium or a decision by 80% of the unit owners (including the owners of any damaged units) not to rebuild. Unless a decision is made not to rebuild, any available insurance proceeds must be used to effectuate such repairs. For this reason, subsection (e) [Subsection E] provides that any loss covered by the association's property insurance policy shall be adjusted with the association and that the proceeds for any loss shall be payable to the association or to any insurance trustee that may be designated for such purpose. Significantly, such insurance proceeds may not be paid to any mortgagee or other outside party. This provision is necessary to insure that insurance proceeds are available to effectuate any repairs or restoration to the condominium that may be required.
9. In the case of commercial or industrial condominiums, unit owners may prefer to act as self-insurers or make other arrangements with respect to property insurance. Accordingly, subsection (i) [Subsection J] provides that the insurance requirements of this section may be varied or waived in the case of a condominium all of the units of which are reserved exclusively for non-residential use. Such waiver or modification is not possible in the case of a mixed-use condominium, some of the units of which are used for residential purposes.
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 15A Am. Jur. 2d Condominiums and Cooperative Apartments § 30.
31 C.J.S. Estates § 153 et seq.; 44 C.J.S. Insurance § 218 et seq.
