When insurance questions get tricky, Gotham should be on your speed dial
If a thief empties out your storage unit, you'll want to be sure to have an insurance policy that will replace what was stolen.
A reader recently wrote the New York Daily News for help with an unfortunate problem: Storage areas in her co-op’s basement had been burglarized, and about $15,000 worth of items were stolen from the residents. Police told the reader that burglars entered through an unlocked door.
The reader wanted to know who should pay for the losses.
That’s a tricky question, so the newspaper turned to the experts, including Gotham Brokerage.
Real estate attorneys speculated about whether the building might have to pay to replace the stolen goods — it depends on whether there was a liability waiver for using the storage units, as well as whether the building supervisor could be considered grossly negligent for leaving the door unlocked.
We pointed out that, as long as residents have insurance, most policies would pay to replace the items stolen from the storage area, even though the property wasn’t stolen from their actual unit.
The key word, though, is “most.”
Gotham Brokerage has been helping New Yorkers understand the intricacies of insurance policies for 50 years and has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. We’ve helped thousands of New Yorkers understand the differences between, say, Queens co-op insurance, Brooklyn renter’s insurance, Manhattan condo insurance and brownstone homeowner’s insurance in the Bronx.
Different condos, co-ops and apartment buildings have different rules about insurance, and building insurance policies can be very different — as the writer to the Daily News found out.
Gotham can examine your building’s policy to help you determine what insurance you need in order to fill the gaps in coverage.
To find out how we can help, give us a call at 212-406-7300.
