Belinda Thorpe, Managing Director of Residentsline, discusses why Directors’ and Officers’ Liability Insurance is so important for your Residents’ Management Company.
If you are a member of a Residents’ Management Company, you have a range of different responsibilities to ensure the smooth running of your block of flats.
This may include:
- Finance and accounting
- Service charges
- Insurance needs
- Maintenance
- Inspections
- Major works and reparations
This can sometimes be an exhaustive list; it requires a great deal of planning and experience to successfully manage a block of flats or apartments. As such, it can often be easy to make mistakes.
A vital thing to remember here is that, whilst mistakes often happen, any mistakes which cause an incident such as damage or personal injury can result in legal action being taken against the Residents’ Management Company.
This is because the directors and officers of the Residents’ Management Company are held liable for any decisions taken when acting in their position.
This may seem unfair. After all, being a director or an officer of a Residents’ Management Company is a voluntary role which requires a lot of time and effort on behalf of the residents in the block. As such, it can be difficult to understand how directors and officers can be penalised so heavily. Regardless, the fact remains that directors and officers require suitable protection in case of legal action being taken against them.
Directors’ and Officers’ Liability Insurance
This type of insurance cover provides protection towards members of Residents’ Management Companies and their legal liability. Underwritten by AVIVA Insurance, our policy protects directors and officers against the cost of potential claims for alleged wrongful acts.
These may include:
- Breach of trust
- Breach of duty
- Neglect/error/omission
- Misstatement
- Libel and slander
- Breach of warranty of authority
- Wrongful trading
