AAR (Against all risks) insurance to help survive the severe winter

Severe frost last winter has caused enormous damage to real estate owners - everywhere there are frozen and broken pipes. Last winter was a real challenge for apartment associations: tons of snow needed to be removed from the roofs and therefore many roofs have suffered - either from the weight of the snow, or from the snow cleaning tools.



Unfortunately, a lot of accidents happen with cars and people in winter, because of the melting snow on the roofs. Those real estate owners, who have signed "against all risks" insurance and liability insurance policies are in better situation. In their case, all the expenses will be covered by the insurance company.

Against all risks insurance

Flooded basement, graffiti on the walls or damage caused by a plumbing accident - in all these cases the insurance company will pay for the renovation.

Each house administration closely monitors its budget and insurance will always help out to maintain stability - the all-risks coverage is the best guarantee, that even the greatest surprises and losses will be easily removed without any economy on other investments. Although You must be careful - damage caused by a thick layer of snow on the roof will be covered by the insurance company only if it was snowing last couple of days. If it is snowing for two weeks in small amounts, and there is an opportunity to clean it up, then this isn't considered as a insurance case.

If the snow falls from the roof on a lower roof or on a parked car and causes damage, then the insurance company will deal with the case.

Liability insurance

Activities of the apartment association or property owner often lead to cases where third parties or even the members of the apartment association require compensation. For example, this might happen because of the damage, caused by leakage of a water pipe or by snow, which fell on someone's head or property. Such problems can easily escalate the environment during the apartment associations meetings, and this in turn can lead to other problems.


In these cases the property owner will receive help from the insurance company. Find out if your contract includes the liability insurance compensation for damage caused to every member of the apartment association, and offers a free consultation, if someone makes an unreasonable claim.

Also, such insurance should cover cases where another insurance company requests compensation from the apartment association regarding their clients that have suffered from the actions of the apartment association. For example, there once was a case in our company last week, where a broken pipe on the attic flooded an apartment and, which ad a policy from another insurance company. An apartment association in turn had a liability insurance policy and escaped the unexpected expenses.

Liability insurance does not cover the lost potential revenue, and also does not compensate the moral damages. Also, liability insurance will not help with paying fines, caused by careless behavior of an apartment association.

Same price, more protection

Statistics says that the majority of the apartment associations and property owners insured themselves only from certain risks - fire, storm, or from water accidents. Liability insurance is more an exception than a rule. Last winter, for example, many apartment associations were forced to pay for the damage caused by fallen icicles from their own pocket, because they simply did not have insurance policy. More and more accidents happen with water pipes and communication lines which are located outside the house. In these cases, damage will be compensated only if there is an "against all risks" policy. Since the Accidents are always unexpected, insurance companies usually offer clients an against all risks policy, where the protection is much wider, and at the same time, the price is often the same as before. Insurance against all risks is especially recommended to clients, which have recently bought property - they are likely not aware of surprises that their new home can bring them. However it is advisable to investigate all the nuances of a new apartment or house before buying.

In the winter of 2012 insurance companies compensated costs associated mainly with leaked pipes, snow and ice, fallen from the roof, and fire. As the owner of the property, it makes sense to get insurance against all risks