When it comes to managing water at condominiums, ballooning insurance costs are rapidly taking up more and more budget. Insurance deductibles for water damage average $250,000 so condominium associations are looking for ways to cope with increased exposure to property loss and unpredictable costs.

It is common for condominium owner associations (also called condo corporations or condo boards) to be self-insured. Many CAs pool funds from residents of the condominium to help pay for large water damage events that affect multiple units and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair. But are these popular practices really the best approach?

According to polls we’ve conducted, most condo association members say that loss reserve funds are not big enough to cope with significant water damage.

Some Property Managers, like Paul Moreland, who work closely with condo association members are turning to water sensors that detect leaks before they cause damage and allow condo association members to monitor all water usage minute by minute at condominium buildings.

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A washing machine in one of the units at Paul’s building started to leak. Within seconds, the concierge on duty received a leak alert from the water sensor installed in the unit. When the repair person showed up to fix the leak minutes later, the resident was unaware that their washing machine had been leaking. Without the alert, it is likely that there would have been extensive water damage to that unit and the one below. The condo association at Paul’s building told him that installing smart water sensors was one of the best decisions they had ever made.

Examples like this illustrate how water sensors make it easy to cope with high insurance deductibles by detecting leaks and floods before the water damage occurs avoiding the need for a large insurance claim.

If you’re interested in learning more about water sensor solutions that can help minimize water damage risk and lower insurance costs for condominium buildings, visit alertlabs.com/multifamily