DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT SANCTIONED BY THE BOARD OF VAN LOON COMMONS and If\u00a0I were on the board, it\u00a0would not have happened nor would\u00a0I need to waste time\u00a0blogging!\u00a0Van Loon would\u00a0have a real website, with all\u00a0documents available for owners as prescribed by Florida statute.<\/p>\n
Over the past 2 years, we have been told that our property insurance costs were decreased.\u00a0 Our leadership, the Board, likes to tell owners at meetings which may include, at most, owners from 40 units during the busiest of seasons.\u00a0 Owners with a bit more education, like us, prefer to see the facts and figures; not listen to sales pitches.\u00a0\u00a0Like the 2013 president, Marguerite Kisner, Board President Rick Aliperti (resigned 12\/12)\u00a0and Pam Decraene (Treasurer until 12\/12, now President)\u00a0spent thousands of VLC’s funds to\u00a0deny people who can read, like myself, from seeing anything of substance.\u00a0\u00a0Call HIMSCHOOT!\u00a0 She is asking to see a contract!\u00a0 Go door to door; SHE is the problem here! SHE is\u00a0causing trouble,\u00a0costing us legal fees, keeping us from progressing on the meters (April 2014) !\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Actually,\u00a0 Ms. Decraene told me personally that I was the only owner who asked to see anything, so I suppose that justified keeping the information between themselves,\u00a0 the financial wizards.<\/p>\n
What is the problem this time?\u00a0 One or more of the BOD members contracted for the Association’s\u00a0property\u00a0insurance, with a carrier\u00a0not licensed nor insured in the State of Florida.\u00a0 What does that mean?\u00a0\u00a0It means, the company could go\u00a0bankrupt, declare insolvency in the event of a disaster, such as the 2004 Hurricane Charlie with damage estimated at $15 billion, or thereabouts.\u00a0\u00a0The insurance type is “Surplus Lines Insurance” and the State consumer guide and other publications describe it to be used in situations where it is documented<\/strong> that the applicant has been rejected 3 times for Standard insurance;\u00a0Standard meaning\u00a0licensed in the State of Florida and insured by the guarantee fund.\u00a0 Yes, this insurance is more expensive because it is regulated and will be there when you (may) need it – the purpose of insurance!\u00a0 AND, it is required that a representative from the\u00a0the insured sign a clear disclosure statement that they understand the risks.<\/p>\n Was this contract prepared legally?\u00a0\u00a0I have sent 2 inquiries to\u00a0agents Jessica\u00a0Paulmann, and a \u00a0Cathy Thomas at the broker’s office of Brown and Brown, and included a copy of an old email to Ms. Paulmann, written\u00a0after speaking with her\u00a0by telephone in 2014 and providing her\u00a0a list of the BOD members\u00a0Ms. Stiles from Sentry Mgmt,\u00a0excluded me from all communications regarding the insurance negotiation as with everything else (during the time\u00a0I was\u00a0a Board\u00a0member) and\u00a0the agent, Ms. Paulmann ceased to return any communication to me.\u00a0 The emails\u00a0indicated that Mr. Aliperti wanted to handle the new insurance contract negotiation personally which included a presentation by Brown and Brown, and one from\u00a0Board member Brenda Hallihan’s personal policy\u00a0agent.\u00a0 Ms. Stiles and the other Board members made\u00a0 a big deal over a Wind Mitigation study and how this could save so much money.\u00a0 Ms. Stiles emailed that our Brown and Brown agent had not suggested the Wind Mitigation study and Ms. Hallihan’s agent did.\u00a0 Ms. Paulmann had told me that due to our new construction and location, it would not likely result in any credits.\u00a0 We concurred.<\/p>\n The Brown and Brown agent had told me that it wouldn’t likely affect our policy based on the age of our construction, location, etcetera.\u00a0 That was a “No Duh” to us.\u00a0 The Board hung on Ms. Stiles advice whose credibility we found questionable from the beginning.\u00a0 (In 2015\u00a0they fired\u00a0Sentry and\u00a0thus her, of\u00a0course)<\/p>\n After the insurance presentations, we were told that Ms. Paulmann’s policy bid was $500 less than the agent referred by\u00a0Brenda Hallihan and the overall policy\u00a0cost was to\u00a0decrease (recollecting here – no time to pull out) about 20,000. Sounded good at the\u00a0time –\u00a0we wondered how that was achieved since our personal policy covering only $50,000 of contents went up a little but\u00a0Mr. Aliperti and Ms. Decraene ignored\u00a0my request to see any documents, even prior to\u00a0their campaign to remove me from the Board for being “negative”, for the community, which meant telling the truth.\u00a0\u00a0(Clearly I was too smart!)<\/p>\n When the “proposed” budget for 2016 included an even further decrease of 33%,\u00a0 RED FLAGS were raised for several owners.\u00a0 One requested the policy from CAM Lisa Mason, who forwarded his request to the insurance office.\u00a0 (No certified letter was demanded by the way). The Fort Myers Brown and Brown office would not provide it to him.\u00a0 I emailed Ms. Mason on 11\/13, and copied Board Treasurer Pam Decraene and Director Brenda Hallihan, requesting a copy be available at the 11\/16 Budget meeting.\u00a0 None of the 3 acknowledged my email and no copy was available.\u00a0\u00a0 At the meeting, Ms. Decraene announced that CAM Lisa Mason had escaped\u00a0from Van Loon…. I mean was promoted and our new CAM, Jim Kennedy was introduced.<\/p>\n Ms. Decraene told a story about the insurance decrease and companies competing for our business due to no hurricanes in the past 10 years, and how our agent worked so hard with the Board blah blah, negotiated.\u00a0 Mr. Aliperti may have said something too.\u00a0 The meeting seemed rehearsed to us and another owner whispered to me\u00a0that the meeting\u00a0was a waste of time, the Board did whatever it wanted and voted on the budget before owners were allowed to ask questions or comment.\u00a0 What is the point?<\/p>\n I asked Ms. Decraene how a 33% percent decrease was achieved; that even with the over-capitalization of the insurance carriers, no decreases like that were seen in the market. (Yes, I used the big word because I know that she, the JP Morgan investment banker did not know what it meant or how insurance rates are set-I don’t know a lot, but enough)\u00a0 I asked if we decreased coverage, increased deductibles?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 No Cathy, we thought the same thing.\u00a0 Board member Bob Barnett backed her up on that, saying it was the same coverage.\u00a0 ( SAME CRAPPY JUNK COVERAGE THAT ALIPERTI NEGOTIATED PRIVATELY LAST YEAR ? )<\/p>\n To obtain copies of the policies, an\u00a0owner (not us) issued a request for the prior year and current property insurance policies by certified mail, with a Notarized Authorization for us to pick up the documents for him at Associa.\u00a0 The new CAM Jim Kennedy, provided a copy of the current policy to\u00a0us at 4pm on Weds 12\/09\/15 but did not have the prior year’s or another contract, as requested.\u00a0 He sent an email to Brown and Brown, requesting the prior year and said he could just email the PDF when received.\u00a0 He then asked us why a certified letter was mailed from Iowa, from a different owner\u00a0and we, along with another owner\/friend\u00a0picked it up?<\/p>\n We explained the games played by this Board: ignore the Huttons if they ask informally and that\u00a0we had received an email from the prior CAM, Lisa Mason\u00a0in June stating that the Board wanted any requests for\u00a0information from us to be mailed directly to the\u00a0$350\u00a0(unless it went up) per hour Board contracted attorney, Jason Himschoot.\u00a0\u00a0We\u00a0preferred not\u00a0to ring his cash register or his partner, Richard Deboest.\u00a0 Mr. Kennedy indicated that the attorney could not single us out.\u00a0 We told him we knew that, but it didn’t stop this Board from running up the bills, because it kept them with something to tell the mostly older owners, about a common enemy which they’ve created.<\/p>\n Mr. Kennedy clearly understood the statutes far beyond anyone we have met from Sentry,\u00a0Associa\u00a0or from the\u00a0“legal team” as our Board fondly refers to them.\u00a0 We left with Mr. Kennedy telling us he would\u00a0email the PDFs when received and wondering how the the Board would bully this man; competent, smart and confident.\u00a0\u00a0That he was not going to be told to lie or ignore an owner was\u00a0obvious.<\/p>\n On Friday, 12\/11, the owner who made the request followed up with the CAM on the policy\u00a0and was told Mr. Kennedy was no longer with Associa.\u00a0 Not surprised.\u00a0 How radical of him to think the Chapter 718 statutes should be followed.<\/p>\n When I received the copy that was available, it took me about 1 minute to see the DISCLAIMER.<\/p>\n