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By Erik Sundquist, RS

This article first appeared in our Communicator Magazine, Summer 2025 Edition.

IN THE WINTER of 1914, as explorer Ernest Shackleton and his crew faced the crushing ice of Antarctica aboard the Endurance, they didn’t rely on wishful thinking to survive. They relied on planning, preparation, and constant reevaluation of conditions. Though the ship was eventually lost, every crew member survived thanks to leadership that understood this truth: conditions may be beyond your control, but your response never is.

Today’s California HOAs are navigating a similarly hostile environment – not of ice and isolation, but of inflation, regulatory pressure, and risk exposure. Boards and community managers can’t stop insurance markets from tightening or buildings from aging. But they can lead with foresight, and they can pre‐ pare. In this landscape, the updated reserve study is their map, compass, and survival kit all in one.

Let’s examine four urgent issues facing California H...

By Terri Guest, CIRMS, CMCA

It is no secret that the insurance industry, especially for common interest developments in California, is in crisis. After several years of wildfires and other natural disasters, carriers are not only charging higher premiums, but also revising eligibility requirements and giving greater scrutiny to insurance applications.

In previous years, questions regarding infrastructure items, such as electrical wiring, plumbing, and HVAC, have been answered by the board with homeowner responsibility, effectively calling out "not it!" to insurance underwriters. This answer is no longer accepted.

With respect to condominiums and townhomes, while electrical wiring, plumbing, and HVAC that serve a single unit are generally the maintenance responsibility of each individual owner, it is almost always included in the insurance responsibility for the association. While less common, the same can be true for roofs and exterior siding. Unit owners maintain, repair, and repla...