Manhattan apartment building insurance

What makes Manhattan buildings different to insure

Manhattan has a large share of the city's co-ops and condos, many prewar elevator buildings, and a lot of buildings with retail or restaurants on the ground floor. Each of those details changes how an insurer looks at the building.

• Replacement cost, not market value. Property insurance should match what it would cost to rebuild, not what the building would sell for. In Manhattan the gap between the two can be very large, so the insured value needs its own calculation.
• Elevators, boilers and building systems. Older systems and their maintenance records matter to underwriters, and equipment breakdown coverage is worth a look for any building that runs on them.
• Ground-floor tenants. A restaurant or bar below apartments is a different risk from a dry cleaner or an office. See mixed-use building insurance.
• Boards and governance. Co-op and condo boards need D&O coverage, and their lenders and bylaws often set minimum limits. See co-op insurance and condo association insurance.
• Waterfront areas. Parts of Lower Manhattan and the waterfront edges of the island fall in FEMA flood zones. You can check any address on NYC's Flood Hazard Mapper.

Coverage Manhattan building owners usually carry

A typical program combines property (with loss of rents), general liability, an umbrella, equipment breakdown, and for co-ops and condos, directors and officers liability and crime coverage. Buildings with a mortgage also have to meet the lender's insurance list. Our guide to lender insurance requirements walks through it.