It depends on a number of factors,* but in order to get your Association the most competitive terms, we will need to allow enough time to properly exhaust the marketplace. Additionally, correctly addressing coverage for common interest developments is a complex task. To do an earnest job, we need to review the CC&Rs, gather detailed underwriting information such as square footage and photos, prepare estimated values, and review the loss history. Then we can evaluate which of our available markets may represent viable candidates for the Association’s coverage.
On earthquake submissions in particular, the carriers need to assess additional factors (e.g. determine the distant to faults, the type of parking, the susceptibility to liquefaction, the type of soils, etc.) . The carrier’s need to also assess their own appetite for business in a particular location based on prior placements of earthquake coverage and their own accessibility to reinsurance.
Ultimately, whether we are quoting master or earthquake coverage (or both!), we are approaching multiple facilities, awaiting their feedback, and going back to them to negotiate terms before preparing our final presentation to the board. Together with our underwriting efforts, this process generally takes about two weeks from start to finish, but it can take more or less time depending on your account’s individual circumstances.* (For earthquake insurance inquiries, we can usually offer a preliminary indication much more quickly (within 2-3 business days), to provide you with a general idea of the ballpark pricing before we embark on a full-fledged marketing effort.) All this to say, any time you can provide us with a specific deadline (we call this a “need-by date”), that’s enormously helpful!
*Size, renewal date, unique exposures and recent and/or open claims are some of the factors that can influence our turnaround time.