Ordinance or Law Coverage

Sometimes I wake up at night thinking about articles for this blog. I'm surprised that this subject has not been included here yet!

After a loss to your building you may find that local laws and building ordinances increase the cost of reconstruction. Perhaps you will have to add a sprinkler system or add handicap access.

Ordinance or law coverage provides additional insurance to pay for the higher cost of reconstruction due to building codes, laws, or regulations.

The coverage actually has three parts:

Coverage A - Loss to the Undamaged Portion of the Building: Coverage is provided for the value of that part of the building that is undamaged but that must be demolished by order of a governmental authority due to a building code.

Coverage B - Demolition Cost to the Undamaged Portion of the Building: Pays the cost of demolishing and removing the undamaged portion of the building.

Coverage C - Increased Cost of Construction: Pays the increased cost of construction due to law or building codes.

Check with your insurance agent to see what limits you have for this coverage. If your building is over ten years old I would be surprised if there are not at least some building codes you would be affected by.