May 2010 Condo Owners Sell TVs, Furniture to Pay for Transformer Repairs Without Equipment Insurance, Families left in the Dark and Deep in Debt Why do your customers need equipment breakdown insurance? Without coverage, the residents of a condominium complex had to sell their televisions, clothing and other personal possessions because they couldn't afford to repair a damaged transformer. NO POWER, NO COVERAGE When the transformer broke down, 43 families lost electrical power for lights, air conditioning, hot water and other services. Because the transformer was located on the condo property, the local utility said residents must hire an electrician to fix the problem. IT CAN BE A SHOCK "The owners of condominiums and apartments are responsible for many types of equipment on their premises," said Tim Bebout, HSB vice president for equipment breakdown products. "Often they don't realize it until that equipment breaks down and they must pay for repairs because the utility, their property insurance or their homeowners policies won't cover the cost." "WE DON'T HAVE A CHOICE" The families didn't have equipment breakdown insurance and couldn't afford to pay up to $50,000 it could cost to replace the transformer. Desperate to restore power, they held tag sales to sell their TVs, tables and chairs, a dining room set, donated mattresses and other items. "We don't have a choice at this point," one resident told a newspaper. EB COVERAGE IS INDISPENSIBLE The condominium complex should have had an equipment breakdown policy. It could have covered the transformer loss, including costs to expedite the work and restore electricity to the peoples' homes. With so much equipment at risk, no condominiums or apartment buildings should be without equipment breakdown coverage. HSB WANTS YOUR CONDO BUSINESS HSB provides quality equipment breakdown programs for condominiums. In fact, we consider condominiums and apartments to be among the most desirable classes of business. HSB offers broad coverage in our HSB Freestyle® monoline policies, or packaged with the dozens of leading property-casualty companies we reinsure. Hartford Steam Boiler - One State Street - P.O. Box 5024 - Hartford, CT 06102-5024 Phone: 860-722-1866 - Fax: 860-722-5106 ©1996-2010 The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company. All rights reserved.