Our HOA's insurer inspected the property and sent a list of required repairs. What should the board do?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised November 9, 2026

What an HOA board does when the insurer's inspector sends required repairs: reading the deadline, TX, FL and CO cancellation rules, a fix log and a reply letter.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

Treat the inspection letter as a condition of keeping your coverage, not as advice. Within a week, find out which items the carrier calls required, the date it wants them done and what proof it will accept. Send the letter to your agent and the full board, assign every item to a named director, and write back before the deadline with photos and invoices. If an item will cost more than the board can approve or cannot be done in time, ask the carrier in writing for more time before the date passes. A missed deadline on a new policy can end in cancellation, and on a renewal it hands the carrier a reason not to renew. How much time the association has depends on state law, on whether the carrier is admitted in your state and on the policy itself. This guide is general education, not legal or insurance advice.

Read the letter for four facts

The inspector may be called a loss control, risk control or underwriting inspector, and the visit can come soon after a new policy is bound or ahead of a renewal. Many reports sort findings into two groups, labeled requirements and recommendations, or mandatory and advisory. Mark each line as one or the other, because only the first group is a condition of coverage. Then find the response date and put it on the board calendar. Find out what counts as proof: photos, a contractor's invoice, a signed form or a second visit. Last, check who the letter went to. Many go only to the agent, and a board that hears about the letter three weeks late has lost half its window. Ask your agent to forward every carrier letter the day it arrives and to tell you when an inspection is scheduled so a director can walk the site with the inspector.

What the carrier can do if you miss the date

In Texas, Insurance Code chapter 551 covers liability and commercial property policies from admitted insurers, which is how most HOA master policies are written. Under section 551.052, the insurer may cancel a new policy during its first 60 days, but after that, and on any renewal, cancellation is limited to fraud, unpaid premium, an increase in hazard within the insured's control that would produce a rate increase, or loss of reinsurance. Section 551.053 requires 10 days' written notice of a cancellation, and section 551.054 lets the insurer decline to renew with 60 days' notice. So the first two months of a new Texas policy are when an unfixed item matters most. In Florida, section 627.4133(2) covers commercial residential policies and names condominium association policies. After 60 days in force, the insurer may cancel for 'a failure to comply, within 60 days after the date of effectuation of coverage, with underwriting requirements' it set before coverage began. If the carrier attached conditions at binding, count 60 days from the effective date and finish inside that window. In Colorado, section 10-4-109.7 requires 45 days' notice of intent to cancel a commercial policy (10 days for unpaid premium) and limits valid reasons to unpaid premium, a knowingly false application statement, or a substantial change in the risk from what the application showed. An ignored recommendation is not one of those reasons, but section 10-4-110 still lets the carrier decline to renew with 45 days' notice. Both Colorado sections exclude surplus lines insurers, and the Texas subchapter applies only to admitted insurers, so ask your agent which kind of carrier you have. HOAs in other states should ask the same question, because notice rules differ from state to state.

Sort the list and give every item an owner

Put the findings in a simple log with these columns: item, required or recommended, location, who owns it, estimated cost, vendor, target date, date done, and proof filed. Then sort. Hazards that could hurt someone this week, such as a broken pool gate latch, a missing handrail or exposed wiring at a light pole, get fixed now, even before the board meets, under whatever emergency spending authority your documents or policies give the president. Cheap items a volunteer or the regular handyman can finish, such as replacing a cracked sidewalk panel, adding a fire extinguisher to the clubhouse or posting pool rules, go on a two-week list. Items that need a licensed contractor or a quote go to the director who manages vendors, with a target of quotes in hand by the next board meeting. Items you think are wrong, such as a finding about a building the association does not own or a unit owner's deck, go to the agent with a short written explanation and a copy of the declaration page that shows who maintains it. Do not argue with the carrier directly; let the agent carry the dispute.

When a required fix costs real money

Some letters ask for a roof replacement, new electrical panels or a sprinkler upgrade. Before the board panics, ask the agent three questions in writing. Will the carrier accept a signed contract and a start date as compliance, with photos of the finished work later? Will it extend the deadline if the board shows a plan? Would a different, cheaper fix satisfy the underwriter, such as an engineer's letter certifying a roof's remaining life? Whatever the answer, get it from the carrier in writing, through the agent, before the original date. Then look at the money. A component already in the reserve study can usually be paid from reserves, though moving the project up a few years should be noted in the minutes and the next study. A cost beyond reserves may need a special assessment or a loan, and both have notice and vote rules set by your documents and state law. Our guide on how to levy an HOA special assessment walks through them. Price replacement coverage at the same time, because another carrier may impose the same condition, and a nonrenewal now gives you less time to fix it than a cooperative carrier would.

Write back and keep the proof

Send the response through the agent, in writing, before the deadline, even if some items are still open. A reply the board can adapt: 'Re: Policy [number], loss control report dated [date]. The association has completed items 1, 2, 4 and 6; photos and invoices are attached. Item 3 (pool gate closer) is scheduled for [date] with [vendor]; a signed work order is attached. Item 5 (roof, Building C) is under contract with [roofer] for completion by [date]; the contract and deposit receipt are attached. We ask that the carrier accept this plan and extend the compliance date for items 3 and 5 to [date]. Please confirm in writing.' Keep the report, the log, every photo, every invoice and the carrier's written replies in one folder in the association's records. If a claim comes in later, that folder shows the board fixed what the carrier asked. A motion for the minutes: 'Motion to approve the attached plan responding to the [carrier] loss control report dated [date], to authorize up to $[amount] from [operating or reserve fund] for the listed repairs, and to direct the treasurer to send the response through [agency] by [date].'

A sample 60-day timeline

This assumes a letter with a 60-day compliance date. Day 1: letter arrives; the president sends it to the board and the agent and asks the agent to confirm the date and the proof required. Days 2 to 5: the log is built and every item has an owner; any immediate hazard is fixed or blocked off. Days 6 to 21: small items done and photographed; quotes requested for contractor work; disputed items sent to the agent with documents. Days 22 to 30: board meeting; quotes reviewed, funding chosen, motion recorded; extension request sent for anything that cannot finish by day 60. Days 31 to 55: work completed, invoices collected, photos taken from the same angles as the inspector's. Days 56 to 60: response letter sent through the agent with every attachment, and written confirmation requested. Day 75: if the carrier has not confirmed, the agent follows up. In Florida, if the conditions were attached at binding, line this schedule up with the 60 days after the effective date, not the letter date.

Mistakes boards make with inspection letters

Filing the letter as advice because it says 'recommendations' at the top, when half the items are marked required. Letting the agent hold the letter for weeks. Fixing everything quietly and never telling the carrier, which leaves the file showing open items at renewal. Sending the response after the deadline instead of asking for an extension before it. Paying a contractor to fix something the declaration makes an owner's job, instead of sending that owner a maintenance notice. Assuming a renewal is safe because nobody canceled the policy mid-term; a nonrenewal can follow at the next expiration date. Throwing away the old report once the work is done. The next inspector will compare against it, and our guide on how to respond to an HOA master insurance nonrenewal notice covers what happens when a carrier decides the file still looks bad. Keep the loss runs and inspection reports together, and read them again before you review the renewal quote each year.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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