This year, the Board of 2400 Roswell Condominium Owners Association discovered that the insurance coverage recommended by and obtained by CAMS (Community Association Management Services [https://www.camsmgt.com/]) on our behalf has 1) been woefully inadequate and 2) been issued in duplicate.
To expand further, the insurance coverage on our building has been in the amount of $9.9M when in actuality our building replacement cost is more in the range of $25M to $30M. Our bylaws require that we insure the building for 100% of its value. So, for the last number of years, CAMS has guided us to insure our building for much less than its replacement value and in so doing has guided us to violate our bylaws.
Furthermore, for periods of time since 2016, CAMS has purchased (and charged us for) duplicate insurance on our behalf. This is my third year on the Board, and at no time has CAMS ever shown us certificates of insurance, nor has CAMS broken down the cost of insurance for the Board to evaluate. However, we have discovered that for periods of time since 2016 CAMS has purchased identical insurance coverage from two different insurance agencies for at least several types of insurance (including D&O insurance) and the unnecessary premiums we have paid for this duplication may range from between $6,000 to well in excess of $10,000. Strangely, it appears that the records kept by Stewart Little (the insurance agent) are in such disarray that he is unable to document exactly what he sold CAMS since 2016, and even more strangely, it appears that CAMS is unable to accurately itemize our insurance expenditures over the same time period. We only discovered the duplication when several other agencies informed us that the insurance companies they represented had issued identical coverage for us.
WHAT CAMS SAYS:
CAMS website states "The day-to-day operations of most associations are so detailed and involved that they go far beyond the scope and time and attention that most volunteers can provide for the community and its members. Most Boards recognize the need to hire a professional firm that can provide experience and expertise. CAMS is an AAMC, Accredited Association Management Company, which ensures your HOA that our team has the experience, knowledge and specific industry expertise needed to provide the highest level of service and trusted guidance to your community. Our community management team is made up of local experts available in each of the areas we serve throughout North and South Carolina."
WHAT CAMS DOES
Ben Rhodes, Senior Vice President, Association Management, stated on June 29, 2023 "... I believe you may misunderstand the relationship between CAMS and 2400 Rosewell. We were an agent of the Association and served at the direction of your Board of Directors. By stating the facts below shows your Board was derelict in its duties to review contracts, financials and pay attention to the building valuation. CAMS is not your insurance agent and no one in the organization has the skills to provide you some of the services you are assuming we should provide."
The "experience, knowledge and specific industry expertise needed to provide the highest level of service and trusted guidance" provided by CAMS was apparently not sufficient to determine that identical insurance coverage from two different companies is not necessary, and neither were they able to conclude that $9.9M of insurance was insufficient to cover the replacement costs of a $25+M building. Because of inadequate record keeping by Stewart Little (the insurance agent) and CAMS we are not able to determine the exact length of time we were covered by duplicate insurance policies, but we suspect that this could have begun as early as 2016. We do know for certain that we paid CAMS for duplicate insurance coverage since 2021.
CAMS has refused to refund the money spend on this duplicate insurance coverage (because of inadequate record keeping by Stewart Little and CAMS we are not able to know precisely the exact figure, but we estimate between $6,000 and $15,000).
Community Association Management Services Reviews
This year, the Board of 2400 Roswell Condominium Owners Association discovered that the insurance coverage recommended by and obtained by CAMS (Community Association Management Services [https://www.camsmgt.com/]) on our behalf has 1) been woefully inadequate and 2) been issued in duplicate.
To expand further, the insurance coverage on our building has been in the amount of $9.9M when in actuality our building replacement cost is more in the range of $25M to $30M. Our bylaws require that we insure the building for 100% of its value. So, for the last number of years, CAMS has guided us to insure our building for much less than its replacement value and in so doing has guided us to violate our bylaws.
Furthermore, for periods of time since 2016, CAMS has purchased (and charged us for) duplicate insurance on our behalf. This is my third year on the Board, and at no time has CAMS ever shown us certificates of insurance, nor has CAMS broken down the cost of insurance for the Board to evaluate. However, we have discovered that for periods of time since 2016 CAMS has purchased identical insurance coverage from two different insurance agencies for at least several types of insurance (including D&O insurance) and the unnecessary premiums we have paid for this duplication may range from between $6,000 to well in excess of $10,000. Strangely, it appears that the records kept by Stewart Little (the insurance agent) are in such disarray that he is unable to document exactly what he sold CAMS since 2016, and even more strangely, it appears that CAMS is unable to accurately itemize our insurance expenditures over the same time period. We only discovered the duplication when several other agencies informed us that the insurance companies they represented had issued identical coverage for us.
WHAT CAMS SAYS:
CAMS website states "The day-to-day operations of most associations are so detailed and involved that they go far beyond the scope and time and attention that most volunteers can provide for the community and its members. Most Boards recognize the need to hire a professional firm that can provide experience and expertise. CAMS is an AAMC, Accredited Association Management Company, which ensures your HOA that our team has the experience, knowledge and specific industry expertise needed to provide the highest level of service and trusted guidance to your community. Our community management team is made up of local experts available in each of the areas we serve throughout North and South Carolina."
WHAT CAMS DOES
Ben Rhodes, Senior Vice President, Association Management, stated on June 29, 2023 "... I believe you may misunderstand the relationship between CAMS and 2400 Rosewell. We were an agent of the Association and served at the direction of your Board of Directors. By stating the facts below shows your Board was derelict in its duties to review contracts, financials and pay attention to the building valuation. CAMS is not your insurance agent and no one in the organization has the skills to provide you some of the services you are assuming we should provide."
The "experience, knowledge and specific industry expertise needed to provide the highest level of service and trusted guidance" provided by CAMS was apparently not sufficient to determine that identical insurance coverage from two different companies is not necessary, and neither were they able to conclude that $9.9M of insurance was insufficient to cover the replacement costs of a $25+M building. Because of inadequate record keeping by Stewart Little (the insurance agent) and CAMS we are not able to determine the exact length of time we were covered by duplicate insurance policies, but we suspect that this could have begun as early as 2016. We do know for certain that we paid CAMS for duplicate insurance coverage since 2021.
CAMS has refused to refund the money spend on this duplicate insurance coverage (because of inadequate record keeping by Stewart Little and CAMS we are not able to know precisely the exact figure, but we estimate between $6,000 and $15,000).