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Quorum Case Files

Quorum Case Files

Forty-Eight Million

Oct 31, 2026 · 20 min · 10 segments

Season 9 of Quorum Case Files opens with the number every condo board member in America already knows and almost none has sat with: forty-eight million dollars. That is what the Champlain Towers South…

Season 9 of Quorum Case Files opens with the number every condo board member in America already knows and almost none has sat with: forty-eight million dollars. That is what the Champlain Towers South condominium association told a Miami-Dade judge it carried in insurance, thirty million on the property and eighteen million in liability, days after the June 2021 collapse that killed ninety-eight people. The judge says on the record that it will obviously be inadequate. A year later the court approves a settlement fund of one point zero two billion dollars, and almost none of it comes from the association's own policies. Ian and Chris introduce the season, Act of God, and its signature segment, The Declarations Page, then follow the money as reported: the receivership, the owners' eighty-three million that becomes ninety-six, the land sale, the vendors' and neighbors' insurers who funded the rest. No fault assigned, no speculation. One governance lesson for HOA and community association boards and community managers about what a liability limit actually says.

Season 9 of Quorum Case Files opens with the number every condo board member in America already knows and almost none has sat with: forty-eight million dollars. That is what the Champlain Towers South…

Speakers: Ian KnightHostChrisHost

Show signals: SuitabilitySafeBiasNot political

Top entities: Florida×12 Act of God×9 Surfside×10 Miami-Dade County×5 United States

Florida's Insurance Framework3:32 – 6:16

C

ChrisHost

3:32

One piece of the Florida frame first, because it hangs over every Florida case this season.

C

ChrisHost

3:36

You read the guarantee fund orders raw.

I

3:38

I did.

I

3:39

The Florida Insurance Guarantee Association, FIGA, is the fund that steps in when an insurer dies.

I

3:46

It is paid for by assessments on every policyholder in the state.

I

3:50

Between 2021 and 2023, the Office of Insurance Regulation approved four of them, 0.7%.

I

3:58

1.3 after the St. John's liquidation, 0.7 again after Southern Fidelity, and in April 2023, a 1% emergency assessment for hurricane insolvencies the order names as including Irma, Michael, and Ian.

C

ChrisHost

4:12

Is that one still running?

I

4:14

Until the bonds are repaid, per FIGA policies effective, October 1st of this year, no longer carry it.

I

4:20

So as of this recording, it is coming off.

C

ChrisHost

4:22

So, Florida owners have spent this entire period paying a surcharge to bury other people's insurers.

I

4:28

Noted.

C

ChrisHost

4:41

The community.

C

ChrisHost

4:41

Tell me what it was on paper.

I

4:43

A condominium association in the town of Surfside in Miami-Dade County, Florida.

I

4:47

136 residential units.

I

4:49

One tower.

I

4:50

The association owned the building and the land under it.

I

4:53

That is the only balance sheet that matters tonight.

I

4:56

And the policy.

I

4:57

What we know of it comes from the association's own lawyer in open court, as reported.

I

5:02

$30 million of property coverage.

I

5:04

$18 million of liability coverage.

I

5:06

$48 million in total.

C

ChrisHost

5:08

Do we know the carriers?

FloridaAdministrative AreaUS state
98%12 mentions
Act of GodEntity
93%9 mentions
SurfsideCityTown in Miami Beach, Florida
88%10 mentions
Miami-Dade CountyAdministrative AreaUS county in Florida
83%5 mentions
United StatesCountryCountry in North America
78%1 mention
Eighty Seven ParkCivic StructureCondominium complex in Miami Beach, Florida
73%2 mentions
Surfside condominium collapseEventDisaster
68%3 mentions
James River Insurance CompanyCompanyCompany
63%4 mentions
Associated PressCompanyNews agency company
57%3 mentions
Homeowner associationEntityOrganization type
53%1 mention
CondominiumEntityBuilding use
48%1 mention
Hurricane SandyEvent2012 tropical cyclone
43%2 mentions
New JerseyAdministrative AreaUS state
38%2 mentions
Amazon KindleProduct ModelComputer monitor
30%2 mentions
AudibleCompanyCompany
30%2 mentions
Amazon.comCompanyMultinational conglomerate company
23%2 mentions
CNNCompanyCompany
18%1 mention
National Public RadioCompanyRadio network
13%2 mentions
DubaiCityCity in the United Arab Emirates
8%1 mention
WTVJTV ChannelTelevision station
3%1 mention

Property OwnershipReal Estate
Society
Property and Liability InsuranceLaw > Insurance Law
Insurance FinanceFinance
Disasters and Public TragediesSociety
Condominium Association CoverageLaw > Insurance Law > Property and Liability Insurance
Surfside Collapse Insurance ClaimsLaw > Insurance Law > Property and Liability Insurance > Condominium Association Coverage
Insurance Solvency and Guarantee FundsFinance > Insurance Finance
Florida Insurance Guarantee AssociationFinance > Insurance Finance > Insurance Solvency and Guarantee Funds
Policyholder Assessments for Insurer InsolvenciesFinance > Insurance Finance > Insurance Solvency and Guarantee Funds > Florida Insurance Guarantee Association
Building Insurance and Risk ManagementReal Estate > Property Ownership > Condominium Associations
Surfside Condominium Property and Land RecoveryReal Estate > Property Ownership > Condominium Associations > Building Insurance and Risk Management
Structural Building CollapseSociety > Disasters and Public Tragedies
Champlain Towers South CollapseSociety > Disasters and Public Tragedies > Structural Building Collapse
Victim Compensation and Settlement FundSociety > Disasters and Public Tragedies > Structural Building Collapse > Champlain Towers South Collapse
Board Insurance DecisionsBusiness > Risk Management > Corporate Governance
Liability Limits and Renewal DocumentationBusiness > Risk Management > Corporate Governance > Board Insurance Decisions
Insurance LawLaw
Corporate GovernanceBusiness > Risk Management
Condominium AssociationsReal Estate > Property Ownership
Risk ManagementBusiness
Law
Business
Finance
Real Estate

Florida's Insurance Framework3:32 – 6:16

C

ChrisHost

3:32

One piece of the Florida frame first, because it hangs over every Florida case this season.

C

ChrisHost

3:36

You read the guarantee fund orders raw.

I

3:38

I did.

I

3:39

The Florida Insurance Guarantee Association, FIGA, is the fund that steps in when an insurer dies.

I

3:46

It is paid for by assessments on every policyholder in the state.

I

3:50

Between 2021 and 2023, the Office of Insurance Regulation approved four of them, 0.7%.

I

3:58

1.3 after the St. John's liquidation, 0.7 again after Southern Fidelity, and in April 2023, a 1% emergency assessment for hurricane insolvencies the order names as including Irma, Michael, and Ian.

C

ChrisHost

4:12

Is that one still running?

I

4:14

Until the bonds are repaid, per FIGA policies effective, October 1st of this year, no longer carry it.

I

4:20

So as of this recording, it is coming off.

C

ChrisHost

4:22

So, Florida owners have spent this entire period paying a surcharge to bury other people's insurers.

I

4:28

Noted.

C

ChrisHost

4:41

The community.

C

ChrisHost

4:41

Tell me what it was on paper.

I

4:43

A condominium association in the town of Surfside in Miami-Dade County, Florida.

I

4:47

136 residential units.

I

4:49

One tower.

I

4:50

The association owned the building and the land under it.

I

4:53

That is the only balance sheet that matters tonight.

I

4:56

And the policy.

I

4:57

What we know of it comes from the association's own lawyer in open court, as reported.

I

5:02

$30 million of property coverage.

I

5:04

$18 million of liability coverage.

I

5:06

$48 million in total.

C

ChrisHost

5:08

Do we know the carriers?

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