Brickell Homeowners Association, Inc.
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Board Room to Storm Room: Planning Together a Hurricane Prep Luncheon

We had a great turnout at our “Board Room to Storm Room:Hurricane Prep Luncheon”, where 20 condominium associations were represented, including: Nordica Condominium, IconBrickell Tower 1, IconBrickell Tower 2, Courts Brickell Key, Solaris, One Tequesta, Brickell Biscayne, 1060, The Mark on Brickell, Brickell Place Phase II, Sunset Villas Phase III, Brickell Harbour Condominium, Miami Historic East Shenandoah, The Palace, Courvoisier Courts, Brickell View Condominium Association, BrickellHouse Condominium, Brickell Flatiron, 55 Merrick, and Bristol Tower. Property managers and board members joined the conversation on proactive planning, insurance readiness, infrastructure resilience, and communication strategies.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for such an informative event. A special thank you to Federico Baroglio, who did an incredible job moderating the discussion and keeping the conversation focused and impactful. This event was proudly sponsored by Siegfried Rivera, EmpireWorks, GlobalPro, Water Restoration Group, Hotwire Communications and USI, all leaders in building protection, insurance, legal counsel, and restoration. 

Here are some of the key takeaways:

Emergency Alerts & Evacuation Resources

  • Captain Joseph Markowitz from Miami Fire Rescue encouraged everyone to sign up for Alert Miami by texting 888777 to receive real-time emergency notifications.

  • The Evacuation Assistance Program is available by dialing 311, make sure residents who may need support are aware of this resource.

  • The Department updates their plan every year and are well prepared for Hurricane Season.


Insurance Readiness, Claims & Financial Preparedness

Pam Malfavon (USI) highlighted the need to understand your insurance policy, including:

  • The differences between hurricane vs. named storm deductibles

  • Whether your deductible is calendar-year or per-occurrence

  • How to budget in advance for these costs or secure a line of credit to help cover them in an emergency

Matthew S. (GlobalPro) emphasized the importance of properly representing your damages in a claim, how you describe the situation is everything. Representation by an experienced professional gives you:

  • A strategic advantage

  • Protection of your fiduciary duty to the association

Roberto Blanch (Siegfried | Rivera) clarified that while you are not legally required to hire an attorney or public adjuster to file a claim, it’s worth considering.

  • Insurance companies are not eager to write checks, and rarely offer enough to cover the full value of losses or lawsuits.

  • You may be dealing with “pitbulls” guarding their money—not having representation can put your association at a disadvantage.

Lorenzo Cardenas (USI) spoke about the complementarity between an association’s master insurance policy and the individual HO-6 homeowners policies. He stressed the importance of carrying both, explaining that in the event of a hurricane, a special assessment may be issued by the association to cover the deductible under its policy—something that could be partially or fully covered by the homeowner’s HO-6 policy, depending on its terms.

Justin Mila (Hotwire) also urged boards to qualify their partners carefully, from contractors to adjusters, before a crisis hits.

Henry Dow (WRG) reminded everyone of a crucial but often overlooked tip: always keep emergency cash reserves on hand for immediate response needs.

Technology & Connectivity

  • Justin Mila (Hotwire) and Matt Mora (Icon PM) stressed the importance of fiber internet infrastructure and having backup systems in place.

    • At Icon Brickell, a power outage during New Year’s Eve threatened to cut the internet within 6 hours. Their teams responded quickly, but the situation emphasized the importance of having a generator and a technology continuity plan.

Vendor & Resident Communication

  • Henry Dow (WRG) highlighted the importance of ongoing communication with both residents and vendors.

    • Be proactive and involve key vendors in the pre-storm planning phase, not just post-disaster response.

Facility Inspections & Preventive Measures

Nikki Smith (EmpireWorks) recommended that associations inspect roof drains and critical areas in advance of storm season with their engineer.

  • She also encouraged keeping a digital camera on hand to document property conditions, especially if phone batteries die.

  • Her reminder: “If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready.”

We thank all of our speakers and participants for sharing their insights and helping the community take real, practical steps toward resilience. Attendees walked away with valuable knowledge, actionable strategies, and a renewed commitment to protecting their buildings and residents. Just as important, the event fostered meaningful networking and camaraderie andrelationships built over time through membership and shared dedication to our community’s well-being.

Brickell Homeowners