SOCOTEC Hosts Safe & Sound Leadership Summit, a Conference Dedicated to Serving Florida Condominium Associations

NEW YORK, April 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- SOCOTEC USA, a leading provider of TIC (Testing, Inspection, and Certification), consulting, and advisory services with a strategic focus on buildings and infrastructure, announces the success of its Safe & Sound: The SOCOTEC Condominium Leadership Summit held on Thursday, March 28, in Dania Beach, FL at the Le Meridien Dania Beach at Fort Lauderdale Airport.

Over 100 condominium association board members and executives from property management companies converged with 20 key industry experts, including Legislators, Senior Property Managers, Engineers, Project Managers, Attorneys, Bankers, and Insurance Advisors. This exclusive event was dedicated to empowering Florida condominium residents by providing expert guidance on leading safe, financially healthy, and well-maintained condominium buildings.

Adam Snitzer, Principal at SOCOTEC, and a pivotal figure in the execution of the event, shared, "[i]t was a privilege to be part of a group of professionals who are so dedicated to the well-being of the Florida condominium community. Recent building safety and financial reserve regulations have turned the condominium community upside down, but SOCOTEC is committed to providing solid advice about how communities can successfully navigate this new landscape."

Topics discussed throughout the Summit imparted learning objectives, including:

1. How associations can best cope with the latest building-safety legislation, insurance requirements, banking realities, and repair costs.
2. How to comply with the latest state regulations for structural inspections, reserve requirements, and life/safety systems.
3. How to navigate the insurance industry's outlook, latest requirements, and future trends.
4. How to best meet your fiduciary obligations as an association board member or property manager.
5. How to utilize best practices in efficiently conducting repairs and maintenance.
6. How to help your community save money and control costs.
7. How to best understand and manage unit owner concerns.

David Haber, Managing Partner at Haber Law, and key player on the event's insurance panel, stated, "I found the SOCOTEC event to be very interesting, especially its panels that were put together with people from different industries. Obviously, insurance is a huge topic in Florida right now and we have the highest property insurance rates in the country. We had a frank discussion about the recent hurricanes and changes in state law after the Champlain Towers tragedy, as well as the lack of competitiveness in the Florida insurance markets – with few carriers willing to write condominium policies – all of which have led to crushing increases in premiums, with no expected relief on the horizon, absent major legislative reforms on the state or federal level."

Michael York, a moderator at the event, and Director of Business Development at SOCOTEC shared, "[t]his was an opportunity to reinforce SOCOTEC's commitment to leading first through education. The summit allowed key industry professionals to articulate nuances facing our current association ecosystem and provide solutions to navigate the current landscape more effectively. Equally important, it provided a platform for homeowners and key legislators to have constructive dialogue regarding new safety legislative requirements, the insurance crisis and how to handle capital improvement / deferred maintenance projects most efficiently."

Three carefully curated panels were the heart of the event:

Panel 1: Legislative Update-Latest from Tallahassee – implications of new building safety rules and regulations surrounding condominium communities, the panel provided a comprehensive understanding of the evolving landscape that will shape the obligations of association board members and the future dynamics of Florida condominium living.

• Mark Anderson, Lobbyist (Founder and CEO), Mark Anderson Governmental Consulting
• Donna DiMaggio Berger, Attorney (Shareholder), Becker & Poliakoff
• Hillary Cassel, Florida State Representative
• Katharine Effron, Vice President, South Florida High-Rise Division, FirstService Residential
• Rosalind Osgood, Florida State Senator
• Jason Pizzo, Florida State Senator
• Moderated by: Adam Snitzer, Principal, SOCOTEC

Panel 2: Insurance Outlook & Cost Saving Measures – analyzation of the intricate intersection of Florida's insurance requirements and banking realities, the panel offered insights into successfully navigating the increasingly complex dynamics for condominium communities.

• Josh Burkett, Lobbyist, Mark Anderson Governmental Consulting
• Hillary Cassel, Florida State Representative
• David Haber, Attorney (Managing & Founding Shareholder), Haber Law
• Jerrime Kitsos, Senior Vice President, HUB International (Insurance)
• Matt Minchow, Executive Director – Community Association Banking, First National Bank of Omaha
• James Schumaker, EVP of Business Development, Castle Group (Property Management)
• Moderated by: Michael York, Director of Business Development, SOCOTEC

Panel 3: Well-Maintained Building Best Practices - strategic insights on optimizing compliance with State building safety regulations, the panel explored innovative approaches and best practices to meet the evolving regulations efficiently and cost effectively with as little disruption as possible to day-to-day life at the community.

• Oscar Hernandez, Life Safety Consultant (Associate), SOCOTEC
• Morgan Marcos, President/CEO, Innovative Solutions Construction, Inc. (General Contractor)
• Michael Pou, Principal, SOCOTEC
• Jason Rodgers-Da Cruz, Shareholder, Siegfried Rivera
• Casey Ward, Principal Engineer, SOCOTEC
• Moderated by: Bruce Masia, Regional VP, KW Property Management

The Safe & Sound Summit's success is a testament to SOCOTEC's reputation as being at the forefront of driving innovation and excellence in the fields of architecture, engineering, advisory and life safety.

Alan Sides, Senior Managing Director of SOCOTEC Advisory, and attendee of the event, echoed this, saying: "SOCOTEC, along with its government, legal and industry partners, was pleased to bring its collective expertise in condominium maintenance and risk management to the 60+ HOA's represented here today. This reflects SOCOTEC's mission and commitment to building a safer and sustainable world. We look forward to future opportunities to educate and assist condominium HOA's and the homeowners they represent in effectively managing its assets while navigating an ever increasingly complex regulatory environment."

About SOCOTEC
The SOCOTEC Group, headed by Hervé Montjotin, has built its reputation as an independent, trusted partner assisting companies in the areas of quality, sustainability and safety, and the environment.

Today a leading $1.3 billion EUR company that more than doubled in size in 6 years, SOCOTEC's mission is to ensure the integrity and performance of building and infrastructure assets and people's safety. Through its inspection and measurement, assistance and consultancy, training, and certification services, SOCOTEC helps to optimize the performance of companies in every sector by managing the risks inherent in their activities. Drawing on its expertise and positioning itself as a long-term partner, SOCOTEC supports its clients throughout their project's lifecycle.

As a major player in TIC for the building and infrastructure sectors, the SOCOTEC Group has 200,000 clients with operations in 26 countries, 11,500 employees and over 250 external recognitions.

SOCOTEC, an industry leader in the building and infrastructure sectors, offers the combined highly technical expertise of an expansive and holistic network of experts across six service lines: (i) Building Envelope; (ii) Energy & Sustainability; (iii) Code & Planning; (iv) Life Safety; (v) Project Advisory; (vi) Dispute Resolution; and (vii) Specialty Engineering. In the USA, SOCOTEC employs approximately 550 professionals in more than 25 offices.

Visit www.socotec.us for more information.

SOURCE SOCOTEC