Strata Insurance (Residential and Commercial)

You can’t insure your own unit in a multi-storey building, so Strata Insurance was designed to provide the individual unit holders of the building with cover for property damage, no matter the size or location of the building. We cover you for damages to the building, its contents, loss of rent and various owners’ liabilities that you have.

What is Strata Insurance?

Strata Insurance is a specialised insurance product created to insure common property. Strata Insurance Policies are also designed to help the strata committee ensure that the insurance is compliant with the relevant state Strata Legislation.

Residential Strata Insurance or Commercial Strata Insurance generally covers common property as defined within the title. For example, walls, balconies, windows, roofs, floors, pools, driveways etc. The premium is typically shared between each owner and generally is incorporated into their body corporate fees. 

WHAT TO CONSIDERS

Protecting your business

The key insurances you should consider.

Insured Property Cover for loss, damage or destruction of any fixed structure that is considered part of the strata, and not individually owned. This may consist of common areas and buildings like walls, roofs, windows, common driveways, pools and gyms etc.

Public or Legal Liability Cover for costs that may be incurred when property is damaged or someone is injured within the common areas. We recommend $20,000,000 in all states, although this is the minimum required for NSW.

Voluntary Workers provides cover for death or injury to those working for the strata on a voluntary basis (i.e. not considered a paid employee).

This section provides cover for fraudulent loss of funds directly from the strata that the committee is responsible for.

Office Bearers Liability cover for an office bearer of the committee to the strata against loss from a wrongful acts or errors whilst in their capacity. There is generally no end date to this exposure.

Contractors can hold a strata liable if they are injured whilst working on a strata building. This also provides cover to any paid workers that the strata may employ, for example gardeners, caretakers etc, that are not external contractors.

This section covers loss or damage to or from plant and equipment, like mechanical equipment, pressure pipe systems or electronic equipment. Elevators and large air conditioners are expensive to fix, so it is important to ensure they are covered.

This section increases the level of cover specified in the insured property section, during the time of a catastrophic event. Due to the escalation of costs of parts and labour following a catastrophic event, your sums insured allocated might not be adequate.

This provides cover for any audit or investigation into the strata’s financial affairs by the Australian Tax Office.

This section covers where you have made improvements to the building and the Body Corporate may not be responsible for the protection of your changes.

WHAT WE COVER

Strata ownership is complex – get covered

Strata insurance does not cover the occupier’s own contents items or if the property is rented out, landlord cover is not covered within strata insurance. For example, theft by tenants or tenant defaults. Not to mention that each strata insurance policy will have their own terms and conditions and exclusions which will need to be considered.

It is recommended that each owner/occupier obtain contents insurance and if the property is rented out, landlord protection insurance is required. As a Landlord, we highly recommend to also include some contents cover to cover items such as curtains, blinds, dishwashers and in some instances, carpets and floating floors. These policies are not compulsory, but it is in your best interest to consider these policies.

Workers Compensation may be an insurance requirement per the Strata Titles or Strata Scheme Management Act in your state. Where it is a requirement or optional cover, it would be in the strata’s best interest to have Workers Compensation Insurance as contractors can in some states hold the strata liable if they are injured whilst working on a strata building.

Workers Compensation Insurance is a government regulated policy which provided cover for loss of wages and medical costs for paid employees. Voluntary Workers Personal Accident cover is similar, but only provided those who are working on the strata on a voluntary basis.

Apply for your Strata Insurance Online

If you need help with completing the form below or would like to speak with a broker, give us a call on 1300 429 707.