Sharing space? Why not split the costs

These include contents owned by the Body Corporate/Owners Corporation such as carpets within hallways and lobbies, pot plants, mirrors and other adornments within common areas. 

Also included are washing machines and dryers owned by the body corporate or owners corporation and used by all unit owners and housed in common laundries.

The cover provided by the Strata Building policy ends when any property is owned by the individual lot owner e.g. carpets and blinds within the unit/lot. 

In general, strata insurance costs the same or less for each unit owner.

Each strata insurer develops and offers a unique commercial product in accordance with its underwriting appetite. Some common factors contributing to the premium include:

• Government taxes on insurance (stamp duty and GST)
• The age and condition of the building
• The replacement cost of the building
• The risk profile of the location
• The claims history of the strata complex
• The vulnerability of the insured property to an insured event (age, building codes, building design and materials)
• Commercial activities carried out on the premises, such as holiday letting
• Fee and commissions from agents
• The level of excess payment selected by the body corporate, payable at the time of a claim
• The costs of maintaining common property, for example car parks, stairwells, fire protection systems, lifts and pools

Accordingly, we recommend that you always insure for a minimum of $20,000,000 liability. 

If you are still unsure and would like to discuss Public Liability limits for your Strata entity, please CONTACT US to ask for advice specific to your situation.

This is a very common question we get whereby there are 3 or 4 houses on a Strata Plan.

Generally, strata insurance is a very broad cover and comes with other additional covers, which relates to unique strata risk exposures.  Having strata insurance in place means you have consistent insurance in place, both for your home unit and common property areas, such as your driveways, fencing and all undergrounds services, which are normally connected. A standard Home and Contents insurance policy may miss these important areas out of their quote and you would need to verify this with them or speak to a broker.

Strata insurance will not include cover for internal fittings and fixtures, lights, carpets and carpet underlay, floorboards, furniture, electrical items, jewellry and other personal belongings. If you are an Owner/Occupier in a strata property it is advisable to obtain a joint policy for the “Body Corporate” to cover the building(s), common property and common area contents of a strata scheme.

If you want to insure your contents and personal belongings and valuables you will need to take out separate Contents Insurance Policy.

We can help you with these requirements.

Below are more items that are not covered under the strata.

Insurance Valuations are mandatory under each state’s strata legislative requirements and should be carried out by qualified, CERTIFIED individuals.  Under current legislation, Reinstatement & Replacement Valuations must be executed every 5 years.  We can help you organise a valuation for your property. 

You can give us a call to discuss.  On the other hand we recommend MCG Quantity Surveyors to all our clients with properties under $10M and you can request your own Valuation below via their link.

REQUEST A VALUATION FROM MCG QUANTITY SURVEYORS

Please note that some real estate appraisals will not be accepted by insurers as most of them are market valuations and NOT reinstatement valuations so they cannot be relied upon.

At the moment, OBL is not a mandatory requirement, which can seem strange considering the possible risks involved.  Many people who accept the typically voluntary "Office Bearer" positions of Secretary, Treasurer, or Chairperson of a Body Corporate are unaware of the significant personal risk that comes with holding such a position.

In fact, even in cases where the Office Bearer is innocent of any wrongdoing, they may still be held personally liable for any lawsuits filed by other members of the Body Corporate.

It is prudent for businesses to have safeguards in place in case something goes wrong. It is advised that the Body Corporate purchase the highest amount of insurance they can manage and to review this amount on a regular basis.

Mould is internal to the unit and is the owners responsibility to clean and remove.

The lot owner owns the inside of their residential or commercial unit but not the main, external structure of the building. The four walls, the ceiling, roof, and floor, are considered common property. Everything inside the lot is the owner's property, including all internal walls, fixtures, carpets, and paint.