Insurance for units... how does it work?

I have been looking at various body corp /strata title insurance plans and I am quite confused.

I understand that unit owners have contents insurance, and the building is covered by the body corp insurance.

So say the kitchen in a unit gets damaged in flooding... does that count as part of contents or should that be covered by body corp?

Reason I am asking is I was looking at NRMA's strata title insurance, and they only talk about common property.
 
my apartment is not covered by the flood insurance ground floor too.

But hell - if it comes in - I'm up for renovation anyway.

Haven't contacted the PM in Swan Hill yet re body corp insurance, but ditto with me... ground floor unit, all bricks, and due for a reno. No probs:)

Kaz
 
I am thinking of insurance in a block of townhouses.

The BC will cover building insurance. We then usually get a landlord insurance policy, which typically covers about $30k worth of contents - our contents (kitchen, floor coverings, window dressings, etc) not the tenants contents!
 
The BC will cover building insurance. We then usually get a landlord insurance policy, which typically covers about $30k worth of contents - our contents (kitchen, floor coverings, window dressings, etc) not the tenants contents!

Actually.....not with townhouses/villa units I own in Victoria (not sure if same in Qld and various individual cases) - unless it's and apartment, the OC insurance only covers the common areas as defined in the plan of sub-div - typically a common driveway. The buildings and everything else is up to the owner to take out their own building insurance.

The Y-man
 
Actually.....not with townhouses/villa units I own in Victoria (not sure if same in Qld and various individual cases) - unless it's and apartment, the OC insurance only covers the common areas as defined in the plan of sub-div - typically a common driveway. The buildings and everything else is up to the owner to take out their own building insurance.

The Y-man

Interesting - we only have houses in Vic, and townhouses in Qld. So maybe Qld is different.
 
if a kitchen inside a unit gets damaged, that's normally home and contents.

body corporate's insurance only covers common areas like corridors and foyers
 
I actually handle the insurance for the units where I am a member of the BC...now Owners Corporation.

We insure all the units and common contents.

The annual levy covers the cost

Internal contents, cupboards, carpet etc is up to individual Owners to have contents insurance.

Chris
 
After reading this post, I'm still confused, and clarification appreciated.

Our situation is that we have 5 townhouses where only the driveway is common property.

Do I take out insurance under a body corporate, and what should this cover, common areas, exterior of all dwellings, public liability?

Then, does separate insurance have to be taken out of each of the5 townhouses for internal structures?

So confused :confused:

Any recommendations for an insurer to cover these things in Brisbane?


Thanks
 
After reading this post, I'm still confused, and clarification appreciated.

Our situation is that we have 5 townhouses where only the driveway is common property.

Do I take out insurance under a body corporate, and what should this cover, common areas, exterior of all dwellings, public liability?

Then, does separate insurance have to be taken out of each of the5 townhouses for internal structures?

So confused :confused:

Any recommendations for an insurer to cover these things in Brisbane?


Thanks

It all depends on how the subdivision is structured. The subdivision will specify which structures/areas are common property and which therefore must be maintained by the body corporate. Those are the areas where the body corporate needs the insurance for itself.
 
Yeah I was a bit confused about what insurance does and doesn't cover too.
I was going to go with Terri Scheer for $360 pa but it only covers 'contents' up to the value of 60k.
I estimated my apartment would cost around 100k to re-do (kitchen cupboards, bathroom cupboards, sink, tub, vanity, floorboards, blinds, carpet, BIR). I thought tiles were covered by the strata insurance.
So I went with AAMI for the price of something like $800 pa for 100k cover.
But I think both insurances only cover the blinds, BIRs (maybe) and floorboards. So the kitchen/bathroom fitouts would either be covered by the strata or be in no-man's land.
I need to re-read the PDSs.
Well if both Terri and AAMI aren't covering them I may as well go with the cheaper option. Either Terri or Suncorp.
Does anyone know of anyone who covers the fitouts?
Also, both Terri and AAMI can cover accidental damage by tenants but I see no provisions for accidental/malicious damage by a 3rd party. For example, if I had a PPOR, and I took out insurance for it, the insurance would cover accidental/malicious damage by anyone, wouldn't it? I'm trying to ascertain if my contents/tenant protection insurance will cover me for 3rd parties as well.
Also, the strata insurance doesn't cover flooding. We're with CHU. I don't have a choice in that matter.
I haven't found an insurance company which whill 'top up' the insurance for me yet, so MY unit can be covered for flooding.
 
I have been looking at various body corp /strata title insurance plans and I am quite confused.

I understand that unit owners have contents insurance, and the building is covered by the body corp insurance.

So say the kitchen in a unit gets damaged in flooding... does that count as part of contents or should that be covered by body corp?

Reason I am asking is I was looking at NRMA's strata title insurance, and they only talk about common property.

I will try to clarify as best I can but it is increasingly becoming a minefield depending on your Body Corporate/Owners Corporation and a whole host of other factors between States and the type of Title your property is.

It used to be relatively simple, and as a general rule this probably still applies, but as mentioned there are more and more exceptions to this, some of which have been mentioned in other responses. As a general rule in relation to Strata Titled properties, the Body Corporate insurance will cover common areas as well as the building structure. The "building" in this case includes those built-in items that were included on the original body corporate unit plan, such as kitchens, built in cupboards, bathroom fittings and the like. The catch is that if these have been replaced at some stage, therefore not the original ones, they then become the responsibility of the owners contents insurance (my understanding is that now in NSW they are classed as building and the BC/OC insurance responsibility even if they have been replaced).

As mentioned, there are exceptions, often due to the BC/OC trying to reduce costs to owners by not insuring as much, but in doing so they put it back on to the owner to insure and are creating nightmares for insurers as well in trying to figure it out.

I'm happy to give you someone to call in our office but you will need to know as much as you can of what is covered by the BC/OC insurance policy. Private message me if you want a name to talk to.

Essentially our RentCoverUltra policy (and others like it) will cover the owners' contents, being carpets, curtains, blinds, light fittings, internal paint etc. The plus side (with RentCoverUltra - I can't speak for other policies) is that it can pick up on things that as it turns out are not covered by the BC/OC policy, this could mean the kitchen for example if it turns out that the BC/OC policy doesn't cover it. The policy was originally called "Landlords Extra Protection Policy" and that's largely how it is looked upon, to cover the things that the standard policies, or in this case the BC/OC policy, won't.

But it is limited in being up to $50,000 which in the vast majority of cases is plenty, particularly as most BC's would be covering the kitchen etc. We can insure for more but need to add on a further policy and it can skyrocket the premium.
 
What Brettc said is largely right in NSW. A proper strata policy will cover the buildings, including kitchens, bath, vanity, toilet, built in cupbards etc. Note that these internal items are only owners corp responsibility for insurance purposes eg water damage or fire. Repairs and maintenance are still the owners responsibility. Obviously the policy will also cover any common property areas such as stairwells in a unit complex, fences etc.

Note: there are some well known insurers who will remain nameless that offer a very poor strata policy with cheaper premiums. Unfortunately a trap for self managed schemes who are price driven.

One of the main strata insurers, CHU, now also offers optional paint benefit for a minimal cost. Normally paint is covered by the owners contents policy so some owners would question why this is offered. Consider the scenario where there is a burst pipe in a unit and the wall or ceiling is damaged. Normally the strata insurance will cover the repair of the gyrprock/brickwork, but not the paint. Internal paint in NSW is not common property. The owner is then left to either paint themselves, or make a claim on their contents policy. Guess who screams the loudest - the risk takers who neglected to take out contents cover. So now there is the option of having the whole repair covered under the one claim.

Also, a decent policy will allow for owners improvements of up to $250k per unit, so when people renovate kitchens, bathrooms etc its not an issue. The owners corp doesn't get to choose what is covered in terms of building and fixtures. They only get to choose over other options eg machinery breakdown, amount of PL, offcie bearers cover etc.

However as stated by others, each state has differences.

Wake
 
Brokers Thoughts

You would of course question how valid the comment is, but I had a Queensland insurance broker tell me that - as a rule of thumb - if you were to take the unit, turn it upside down and shake it - whatever fell out is what you would need insurance for. :confused:
 
You would of course question how valid the comment is, but I had a Queensland insurance broker tell me that - as a rule of thumb - if you were to take the unit, turn it upside down and shake it - whatever fell out is what you would need insurance for. :confused:

That descripeion is more likely to apply to what the tenant needs to insure. Straight away your (as the owner) responsibilities include carpets, curtains, blinds, light fittings, as well as wall and ceiling paint, I'd hope these things would hang on even if turned upside down.
 
You would of course question how valid the comment is, but I had a Queensland insurance broker tell me that - as a rule of thumb - if you were to take the unit, turn it upside down and shake it - whatever fell out is what you would need insurance for. :confused:

I used to work in insurance and that is how we used to explain it to customers, with a few exceptions - but that was more in relation to owner occupied houses. Policies have changed a bit and companies shuffle the breakup between contents and house fixtures ....maybe to make comparison shopping harder. I had landlords with NRMA a few years back and they covered kitchen and bathroom fit out as contents instead of building. WTF!!!
 
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