Can an insurer use a JCU Cyclone Resilience Report to avoid paying a cyclone damage claim?

There are 2 considerations to this question – it really depends on what the report says and whether there are defects or building issues brought to your attention or if the report only provides maintenance recommendations.

Firstly, you need to consider whether an exclusion applies and the first thing that comes to mind is the exclusion in most strata policies for ""non-rectification of defects errors or omissions that you were aware of"" (""non-rectification exclusion"").

If the insurer can demonstrate that you were aware of a building issue, including an issue that is brought to your attention in a JCU report, but you failed to act and that resulted in a claim – the insurer may apply the non-rectification exclusion.

Secondly, your duty of disclosure requires you to disclose all things relevant to the insurer's decision to insure you – failure to do so can result in the insurer voiding the insurance policy. The duty of disclosure applies when the policy is taken out, renewed or altered. Depending on what is disclosed in the report, you may need to make a disclosure to the insurer and if you have an issue in a JCU report and are unsure about whether it should be disclosed, you should speak with your broker or strata manager for further advice. Insurers have, in the past, sought to conduct a search of body corporate records to determine whether there have been non-disclosure issues associated with major claims, so it is important that you consider your duty of disclosure.

If the JCU report only recommends standard maintenance considerations (like clearing gutters, trimming trees etc), this may not impact your insurance.

This information is of a general nature only and neither represents nor is intended to be personal advice on any particular matter. Shandit Pty Ltd T/as Strata Insurance Solutions strongly suggests that no person should act specifically on the basis of the information in this document, but should obtain appropriate professional advice based on their own personal circumstances. Shandit Pty Ltd T/As Strata Insurance Solutions is a Corporate Authorised Representative (No. 404246) of Insurance Advisenent Australia AFSL No 240549, ABN 15 003 886 687.