We’ve received questions from lot owners about strata insurance in Tasmania.
Table of Contents:
- QUESTION: Question: We live in a strata development of twenty houses where each house is detached and surrounded by its own garden. Can you advise a company that will provide strata insurance for this type of strata scheme?
- QUESTION: The insurance company said our home was part of a Strata scheme so all properties on that scheme should be insured by the Strata. What do we need to know about strata insurance Tasmania?
GET NOTIFIED WHEN WE PUBLISH NEW Q&As, NEWS AND ARTICLES TO THE SITE
Question: We live in a strata development of twenty houses where each house is detached and surrounded by its own garden. Can you advise a company that will provide strata insurance for this type of strata scheme?
We live in a strata development of twenty houses. Each house is detached and surrounded by its own garden. Each lot has its own title registered with the LTO. No two houses are the same and there is a big variance in dimensions and value of each house.
The Body Corporate requires an insurance policy that covers Common ground, (public liability etc.) with individual insured values for each property. Can you advise of a company that will provide this as we have only been quoted with a blanket cover for the entire complex, which apparently assumes all the properties are of the same value? It seems that Strata insurance is targeted at multi-story complexes, which ours isn’t.
Answer: The Strata Titles Act 1998 (TAS) requires the body corporate to take out and maintain a policy of insurance for the buildings and other improvements (if any) on the site.
The Strata Titles Act 1998 (TAS) requires the body corporate to take out and maintain a policy of insurance for the buildings and other improvements (if any) on the site. “Site” is defined in the act as the whole of the land included in a plan (including lots and common property).
Generally, Strata insurance is offered on the basis of a blanket sum insured and apportionment of costs (premium) is done by unit entitlements. Strata policies do not offer cover based individual insured values for each property.
If the buildings do not share rooves/walls and the properties are on a separate title (not part of the plan) owners can insure their properties outside of strata insurance and on an individual home insurance policy, with the body corporate insuring common property & public liability on a separate policy.
Tyrone Shandiman
Strata Insurance Solutions
T: 07 3899 5129
E: [email protected]
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 Advisernet Australia AFSL No 240549, ABN 15 003 886 687.
This post appears in Strata News #425.
Question: The insurance company said our home was part of a Strata scheme so all properties on that scheme should be insured by the Strata. What do we need to know about strata insurance Tasmania?
We have a property in Hobart which was one of three houses that are jointly serviced by utilities. To turn around a quick sale, the vendor converted them to Strata. This has caused major problems for our particular property.
We recently tried to insure our home, but the insurance company said it was in a Strata scheme so all properties on that scheme should be insured by the Strata. I don’t know if this is correct. There is no body corporate which I think, by law, we should have.
In general, I have no idea which way to proceed with this problem. What do we need to know about strata insurance Tasmania?
Answer: In Tasmania, if a property is a Strata Scheme, it is legislated under the Strata Titles Act 1998 that the building(s) and common areas of the property must be insured under a Strata Insurance policy.
In Tasmania, if a property is a Strata Scheme, it is legislated under the Strata Titles Act 1998 that the building(s) and common areas of the property must be insured under a Strata Insurance policy. Please refer to the relevant section of the Strata Titles Act 1998:
Insurance (sections 98 to 101)
The body corporate must insure all buildings and other improvements (if any) on the site. This applies whether the buildings or improvements are on common property or are on privately owned lots. The body corporate must also take out and maintain public risk insurance over the site (see Chapter 4 for more information on a body corporate’s responsibilities to insure).
Source: Land Tasmania: Insurance – Strata Schemes
As this particular property is a Strata Title, Strata Insurance is the only way in which you will be able to insure the buildings / common areas of the property, collectively with the other owners in the Strata Scheme.
It is also worth noting that Strata Insurance will only act to insure the building and common property. In order to protect contents inside of the property, you should consider purchasing one of the following insurance policies:
- Contents Insurance – if the property is owner occupied
- Landlord Insurance – if the property has been leased to tenants
Should you require free strata property advice in addition to the above, we recommend contacting one of our clients who is a local Strata Management expert:
TAS Strata & Property Group
P: 03 62 231 701
E: [email protected]
For more strata insurance advice please contact:
Whitbread Insurance Brokers
T: 1300 424 627
E: [email protected]
This information is not intended to be personal advice and you should not rely on it as a substitute for any form of personal advice. Please contact Whitbread Associates Pty Ltd ABN 69 005 490 228 Licence Number: 229092 trading as Whitbread Insurance Brokers for further information or refer to our website.
This post appears in Strata News #193.
Read next:
- Q&A: Body Corporate Rules Tasmania: How to secede from my body corporate
- NAT: Q&A What does Public Liability Insurance Include for Strata Property?
Have a question or something to add to the article? Leave a comment below.
Visit our Strata Insurance OR FactSheets: Strata Information TAS pages.
Looking for strata information concerning your state? For state-specific strata information, take a look here.
After a free PDF of this article? Log into your existing LookUpStrata Account to download the printable file. Not a member? Simple – join for free on our Registration page.
Leave a Reply