Strata Insurance

What is strata insurance?

Residential strata insurance is the general insurance that covers any commonly used areas within a property. It provides cover for the building and common property that is shared by people living in a townhouse, duplex or set of flats.

It’s basically insurance for areas you share with your neighbours, and the building itself. This includes things like lifts, pools, car parks and gyms, but also more common stuff like gardens, balconies, driveways and walls.

It’s also referred to as body corporate, owners corporation, common property or residential strata insurance. Strata insurance premiums are paid for out of the building's administrative fund, which is fed by your strata levy.

Who offers strata insurance?

There are numerous insurance providers within Australia who offer a range of varying strata insurance cover. Strata managers and body corporates often employ a broker or specialist underwriting agency to help negotiate the right cover for their titles.

Here is an outline of a handful of Australian strata insurance providers:

Brand	Here's a summary of some of the benefits	How to get a quote
Strata insurance	Cover up to 10 buildings on the block including shared properties like driveways and stairwells. Temporary accommodation if the unit is owner occupied, and gets damaged up to an unlivable state. Option to take out extra "Shared contents" to cover things like washing machines or shared gym equipment that's not owned by the unit occupier.	By phone: 13 22 44
Strata insurance	Repairs, recovery and replacements are covered from accidental damage, malicious damage and major disasters. Replacement of stolen contents owned by the corporations like lobby furniture. CHU offers commercial strata insurance as well.	Fill out a form here: https://quote.chu.com.au/strata/#/step-1
Residential strata insurance	Cover for buildings, common contents and common property. Cover for accidental damage and new-for-old benefit. Option to pay monthly.	By phone: 13 24 81
Strata insurance	Cover for incidents like fire, flood, theft and malicious damage by tenants. Up to $1,000 cover for emergency repairs. Option to cover common contents that are unfixed to the building.	By phone: 13 10 10
Strata insurance	Cover for damages and legal liability. Sold by CHU and underwritten by QBE. 24/7 online claims and emergency assistance. QBE offers commercial strata insurance as well.	Fill out a form here: https://quote.chu.com.au/strata/#/step-1

Is strata insurance mandatory?

Yes. Strata insurance is mandatory under each state's relevant strata legislation. Just as drivers must have CTP each strata title owner is required to have sufficient strata insurance.

The details change a little in each state, but generally your body corporate will need a few types of cover:

• Building insurance: To maintain the structure and quality of the building itself. To make sure your building is not underinsured, the building value and insurance should be restablished every 2 to 5 years.
• Public liability insurance: This covers responsibility for an individual’s injury or death, or property damage. The minimum covered amount is usually $20 million.
• Work health and safety insurance: This covers you if a worker on your property gets injured while working.

To find out the details of what your building needs, speak to your strata manager.

What does residential strata insurance cover?

Each policy is different and you should check what is covered under your policy. However, strata insurance typically covers the common and/or shared property as defined by the title of the property.Confused as to what this all means? Basically, you’ll be covered for anything your tenants all have access to, such as:

All policies must provide liability cover in the event of injuries on common property.

What doesn't it cover?

Like all insurance policies, it’s the exclusions you need to take equal note of. Different providers include different exclusions, so be sure to read the terms and conditions carefully, as these can often be targeting certain risks, such as flood or landslides. But general exclusions are usually:

What factors can contribute to strata insurance premiums?

Each provider will have specific factors and considerations, but common factors that can affect premiums are:

Adjusting the level of excess payable at the time of a claim is another way of bringing premiums down.

What's the difference between strata insurance and landlord insurance?

What's the difference between residential and commercial strata insurance?

Strata insurance is split into two categories, residential and commercial. Basically, residential is for anyone living in a building and commercial is for any building that’s only used for business purposes.

Both residential and commercial strata properties are required to have the relevant insurance in place. Each state and territory has its own specific terms and conditions needed for strata insurance, and most providers will cater to certain states and strata types.

Written by

Tim Bennett

Insurance expert

Tim Bennett is a Finder insurance & utilities expert. For over 10 years he's reported on news, politics, finance and other topics as a journalist and radio presenter. Tim's roles have included radio news reader and breakfast at the ABC, news producer for SBS and producer for Fairfax Media. Tim regularly appears as a health insurance expert on programs like Sunrise and SBS news, as well as in the Australian, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail and more. See full bio

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