Office Bearers Insurance is an important cover designed to provide protection to the Owners Corporation Committee members against losses arising from alleged wrongful acts committed in the course of carrying out their duties as the committee.

To safeguard you and your business against alleged or actual breaches of your professional duty, Professional Indemnity (PI) Insurance is essential to provide protection against financial losses incurred should legal action be taken against you or your strata management business.

Life Insurance provides financial protection to those you care for most. Should the worst happen, it pays a lump sum benefit to your loved ones.

1. Start with the right policy

Professional Indemnity Insurance protects any person or entity who provides advice, especially for a fee, against claims of negligence made against them.  If a loss can be attributed to a failure to uphold professional standards by any employee, a Strata Manager risks being sued for a breach of duty.

At one point in their working lives, 60% of Australians will be unable to work for a period of more than a month. 

Strata Insurance is designed to protect you and your property as a lot owner. It provides general insurance cover for common property under the management of a strata title or body corporate entity. The premiums for strata insurance are typically shared amongst the lot owners as part of their strata...

There are 13 Australian Acts that companies must comply with, including but not limited to;

Like any field of expertise, the idea is that you pay a little more upfront for greater savings down the track. This holds particularly true for properties that form part of a strata scheme (generally two or more lots on the one title).

Interestingly, Management Liability has evolved from the Director’s & Officer’s (D&O) Insurance and now encompasses the covers that were previously available under separate policies such as Employment Practices Liability, Fidelity Guarantee (Staff dishonesty), Tax Probe, Statutory Liability and several other sections.

Recently a Strata Manager asked us to review the Public Liability Insurance of a building maintenance company to ensure that the interests of the Owners Corporation were protected. 

A neighbouring tenant had an accidental fire, which caused considerable damage to surrounding properties.  For Charles’ store it resulted in smoke damage to carpets, stock, machines and the ceiling - all of which either needed cleaning or replacing.

Strata Insurance provides cover for a range of circumstances specifically related to living in a strata community, including:

According to Dr Allan Manning, approximately 84% of SMEs think they are fully insured but almost half fail after an insurable loss as they don’t have critical insurance covers such as Business Interruption Insurance. 

Question:

Business Interruption insurance protects businesses from a loss of income, explains Ross Cameron, Cameron Research Managing Director. “If your place burnt to the ground, you have fire insurance, but if you can’t pay your rent or for example, you still have ongoing costs from one of your suppliers getting flooded...

Strata insurance policies are designed to provide cover in the event that a tree is blown over during a storm and causes damage to your property.

As a restaurateur, there is always a chance that you will incur costs as a result of a patron falling ill from dining in your restaurant. If you have Business Insurance or Public and Product Liability Insurance your first question might be - will my insurance policies cover me? 

At Whitbread, we place the claims performance of an insurer right alongside the quality of coverage and price of its policies when it comes to recommending an insurance policy that responds to your specific requirements.

Insurance, particularly Business Insurance, is one area of specialised knowledge that can prove to be a quagmire of information for people who are not experts in this field.

According to Renee Cassidy, Whitbread Claims Manager, Strata Managers and unit owners generally seek the same result; the expeditious and satisfactory resolution of claims. 

The Australian has reported a hacking incident, allegedly by the Syrian Electronic Army, that closed down access to The New York Times’ official website.

Due to the vast quantity of information collected by the medical industry, only recently has the industry begun to implement online and document management systems in which to store patient data on a large scale.

Flood is not standard cover

Just as accountants can save you thousands of dollars through their deep knowledge of taxation law, insurance brokers have the knowledge to cut through the confusion and complexity of insurance-buying to negotiate the best cover at the best possible price for their clients.

One responsibility of an Owners Corporation committee is to ensure the property is insured for full replacement and reinstatement value.  A professional property valuer can determine this for the Owners Corporation committee.

In 2012, the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) introduced a statutory definition of ‘flood’ for insurance contracts.  The main objectives of the legislation were to standardise the scope of cover as well as reduce consumer confusion.

Australia’s forests have adapted to tens of thousands of years of summer fires which clean out the undergrowth and enable new life to grow from the ashes. Add people to the mix and the situation changes.

According to Chubb Insurance Company of Australia Ltd, water damage is one of the most common causes of household insurances claims each year, often resulting in lengthy and costly repairs.

Whilst Strata Insurance will cover the building, common property and legal liability in the common areas of your strata title property, it does not cover the contents of your property or liability within your property.

These changes take effect from 12 March 2014 and will have significant impact on the way companies collect and deal with various forms of personal information.

Subsequent to the Financial Services Reform Act (FSRA) in 2004 that now forms part of the Corporation Act, the Financial Services Industry, which incorporates the Insurance industry, has undergone radical changes as to how they provide financial service information.

While having minimal cover or reducing the scope of your Landlord Insurance is not something we recommend, we understand the importance of getting the best value for money when taking out Landlord Insurance. In saying this however, it is essential that your chosen insurance policy provides adequate coverage and financial...

If there’s one thing we’ve learnt from broking insurance for over 36 years, it’s there’s a lot of confusion in the market about the various types of cover required by people who live in strata titled properties. In short, it’s hard to know where one policy ends and the next begins.

Extortion can occur through both physical and cyber means. Common extortion culprits may include disgruntled employees, bitter competitors, opportunistic criminals or computer hackers.

Whitbread Strata Insurance expert Ann Farrugia dishes out her best advice to ensure your insurance is not compromised when performing renovations to your property.

Without a Corporate Travel Insurance policy, your business could end up footing the bill for losses that run into thousands of dollars for disrupted flights, medical expenses, lost or stolen money – these are just to name a few.

A significant increase in the theft of and from cars parked “securely” in Melbourne underground apartment blocks has prompted authorities to issue a serious warning to residents, with police urging apartment dwellers to exercise much greater caution when parking their car.

In general, the business community has been slow to focus on the potential environmental impact of its operations - both retrospectively and into the future. However, with pressure mounting on organisations to behave in an ethically responsible manner, it has become impossible to turn a blind eye.

Strata Insurance – a compulsory policy – provides general insurance cover for the strata building, shared or ‘common’ areas, common property and common contents – basically anything your and their neighbours own collectively.

It is not just the organisation which faces these risks. Board members and senior managers can also be held personally accountable for their actions or failure to act in certain circumstances.

“Also known as a solicitor letter, a LOD is a formal notice demanding that the person to whom the letter is addressed perform an alleged legal obligation such as rectifying some identified problem, paying a sum of money or acting on a contractual commitment.

It’s Saturday night and you’re catching up over a few quiet drinks with friends who tell you about this wonderful new way of making money off your property – Airbnb. This prospect gets your brain ticking.

A breach of your business systems has the potential to cause enormous damage to your bottom line and reputation. Stolen credit card numbers, financial reports, medical records, birth dates and the loss of sensitive personal data can leave your business unable to operate and exposed to litigation and / or...

Where your Unit suffers damage accepted as a claim under the Strata policy, and is unable / unfit to be occupied for its intended purpose.

Management Liability Insurance is a cover we highly recommend for all businesses.

It’s a stormy day, and the wind has been howling all afternoon amid heavy downpours and pelting hail. You approach your driveway after a long day at work, and as you pull in, your eyes widen at the site that greets you – a large gum tree on the property...

Please be advised that there is a ransom ware Cryptolocker virus circulating via email.  This ransom ware that encrypts all files on the user's computer and network drives, arrives by email stating that there is a parcel ready to be picked up from a local Australia Post office.  

Professional Indemnity Insurance is essential in today’s complex business environment and forms an important part of any business risk management strategy.  It protects the professional person or firm from damages and legal costs as a result of an act, error or omission in their professional capacity.

With high demand for property and inner city living, apartment buildings are popping up at record pace. However, with contractors under pressure to meet increasingly tight deadlines, we have seen corners cut and compromises made like never before.

If you do not agree with the reason your claim has been denied, or you feel the insurer’s decision lacks sufficient reasoning, you will always have the means available to escalate the matter further.

In the context of a Strata Insurance policy, a Certificate of Currency is a document which confirms that the insurance policy for the property is current and valid for the date on which the certificate is issued.

Professional Indemnity Insurance is essential in today’s business environment and forms an important part of any business risk management strategy. It protects the professional person or firm from damages and legal costs as a result of an act, error or omission in their professional capacity.

To avoid the sometimes costly mishaps that can occur over the holiday season, we have created a timely list of reminders to help you avoid any disasters in the home.

If you do not agree with your insurance claim being denied, and feel the insurer’s decision lacks sufficient reasoning, there are two levels of claim dispute escalation available to you:

Association Liability Insurance provides protection for the organisation as well as its Directors and Officers from a range of exposures relating to employment practices, fraud or fines and penalties. It also extends to protect against errors and omissions claims that may occur in the provision of advice and training.

Strata Insurance policies generally cover material damage as a result of an insured peril to the building structure/s, fixed plant, machinery and underground services. The policy also generally extends to provide cover for proprietors’ fixtures, fittings and improvements which form part of the building.

These situations are a timely reminder for businesses in the manufacturing, processing and goods distribution industry to ensure their insurance program provides adequate cover for product recalls.

The presence of non-compliant cladding in a building is a very serious issue, and while nobody lost their life in this instance, a similar fire in a building which features the cladding could see far graver consequences. 

To refresh your memory on what we covered in Crisis Management Part 1 and put this article into context – please click here.

Swiss Re’s report looks closely at the top 21 economic, technological, environmental and socio-political trends that are threatening businesses, their potential impact and the cascading effect they may have right across the risk landscape into the future.

For a comprehensive background on Crisis Management, or to refresh your memory on what we covered in Parts 1 and 2 of our Crisis Management series, please click the relevant links below.

Irrespective of what you do for a living, there is a certain element of risk associated with owning and running a business.

Personal contents, often those of great value, are kept in storage cages and sadly this makes them an attractive target for criminals.

In terms of insurance, there are many more risks your property can face when your home is temporarily unoccupied. 

Many Strata residents often volunteer to do useful jobs around a Strata property. Whether it be taking rubbish bins out, mowing the lawn or doing a bit of handywork in the common area, volunteering can come in many forms. Unfortunately however volunteers can sometimes sustain unexpected injuries.

In an article published by Fairfax Media, Samarco mine disaster: BHP’s reputation on the line as tragedy deepens award winning journalist Adele Ferguson succinctly identifies the very real and highly damaging issues organisations face when things go terribly wrong. 

It can be very tempting to just “go with the flow” when it comes to your insurance – at the end of the day you’ve paid your premium and ‘you’re covered’! But what happens if your situation has changed since your last renewal? Maybe you’ve renovated your house, you have...

Even though most homeowners do have Home Insurance, a worrying proportion of people do not insure for the amount required to rebuild and replace their home in a total loss. This makes them underinsured.

After a concerned OC (Owner’s Corporation) committee member came to us with the question below, we decided to address the issue in more detail to help you understand the potential fallout similar situations may have.

Turn the taps off to your washing machine, dishwasher and/or fridge. If a washer or hose breaks while you’re away and a tap is still on, you could end up with a flooded home!

While many of the new laws affecting Strata Managers relate to disclosure, there are also several key changes with respect to insurance.

Whether you are an AR, a Distributor, or an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) holder, you are legally required to provide all clients with the following documentation;

Whether you live in a rural or a suburban community, in a stand-alone home, unit or apartment, there is always the inherent risk of a bushfire. A mixture of prolonged heat, dry conditions and strong winds can fast create the ‘perfect storm’ where small sparks transform into roaring infernos, and...

“Also known as a solicitor letter, a LOD is a formal notice demanding that the person to whom the letter is addressed, perform an alleged legal obligation such as rectifying some identified problem, paying a sum of money or acting on a contractual commitment.

An interesting query regarding unknown business stock being kept in the garage of a residential strata building was sent into Whitbread recently. We have addressed this somewhat concerning issue below.

Note: Some information in this article has been generously provided by Whitbread partner, and leading Australian IT specialists, Surety[IT].