Insurance

March 2019 – Ownership, maintenance and insurance

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A very important concept is to realise that the BCCM legislation complicates whether the body corporate or lot owner should be attributed the ownership, maintenance or insurance responsibility for specific infrastructure.  Let’s go through a couple of examples that are relevant for schemes surveyed as building format plan. Take airconditioning. In the case of an […]

Insurance

November 2018 – Insurers have a lot of power

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A recent storm on the Gold coast affected one of the schemes that we manage.  There was water damage to two lots after severe hail cracked and lifted tiles above their townhouses.  The scheme is on a building format plan of survey so the impact to the roofing above the two lots was a body corporate responsibility.  The […]

Insurance

August 2018 – Home office and body corporate insurance

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Committees are often concerned about the impact of a lot occupier’s home office in a residential complex.  There are relevant BCCM adjudications that have upheld the use of a home office providing all by-laws are being respected (such as not causing a nuisance).  Different councils have different rules about whether approval of the office is required.  Generally, councils […]

Best practice

Insurance valuation

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Cost conscious Committees may sometimes believe an insurance valuation is unnecessary or they believe their insurer is providing this valuation. The requirement under the Act states an independent insurance valuation must be undertaken once every five years. Insurance companies and insurance brokers could be considered independent, but these organisations do not furnish a Body Corporate […]

Insurance

Fire

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Sadly, this month we had to deal with a devastating event when a lot in one of the Bodies Corporate that we manage burnt down. Fortunately, functioning smoke alarms alerted the occupiers to danger and the family exited quickly and safely, immediately calling the fire brigade. The family was shocked at how quickly the fire […]

Best practice

Why we use an insurance broker

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We recently started a new Body Corporate scheme on behalf of a developer.  At the first AGM, there were many new owners who had never been part of a Body Corporate in Queensland.  There was much confusion about insurance, and specifically about the insurance that a lot owner might have and the insurance that a Body Corporate […]

Insurance

Insurance denied!

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We heard recently of a case where a Body Corporate on a Standard Format Plan was denied insurance.  The buildings in the Body Corporate had common walls and so the insurance needed to cover the buildings as well as the common property.  An insurance inspection report had uncovered deficiencies in many of the lots (related to the […]

Insurance

Insurance confusion

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In Building Format Plans, the Body Corporate is responsible to insure the buildings on scheme land.   Most insurance policies include cover for anything that is ‘plumbed in’ to the building.  This would include stoves, airconditioning units, solar panels, rainwater tanks.  Insurance coverage addresses events such as fire, theft, motor fusion, storm and consequential damage.  It does not address […]