top of page
Strata Plan Insurance
Unit owners guide
Buying into a Strata complex
What is Strata?
A Strata title provides the legal ownership of a portion of a building or apartment block known as a ‘lot’. The Strata complex as a whole is owned by the owners corporation.
On purchasing your ‘lot’ or unit, you will automatically join a legal entity as a member of the owner's corporation, which has responsibility for common property on the site including carparks, lifts, shared outdoor areas or a swimming pools. Decisions affecting the strata scheme may include maintenance or site improvements, insurance, and the management of finances.
What are owner's responsibilities?
Under your strata agreement, you share ownership and responsibility with other owners for common property and facilities.
You will jointly contribute to the cost of running the shared building services through paying quarterly levies. You may also have to contribute to a capital works fund, for future long term expenses such as maintenance and refurbishments.
The rules vary state by state, so it's advised to check the guidelines for strata provided by your State government.
What about Strata Insurance?
Strata schemes must have insurance which may cover items such as: loss or damage to areas of common property, injury to voluntary workers, or costs associated with office bearers liability.
Your strata insurance can be organised by the owners or the executive committee through an insurance broker.
You are individually responsible for insuring your own contents and liability for incidents occurring inside your unit or in conjunction with your business.
Why use a broker?
An insurance broker is the best person to help you find insurance. A professional broker can contact a variety of insurers to secure the best cover for your site, provide several quotes, and give professional independent advice and recommendations. Some strata insurers will only deal with insurance brokers. If you're not using a broker for your strata insurance, you can't be confident that you've covered the whole market.
In NSW if the owner's corporation obtains quotes through an insurance broker and arranges payment directly, there are no additional fees payable to strata managers.
bottom of page