Strata building insurance in Australia: what each policy covers
26 policies from 16 brands that insure a strata building, one row per policy: whether flood and accidental damage are covered, what its documents say about lots left empty, and who it is for. The buyer is the owners corporation (body corporate), not each owner, almost always through a broker or the strata manager. Many strata insurers are underwriting agencies that write the policy on behalf of an insurer or Lloyd's; the underwriter column names the one that pays.
Apartment and unit buildings (strata)
| Brand | Policy | Type | Flood | Accidental damage | Left empty | Who it is for | Underwriter | Sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAMI | AAMI Strata Insurance | Residential strata | Included | Included | Extra $1,000 excess after 60 days | Body corporates, owners corporations and strata companies (or an owner of a whole multi-dwelling residential building) wanting building and common property cover for small residential strata buildings. | AAI Limited | Direct |
| Axis Underwriting Services | Axis Residential Strata Insurance Policy | Residential strata | Optional extra | Included | No cover after 90 days (a few events excepted) | Owners corporations / body corporates where the strata property is predominantly residential (not where commercial occupancy is over 20% of floor space or over 50% of lots are short-stay). | XL Insurance Company SE | Through a broker |
| CHU Underwriting Agencies | CHU Residential Strata Insurance Plan (QM562) | Residential strata | Optional extra | Not stated | Not stated | Bodies corporate / owners corporations of residential strata or company title property with less than 20% of floor space used commercially (and SA community corporations). | QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited | Direct or through a broker |
| Flex Insurance | Flexible Residential Strata Plan Insurance (Flex) | Residential strata | Included, can be removed | Not stated | Extra $2,500 excess | Bodies corporate / owners corporations of residential strata property with less than 20% of floor space used commercially. | Lloyd's underwriters and QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited | Direct or through a broker |
| GIO | GIO Strata Insurance | Residential strata | Included | Included | Extra $1,000 excess after 60 days | Body corporates, owners corporations and strata companies (or an owner of a whole multi-dwelling residential building) wanting building and common property cover for small residential strata buildings. | AAI Limited | Direct |
| Hutch Underwriting | Hutch Residential Strata Plan | Residential strata | Optional extra | Not stated | No cover after 60 days | Schemes that are 80% or more residential by floor space (up to 20% commercial); building sum insured up to $20M. | Lloyd's underwriters | Through a broker |
| Insurance Investment Solutions | isStrata Residential Strata Insurance (Lloyd's edition) | Residential strata | Optional extra | Not stated | Not stated | Lloyd's underwriters | Through a broker | |
| Longitude Insurance | Longitude Residential Strata Insurance | Residential strata | Optional extra | Not stated | Not stated | Residential strata buildings where commercial use is under 20% of floor space. | Chubb Insurance Australia Limited | Through a broker |
| NRMA Insurance | NRMA Insurance Residential Strata Insurance | Residential strata | Included, can be removed | Included | No cover after 60 days | Strata-titled, company-titled or community-titled entities responsible for insuring buildings used predominantly for residential purposes; not individual owners or predominantly commercial buildings. | Insurance Australia Limited | Direct |
| QUS (Quality Underwriting Services) | QUS Strata Select (residential strata) | Residential strata | Not covered | Not stated | Not stated | Owners of strata-titled buildings, common contents and common areas under strata or community titles legislation, located in Australia excluding Northern Australia. | Lloyd's underwriters | Through a broker |
| RACT | RACT Strata Building Insurance | Residential strata | Included | Not stated | Some events not covered after 60 days | Bodies corporate and owners of strata buildings in Tasmania wanting cover for loss or damage from specified insured events, plus office bearers' liability; not for buildings used for business, hotel, B&B or homeshare without RACT's agreement. | RACT Insurance Pty Ltd | Direct |
| Strata Community Insurance (SCI) | Strata Community Insurance - Residential Strata | Residential strata | Optional extra | Not stated | Not stated | Owners corporations of residential strata, unit or community title schemes (and company title / build-to-rent property). | Allianz Australia Insurance Limited | Direct or through a broker |
| Strata Unit Underwriters (SUU) | SUU Residential Strata Insurance | Residential strata | Optional extra | Not stated | Not stated | Strata-titled or similar entities responsible for insuring a predominantly residential building; not for individual lot owners. | CGU Australia Pty Ltd | Through a broker |
| Suncorp Insurance | Suncorp Insurance Strata Insurance | Residential strata | Included | Included | Extra $1,000 excess after 60 days | Body corporates, owners corporations and strata companies (or an owner of a whole multi-dwelling residential building) wanting building and common property cover for small residential strata buildings. | AAI Limited | Direct |
| Sure Insurance | Sure Residential Strata Insurance | Residential strata | Included | Not stated | Not accepted if empty over 60 days | Residential community title (strata) properties in Queensland, plus single-owner non-community-titled properties of 5 to 20 units. | XL Insurance Company SE, Australia Branch | Through a broker |
| Axis Underwriting Services | Axis Commercial Strata Insurance Policy | Commercial strata | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Owners corporations / body corporates of premises primarily used for commercial purposes (factories, showrooms, retail shops, offices) or a mix of commercial and residential units. | Lloyd's underwriters and HDI Global Specialty SE and Lancashire Underwriting Australia Pty Ltd | Through a broker |
| Axis Underwriting Services | Axis Commercial Strata Insurance Policy (AXL, mixed tenancy) | Commercial strata | Not stated | Not stated | No cover after 90 days (a few events excepted) | Owners corporations / body corporates of premises primarily used for residential purposes but also occupied by commercial tenants (showrooms, retail shops, offices, gyms, hairdressers and the like). | XL Insurance Company SE | Through a broker |
| CGU | CGU Commercial Strata Insurance | Commercial strata | Optional extra | Not stated | Not stated | Strata-titled entities insuring buildings used predominantly for commercial purposes (retail shops, offices, factory units); not residential buildings or individual unit owners. | CGU Australia Pty Ltd | Through a broker |
| CHU Underwriting Agencies | CHU Commercial Strata Insurance Plan (QM569) | Commercial strata | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Bodies corporate / owners corporations of commercial or mixed-use strata or company title property where 20% or more of total floor space is commercial. | QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited | Direct or through a broker |
| Flex Insurance | Flex Complex Strata Insurance | Commercial strata | Included, can be removed | Not stated | Extra $5,000 excess | Residential, mixed-use and commercial strata buildings that cannot get cover elsewhere because of complex risks (cladding, defects, high-risk occupancies, alpine locations); brokers only. | Lloyd's underwriters and QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited | Through a broker |
| Hutch Underwriting | Hutch Commercial Strata | Commercial strata | Optional extra | Not stated | Tell the insurer after 60 days | Schemes that are more than 20% commercial by floor space; buildings and common contents up to $25M combined sum insured. | Lloyd's underwriters | Through a broker |
| Insurance Investment Solutions | isStrata Commercial Strata Insurance (Lloyd's edition) | Commercial strata | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Lloyd's underwriters | Through a broker | |
| Longitude Insurance | Longitude Commercial Strata Insurance | Commercial strata | Optional extra | Not stated | Not stated | Commercial and mixed-use strata buildings where more than 20% of floor space is commercial. | Chubb Insurance Australia Limited | Through a broker |
| QUS (Quality Underwriting Services) | QUS Strata Select (commercial strata) | Commercial strata | Not covered | Not stated | Not stated | Same Strata Select policy as residential: strata-titled buildings, including commercial or mixed commercial/residential, outside Northern Australia. | Lloyd's underwriters | Through a broker |
| Strata Community Insurance (SCI) | Strata Community Insurance - Commercial Strata | Commercial strata | Optional extra | Not stated | Not stated | Strata schemes with commercial tenancies where the commercial floor space ratio is 20% or greater, including mixed-use schemes with residential units. | Allianz Australia Insurance Limited | Direct or through a broker |
| Strata Unit Underwriters (SUU) | SUU Commercial Strata Insurance | Commercial strata | Optional extra | Not stated | Not stated | Commercial, office, retail and mixed-use strata within SUU's underwriting guidelines; industrial strata complexes no longer offered. | CGU Australia Pty Ltd | Through a broker |
"Not stated" means the documents read for this page did not say, not that the cover is missing. "Left empty" is what the policy says happens once the building has been empty for that many days in a row; the brand's page has the details and the sentence behind each value. The policy's own wording decides every claim.
Deep Almanac is a secondary source and this page is provided for general information and reference. It is not financial, investment, legal, valuation, educational or other professional advice, and it is not a substitute for checking the original source. What each policy covers and who underwrites it are read from each insurer's own documents by hand and re-checked daily, so a change can take a day to appear, and the policy wording you are issued is what applies to you. You are responsible for any decision you or your software makes in reliance on this page. See our terms of use.