You describe the building on one online form, the insurer prices it, and you see the premium with every charge and our commission in dollars. A broker checks the quote and your answers before anything is placed, and buildings the insurer will not price online go to a broker straight away.
Anyone involved with the building can start a quote: a committee member, an owner, or the strata manager. The quote is for the owners corporation (body corporate in Queensland), which holds the policy. Quotes on this site are priced by Strata Community Insurance, which issues its policies as agent for Allianz Australia Insurance Limited.
What do I need before I start?
Most of it is on the scheme's current insurance certificate, its levy notices and its last valuation. It helps to have:
- the building's address and the strata plan number
- the current insurer, the expiry date of the current policy and its excess
- any claims in the last five years
- the latest building valuation: who did it, when, and the figure
- roughly when the building was built, and what the walls, roof and floors are made of
Missing a figure from the committee? The form saves as you go, and "Email me a link to finish later" sends you back to the same place.
What does the form ask?
Six short steps, each about the building, not about you:
| Step | What it asks |
|---|---|
| 1. The scheme | The address, whether the scheme has a plan number (and what it is), and whether a strata manager runs it |
| 2. Size and use | Residential and commercial lots, buildings, storeys, basements, the kind of homes, and any holiday letting |
| 3. How it is built | Year built, wall, roof and floor construction, cladding, heritage listing, refurbishment, known defects and any building work under way |
| 4. Protection and facilities | Fire protection, security, and shared facilities such as lifts, pools, gyms, playgrounds and electric vehicle chargers |
| 5. Insurance history | The current insurer, expiry and excess, claims in five years, and whether cover has been declined before |
| 6. Your cover | The valuation, the building sum insured, common area contents, loss of rent, the liability limit and whether to add flood |
Then your name, email and phone, so the quote can reach you. The liability limit runs from $10 million to $50 million. Your state sets the minimum: our guides for New South Wales and Queensland have the figures.
What does the quote show?
The premium for the year, and how it is made up: the insurer's base premium, the emergency services levy where your state charges one, GST, stamp duty, the insurer's administration fee, and the commission the insurer pays us, all in dollars. You also see what the policy covers, the excess, and the Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determination to read.
Our guide to what strata insurance costs shows three real quotes broken down this way, and our guide to what strata insurance covers walks through the policy.
When does a broker step in?
Some buildings need a person to look at them before an insurer will set terms. These go to a broker rather than being priced online:
- any commercial lots, such as shops or offices (see commercial strata insurance)
- a claim in the last five years
- a company title building
- combustible cladding or sandwich panel, a heritage listing, known defects, or building work under way
- facilities used by people outside the scheme
The insurer also refers some buildings to its own underwriters, for example a scheme that is currently uninsured or whose plan is not yet registered. In each case you are told, and a broker takes it from there. Our guide to strata insurance brokers explains what a broker does.
What happens when we go ahead?
- Read the documents. The Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determination are shown with the quote.
- Confirm the answers. The owners corporation has a duty to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to the insurer, so you are asked to check what was entered.
- Choose how to pay at checkout.
- A broker checks it. The quote and the answers are reviewed before the policy is placed with the insurer.
- Cover is confirmed and the policy documents are sent to you.
The form saves as you go. Come back to it whenever you have the figures.
Get a quoteGeneral information only. It does not take into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of your owners corporation.
What does strata insurance cover?
How much is strata insurance? Real quotes, line by line
Strata insurance brokers: what they do and how they are paid