Long before most strata stakeholders were thinking about insurance issues in any serious way the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission was studying strata insurance issues; or at least one aspect of strata insurance.
In 2017 the Federal Government directed ACCC to conduct a wide-ranging inquiry into the supply of residential building (home), contents and strata insurance in northern Australia to address concerns about insurance availability and affordability, promote more informed and more competitive insurance markets, and make a difference for consumers in northern Australia.
That was because insurance costs, coverage limits, and availability was becoming a serious issue in that part of the country. And, it remains a serious problem in those areas 7 years later.
The enquiry ran for 3 years, involved 8 public forums, industry and sector submissions, and a series of hearings.
In the end, the ACCC made 38 recommendations in this final report, including 11 new recommendations, that seek to improve outcomes in the short, medium and long term including a few specifically addressing strata insurance.
The study contains extremely detailed and interesting information about strata insurance in Australia’s north in Chapter 16. And, even though the data and analysis is a bit old it’s still a very primer on how strata insurance works and the issues being faced by the strata sector today.
You can find out more about the ACCC’s Northern Australia insurance inquiry here.
And, you can read its final report here.