Introduction
The Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012 and Privacy Regulation 2013 both commenced on 12 March 2014. They represent the most significant changes in the legislation since it was first introduced in 1988. They introduce new requirements, for both privacy policies and associated procedures.
The Property, Stock and Business Agents Amendment (Professional Indemnity Insurance) Regulation 2012 commenced on 1 January 2013. It amends the Property, Stock and Business Agents Regulation 2003, by inserting a clause 13B requiring that:
Due to tough economic times for the construction industry, the number of home owners warranty insurance claims for incomplete works has dramatically increased.
The amendment to the Home Building Regulations 2004, effective from 17 February 2012, provides that insurance policies issued from that date can allow 20% or more of the contract value for incomplete works.
Insurance disputes happen for many different reasons and under all kinds of policies but typically involve a different set of expectations (or even understanding) on the part of the insured and/or insurer about what was and what was not covered. In many instances (but not all) an insurer has some form of Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) process in place to manage such disputes where the disputes may sometimes (but not always) be escalated to an External Dispute Resolution (EDR) with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
CHU and Strata Unit Underwriters (SUU) provide legal defence cover for defending claims from third parties (like owners or contractors) in addition to the cover provided for legal expenses for the more usual categories of insurance covered by a strata policy.
Claims against the owners corporation
Up until recently lot owners routinely claimed for any loss of rent suffered by them, due to a breach by the owners corporation of section 62 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 1996 to maintain and repair the common property.
A common claim under owners corporation’s building insurance policies relates to losses arising from burst pipes.
Usual uninsured losses
Generally speaking losses from the following are not covered: