Self managed strata schemes: does your tradie have the right insurance?

Self-managing your strata scheme it’s important to check that the tradies you engage have the right insurance cover.

It’s not hard. Just follow these steps.

Make sure that you check that the company the tradie works for has public liability insurance.  Simply getting a, “Yes I do!” from the tradesperson is not sufficient.  You must ask them to provide you with a Certificate of Currency, which they can obtain from their insurer.

Holger Schnabel, from Whitbread Insurance Brokers says, “Best practice is keeping a register of all of the tradespeople used by the Owners Corporation and note that a copy of the Certificate of Currency has been sighted and kept for reference.  This register is then reviewed annually to ensure public liability insurance cover is up to date. This applies also to caretakers.”

If a tradesperson, whilst carrying out work on the Owners Corporation property, were to cause or are alleged to have caused third party property damage or personal injury, this could result in a claim being brought against the tradesperson and the Owners Corporation.

If they do not have a current public liability insurance policy in place, the Owners Corporation could bring action against you, the owners.

“Another misunderstanding is caretakers or handymen are covered under the liability section of the strata insurance policy; this is not correct.  They too must have public liability insurance in their own name.  This applies to an owner or tenant who performs general maintenance work on behalf of the Owners Corporation.”

Whitbread can assist you to arrange public liability insurance to cover owners and tenants, who act as caretakers, performing maintenance work on behalf of the Owners Corporation.  Whitbread have sourced a policy at a competitive premium rate, based on an annual turnover, up to $20,000.  This policy provides cover for minor maintenance and common area cleaning.  Plumbing and electrical work are excluded.

Our recommendation is simple, don’t hire or engage anyone who doesn’t carry a current Public Liability policy and ensure you hold a current Certificate of Currency on file.  A minimum recommended level of cover is $10,000,000.

Self-managed strata schemes – it’s that simple.

If you would like assistance organising public liability insurance, contact the Whitrbread Strata Insurance Broking team by submitting this form.