Compulsory insurance

A body corporate must have insurance for:

• common property
• body corporate assets
• public risk
• every building which contains a lot.

Read more about building insurance.

Public risk insurance

The body corporate must have public risk insurance for:

• the common property
• body corporate assets for which it is practical to have public risk insurance (a body corporate asset might include gym equipment or pool furniture).

The body corporate does not have to take out public risk insurance for any other property that is not owned by the body corporate.

Public risk insurance must cover amounts the body corporate could be liable to pay for:

• compensation for death, illness and injury
• damage to property.

The policy must be for at least $10 million for a single event, and at least $10 million for the length of time the insurance policy covers.

The body corporate can take out more insurance than it has to under the regulation module that applies to the scheme. For example, it can get cover for committee members —known as office bearers’ liability.

Insuring common property and assets

The body corporate must insure the common property and the body corporate assets for their full replacement value.

The insurance policy must cover:

• damage
• extra costs to reinstate or replace the insured buildings (e.g. professional fees, or removing debris)
• returning the property to new condition.