Insurance — you choose the insurer, we check it's legal

Attached duplexes must have one building policy in the owners corporation's name, for full replacement value, with $20 million public liability. Beyond that it's your call — a direct insurer's strata policy is fine if it meets those tests.

The four things we check every year

1. The owners corporation is the named insured — "The Owners – Strata Plan No. XXXXX", not one owner's name. A policy in the wrong name can leave a claim unpaid.
2. Sum insured is at or above the last valuation. The Act requires a replacement-cost valuation at least every five years (s 161); the sum insured must cover full replacement including demolition, removal and professional fees (s 160).
3. Public liability of $20 million or more (s 164; Regulation cl 39).
4. Expiry date — we remind both owners 60 days and 14 days before renewal.

When the new certificate arrives we run those four checks and email both owners the result: pass, needs attention at renewal, or fail with what to fix.

Two detached homes on one plan?

If the two dwellings are physically separate, the owners can resolve in writing not to insure jointly and each insure their own home (s 160(4)). We record the resolution and hold both certificates.

Common problems we find

• Policy in one owner's name from before the second lot was sold.
• Sum insured never updated since the plan was registered — sometimes a third of today's rebuild cost.
• Home-and-contents policies on each half instead of a strata policy on the building.
• No public liability at all, because nobody knew it was required.