Strata insurance

Two products. One clear choice.

Every body corporate in Australia carries a legal obligation to insure the building and hold liability cover. That part is non-negotiable. What is negotiable is how well the policy fits the scheme.

Hutch writes two dedicated strata products: one built for residential schemes and one for commercial. Both are backed by Lloyd's. Both quote and bind through fast digital platforms. The only question is "which one fits your needs?"

Strata insurance. The basics.

What is strata insurance?
Strata insurance is the statutory insurance held by an owners corporation or body corporate. The policy is held by the body corporate, not by individual lot owners. Every Australian state and territory requires bodies corporate to maintain insurance over the building and common property, and to hold liability cover for injury or property damage arising from ownership of that building.

Beyond these two mandatory sections, required to meet statutory obligations, bodies corporate can tailor their cover with optional sections for Voluntary Workers Personal Accident, Fidelity Guarantee, Office Bearers Liability, Machinery Breakdown and Government Audit Health & Safety, & Legal Expenses. Cyber cover comes standard on Residential Strata, and can be added on Commercial Strata.
Is strata insurance compulsory in Australia?
What is the difference between residential and commercial strata insurance?
The core cover structure is the same across both products. The difference is the risk profile based on the usage. Residential Strata is for buildings that are predominantly residential in use. Commercial Strata is for buildings that are predominantly commercial (e.g., offices, retail outlets, etc), or a genuine mix of commercial and residential lots.

The right product depends on how the building's floor space is used. If the scheme is 80% or more residential by floor space, it belongs on the Residential product. Below that threshold, it belongs on the Commercial product.

Residential Strata Insurance

For schemes that are 80% or more residential by floor space.

Bodies corporate with up to 20% commercial use, below the 26th parallel south. Building sum insured up to $20M. Liability up to $30M.

Cyber cover is included as standard in every policy. So is pet liability cover. Paint, wall coverings in NSW and ACT, and floating floorboards are automatically included.

Apartments, townhouses, the odd communal BBQ?

Snag this one

Commercial Strata Insurance

For schemes that are more than 20% commercial by floor space.

Bodies corporate where the building is less than 80% residential by floor space, below the 26th parallel south. Building and contents sum insured combined up to $25M. Liability up to $30M.

The same eight-section framework as the residential product, calibrated for commercial and mixed-use risk.

Offices, shops, more mixed-use?

This one's yours

Awarded a 4.5 Star rating from LMI ClaimsComparison

LMI ClaimsComparison is an independent site that rates the claims service of Australian Insurers by product class without fear or favour.

Hutch deals exclusively through licensed insurance brokers.

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer direct advice or quotes. If you are a strata committee member, owner or builder, don’t hesitate to contact your broker to obtain a Hutch quote. If you do not have a broker, you can find one through the National Insurance Broker Association's ‘Need a Broker‘ search directory.

The information below is for registered insurance brokers.

From thought to bound. Faster than you'd expect

Hutch utilises digital tools that are available 24x7x365. When submitting a quote via Sunrise or SCTP there is no double keying, no closings and invoices are automatically populated.

Residential strata quotes via Sunrise (code HUTSTR) and SCTP.
Commercial strata quotes via Sunrise (code HUTCS).

Policies within auto-quote parameters bind in minutes. Those that need a second set of eyes go to the Hutch underwriting team, who turn referrals around in an average of one business day.

No desire to be a keyboard warrior?

Dawn takes the data entry off your plate. Currently only available for Residential Strata, with Commercial Strata coming soon. Email your client's existing Residential Strata proposal form to dawn@ai.hutchunderwriting.com.au in any format, and Dawn reads it, pre-populates your Sunrise quote, and drops it in your import queue within minutes. You review, declare, and bind.

Still have questions? We have a team of strata underwriters who are willing to answer your questions via email, phone, or online chat.

How to Quote

Broker Support

What Happens When a Strata Risk Goes to Referral?

Don't freak out if your strata account falls outside our auto-quotation parameters and needs to go to referral. Hutch Underwriters react faster than Chuck Norris.

Referrals land with underwriters who know strata in detail. Submit it and get on with your day. 75% of strata referrals are turned around within one business day, based on a 12-month rolling average.

Our property team will have you strutting around the office like the bad-ass you truly are. Chuck has got nothing on us.

Built for brokers. Designed for modern-day risks. Backed by Lloyd's

Hutch is an independent, employee-owned Lloyd's coverholder. Our strata insurance products are underwritten by certain underwriters at Lloyd’s.

Lloyd’s is the world’s leading insurance and reinsurance marketplace. Through the collective intelligence and risk-sharing expertise of the market’s underwriters and brokers, Lloyd’s helps to create a braver world.

The Lloyd’s market provides the leadership and insight to anticipate and understand risk, and the knowledge to develop relevant, new and innovative forms of insurance for customers globally.

It offers the efficiencies of shared resources and services in a marketplace that covers and shares risks from more than 200 territories, in any industry, at any scale.

And it promises a trusted, enduring partnership built on the confidence that Lloyd’s protects what matters most: helping people, businesses, and communities to recover in times of need.

Lloyd’s began with a few courageous entrepreneurs in a coffee shop. Three centuries later, the Lloyd’s market continues that proud tradition, sharing risk in order to protect, build resilience, and inspire courage everywhere.

We quote and bind digitally through Ebix Sunrise Exchange and Steadfast Client Trading Platform (SCTP). Ebix's broking systems, including Sunrise, are used by over 80% of Australian brokers and insurers. Steadfast's SCTP connects the largest general insurance broker network in Australasia. Between the two platforms, we reach most of the Australian broker market.

We've designed our underwriting questions to cut admin, not add to it. And our in-house claims team is on the phone when things go wrong. Faster quotes. Smarter questions. Fewer headaches.

Underwriter Spotlight

Gayle Harmar

Head of Property

Gayle's team of property underwriters spans Hutch’s Strata and Landlords products. Harmar brings over two decades of experience across personal and commercial lines in both the UK and Australia.

Learn More