A townhouse or villa is a self-contained property – attached or freestanding – in a complex of three or more dwellings. Homeowners share ownership of the land and common areas with others in the complex.
Is Strata Insurance for me?
Strata insurance covers residential buildings under a strata, body corporate or community title – including shared areas like garages, carports, sealed driveways and fixed swimming pools – managed by body corporates, owner’s corporations and strata managers.
Strata Insurance may be relevant for the following types of residential buildings:
Do live in or own a freestanding home?
Strata Insurance is designed to cover multiple properties within a building or block of land.
For standalone buildings you live in and where you own the land, consider GIO Home & Contents Insurance instead.
For standalone buildings which are investment properties, consider GIO Landlord Insurance.
What does GIO Strata Insurance cover?
Sum insured
This is the amount you choose to insure for. It's important that your sum insured reflects the value of what you want to insure as it’s the maximum we'll pay for any one incident if you need to make a claim. You should regularly review your sum insured to ensure it remains accurate.
Legal liability
We’ll cover your legal liability to pay compensation for death of, illness or bodily injury to other people, or loss or damage to their property which happens at the insured address in connection with your building, common areas or common contents.
Temporary accommodation for lot owners
We’ll cover the reasonable and necessary costs of temporary accommodation for lot owners if their strata building is damaged and can’t be lived in, as a result of an incident covered by the policy.
Loss of rent following an insured incident
We’ll cover the lot owner’s loss of rent if their unit is damaged and their tenant can't live in it, as a result of an incident covered by the policy.
Office bearer’s liability
We’ll cover the legal liability of any office bearer or committee member if a claim is made against them for a wrongful act directly related to their position and duties.
Embezzlement of funds
We’ll cover the fraudulent embezzlement or theft, misappropriation or conversion of your funds by office bearers or your employees.
Emergency repairs and other repair or rebuilding costs
We’ll cover the reasonable cost of emergency repairs to your building and common contents damages as a result of an incident covered by the policy.
Leak exploration costs
We'll pay for the reasonable cost of searching for the source of leaks in pipes and water containers at the insured address and damage caused by the exploration work.
Resilience improvements
We cover costs for installing resiliency building enhancements (e.g. cyclone shutters, fire sprinkler systems) if:
- loss or damage to the strata building is covered by your claim,
- our builder is repairing the building,
- repairs exceed $40,000 or 10% of the sum insured (whichever is higher), and
- the building lacks the enhancement.
Motor burnout
We’ll cover the repairs or replacement of electric motors which are part of the building or common contents and under 7 years old when they burnout or fuse. This includes things like an air conditioning unit or swimming pool pump.
Common contents cover (optional)
If optional common contents cover is selected on the policy (for an additional premium), we’ll cover loss or damage to common contents at the insured address, such as shared washing machines, gardening tools and cleaning equipment.
*Actions or movements of the sea and storm surge are not covered (unless the storm surge damage occurs at the same time as damage caused by storm). We don't cover retaining walls or flood damage to mooring poles, jetties, pontoons, other exclusions apply.
#We do not insure you for bushfire, storm, storm surge, flood or tsunami in the first 72 hours of your policy. Very limited exceptions apply. Read the PDS for more details.
For the full list of coverage details, terms, conditions, limits and exclusions, please read the PDS.
Need cover for contents inside the home?
Why choose GIO Strata Insurance?
Frequently asked questions
What is a body corporate or owners corporation?
A body corporate is a legal entity which is created when land is subdivided and registered under a community titles scheme. All of the owners in a community titles scheme are automatically members of the body corporate when they buy their lot.
The body corporate is also financially responsible (on behalf of all lot owners), for all the assets such as the building and the land, and all liabilities it may have.
Who manages the strata insurance?
Strata insurance policies are usually managed by either a strata manager, property manager, or a lot owner on behalf of the others, depending on the arrangement.
This means that if you’re the new owner of a lot on a strata property, the strata building may likely already have some form of insurance, so be sure to check the details if this is the case.
Does strata insurance cover buildings used for holiday or short-term rentals such as Airbnb or Stayz?
GIO will cover buildings and common contents used for holiday or short-term rentals provided less than 40% of the overall building or complex is used for holiday rentals, holiday letting, short term rentals, or home-sharing arrangements.
However, 'loss of rent' is not covered for any unit or individual property that is used for holiday rental, holiday letting, short term rental, or home-sharing arrangements.
Does strata insurance cover my personal contents?
Strata insurance policies do not cover personal contents or any legal liability which arises from events caused by personal contents. To cover personal contents, you may want to consider GIO Contents Only Insurance.
If I have strata insurance do I still need separate home insurance?
No. If you have strata insurance the building is covered by the GIO Strata Insurance policy. This also includes internal fixtures such as doors, stoves and tiling. Read the PDS for more details.
If there’s no strata or body corporate in place for my apartment building, can I still get Strata Insurance?
Yes, you can still get a Strata policy with GIO Insurance for the entire building. However, we only offer Strata cover on the entire building, not individual dwellings or units. For more information on what GIO Strata Insurance covers, please check the PDS.
Insurance issued by AAI Limited ABN 48 005 297 807 trading as GIO. Any advice has been prepared without taking into account your particular objectives, financial situation or needs, so you should consider whether it is appropriate for you before acting on it. Please read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement before you make any decision regarding this product. The Target Market Determination is also available.
Townhouse/Villa
A townhouse or villa is a self-contained property – attached or freestanding – in a complex of three or more dwellings. Homeowners share ownership of the land and common areas with others in the complex.
Duplex/Terrace house
A duplex is a residential building divided into two apartments with a shared roof and one shared wall.
Terrace houses are built as part of a continuous row of homes in similar style, often sharing walls on both sides. Some older terrace properties allow you to own the land, while others may be strata titled.
Unit/flat
A unit or flat is usually a stand-alone dwelling – but may share a common wall – and is not usually in multi-story complexes.
Apartment
An apartment is a self-contained unit that is part of a bigger building containing other similar apartments.
Do live in or own a freestanding home?
Strata Insurance is designed to cover multiple properties within a building or block of land.
For standalone buildings you live in and where you own the land, consider GIO Home & Contents Insurance instead.
For standalone buildings which are investment properties, consider GIO Landlord Insurance.
