QUESTION: I am on our executive committee and have been trying to get an insurance payment for water damage repairs to one unit’s ceilings and fixing the leak above it- a total of $26,000. However, our insurance broker is negative about our chances (since the insurance company knocked us back, because it wasn’t an emergency, rather, a slow leak). I have asked several times to take it to the Ombudsman. Do we have to go through a broker? Would we be better off with a large insurance company and no broker?

ANSWER: The general consensus from the Flat Chat Live Panel was that  the broker was right about the insurance – it’s wear and tear, not an accident – but wrong to not at least inform the owners corp what their options were in regard to challenging a response to a claim.  If you want to find out more about that, ASIC has a very handy web page HERE.

Regarding whether or not it’s better to have a broker, the feeling was that a good broker provides a service to both the customer and the insurer and you would be better finding a broker who will give good advice than dispensing with brokers all together.