I asked our sponsors CHU insurance for their take on this and their reply is below, but first they cautioned that each claim is assessed on its own merits and the circumstances often vary.
You also need to factor in the definitions under the respective policy, which again may vary between companies. The relevant strata legislation in each state and territory may also affect the outcome.
The response below is based on current CHU policy.
CHU says:
As you point out, a shower screen is not Common Property (Common Area Contents) as the area is part of the lot. However, under the CHU Residential Strata Insurance Plan, the definition of a building includes fixtures and structural improvements within a lot, such as shower screens.
Repairs and maintenance of fixtures within the lot is the responsibility of the lot owner. For the insurance policy to respond to such a claim, there would need to be a sudden and identifiable event [such as an accident] that has caused damage.
Therefore, depending on the circumstances around how damage to the shower screen has occurred, there may be a valid claim.
CHU recently produced a video on “What is Strata Insurance” which can be found on our website. This may be useful for your members.
On the question of whether individual owners can claim against strata insurance themselves without going through their strata committee, the definition of You, Your and Yours within the CHU Residential Strata Plan in respect of policies 1, 8 and 10, provides some coverage direct to Lot Owners within both the Additional and Special Benefits.
We have a protocol in place to ensure the Strata Committee are aware (either directly or via the Broker or Strata Manager) of all claims where there is a direct lodgement from a lot owner. However, that relies on us having the correct contact details on the policy record.