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Before I took on the self-management of our Plan I noted that our previous Strata Managers received a hefty commission from our Insurer (which of course they declared).
Our premium is creeping up at a rate that's in excess of the that arising from the increase in our property's value, and our current Insurer won't apply any of previous Strata Managers' Commissions amounts to reduce that.
So my query is …. does anyone know of a Insurer or a Broker that will rebate even part of their usual commission to the O/C in circumstances where the Plan is self-managed, and where the hard-working Secretary lodges any and all Claims paperwork ?
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Whale,
Have you considered dealing direct with the insurers (take out the brokers) though keep in mind that it is likely that the brokers are able to benefit from some significant buying power, which in turn will be providing your insurance at a highly competitive price!Unfortunately the GFC, floods in Queensland and an earthquake in Japan and New Zealand seem to have had a massive impact on insurers.
The issue with dealing direct is you will be doing the leg work to get the comparative quotes for the insurance renewal and then you have the issue of trying to interpret and compare the various different insurance policies and their wording.
Thanks Mr Strata,
To clarify, I am dealing directly with Insurers who would pay me 22% of our Plan's Premium as a commission IF I was a Licensed Strata Manager and acting as their Agent (as our former Strata Managers were).
That commission would now be in the order $1,900.00, so I asked our Insurer if they would reduce our next Premium by say $1,000.00 in recognition of the fact that they weren't paying any commission; the answer was a firm NO!
I do obtain competitive quotes each year from the two major Strata Insurers, and I do all the notifications, paperwork, and follow-ups when we (rarely) make a Claim – I just don't understand why neither Insurer will give us a share of the customary commission that would in other circumstances be willing paid by them, and from that very same Premium, to a Strata Manager
Obviously any self managed strata plan is disadvantaged by this sort of “kick back” scheme.
Here is an idea; how about next year at the AGM the SP resolve to engage an agent solely and expressly for the purpose of gaining insurance and nothing else. The agents authority could be restricted to just that one matter. The fee for the agents service being half the commission, the SP gets the other half.
In the above case it means a few phone calls and a little work by the agent earns a $950 return … sounds like easy money.
If there is an agent looking for easy money then why not set yourself up to just do insurances for self managed SPs on a 50 – 50 commission basis. The agent makes easy money and the SP get a better deal …. win , win.
What a great idea!! I wish that I was a Licensed Strata Manager instead of a Chartered Engineer (Ret'd) trying his best to be one, and to be an Accountant, Scribe, Mediator, By-Laws Policeman, Debt Collector, and all-round sounding board.
What a great forum this is; good work “Jimmy T”
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