Insurance

There seems to be an uncovered  gap between what, for strata properties, is covered by contents insurance and what is covered by the Owners Corporation building insurance.  It seems that anything fixed/built-in is not covered by contents insurance – kitchen cupboards, sink, stove, built-in wardrobes, however it is not always agreed that these things are covered by the building policy.

 

We recently had our unit almost entirely flooded by an exploding hot water service – we were away at the time so it wasn’t immediately discovered. The HWS blew out at the top of the tank, flooding the laundry ceiling, walls and wall-mounted clothes drier before then flooding the rest of the unit floor.   

Contents insurance with NRMA covered replacement of carpet and water damaged clothes drier, but not water damage to laundry light fitting or power points.  It appears the strata building insurance does cover damage that occurred to a vertical duct passing from the top to the bottom of the building, but not the damage within the unit itself.  At the moment it seems that these other items are not covered by the building insurance either.  

Is there a definitive source at which the question of what is covered by each policy is answered?

 

Yours sincerely,