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Hi,
I put in a claim to the OC insurer for extensive water damages to my property. The insurer approved my claim and I submitted all my expenses etc for the repairs made. I received an email from the insurer advising me that the Strata has agreed to the pay out figure and the insurer will deposit the funds into the OC account. The agreed pay out is allot less than my costs provided to the insurer. I have not been consulted at all during the process of settlement. How can the OC agree to the settlement without my knowledge or input?
- This topic was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by .
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Did the insurer agree on the specific amounts or just on the principle that your claim was valid?
Also, it may also be the case that the insurance cover has an excess component which reduces the pay-out.
If that’s the case, then you should claim the balance from the owners corporation. And don’t get drawn into an argument that they are only liable for the amount insured.
If the OC has saved money in insurance premiums by including an excess, so be it. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t liable for the full amount of the damages.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
I think we’d have to know more details about the water damages and how they occurred.
They are not always due to a fault of the OC. Especially in VIC.
I’m assuming it was not due to a fault of the OC. In which case an affected lot owner can claim on any insurance policy available to them. If they use the OC’s strata building insurance, they’d have to pay any excess.
To know the circumstances of how an OC could agree to a settlement without the OP’s involvement, I’d be asking that question to the Strata Manager, the insurance broker or the insurer itself.
I don’t think we need to get into the weeds on this. The amount the insurer will pay to the OC will be based on their insurance cover, which may well include an excess. The amount the OC owes the lot owner is based on the OC’s liability. If there is an excess in play, the OC needs to make up the shortfall to the lot owner.
In short, the amount the insurer pays the OC and the amount the OC pays the lot owner will differ by the amount of the excess.
Misunderstandings often arise in these issues when the strata committee thinks they only owe the lot owner what the insurer paid to them. This is not the case – they have to cover their liability. If they disagree with the lot owner’s assessment of the damages, then they have to thrash that out between them.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
My point is that the OC might not have any liability at all.
That’s a common situation in VIC where lot owners are typically responsible for much of the waterproofing of their lot. And they can sometimes accidentally cause the flooding of their lot.
Much of the resulting damage can be covered by strata insurance which covers more than just common property. But the OC itself might not be liable.
In my stratas in VIC, the above situation has happened many times.
Thanks for your responses. Somehow they are not being emailed to me so sorry for the delay.
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The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
The OC insurer has advised payment will be made to OC, not to me directly. Its then up to the OC to direct the funds to me. I have a feeling this is not going to happen.
I which case, the same lawyer who helped you get a better settlement will presumably write a letter to the strata committee requesting payment or face a case at a local court for which the owners corp will also be charged all legal costs.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
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