What Rising Insurance Complaint Pressure Means for Strata Communities

While the latest figures are not confined to strata, they reflect issues that are highly familiar to owners corporations and body corporates. Delays, disagreements about claim amounts, disputes over policy interpretation and frustration with communication can become more complicated in a shared property setting. A single water leak, storm event or fire damage claim may involve lot owners, tenants, committee members, strata managers, contractors, engineers and insurers, each with different expectations.

For committees, the lesson is to treat claims management as part of insurance governance, not as an administrative task that begins only after damage occurs. Many strata insurance claims are made harder by gaps in maintenance records, outdated valuations, unclear responsibility for internal fixtures, or uncertainty about whether damage relates to common property or an individual lot. These issues can slow assessment and make it harder to resolve disagreements early.

The practical response is straightforward, even if it requires discipline. Strata committees should keep current building valuations, retain photos and maintenance reports, record decisions about repairs, and ensure residents know how to report damage quickly. Policy schedules, excesses, exclusions and claim notification requirements should be reviewed before renewal, not discovered during a stressful event.

There is also a growing affordability angle. When complaints increase, insurers and regulators pay closer attention to claims conduct, but schemes still need to demonstrate that their own risk information is accurate and complete. A building with poor maintenance history, incomplete documentation or repeated preventable losses may face tougher renewal conversations, higher excesses or narrower terms.

Where a claim is complex, early input from a broker or adviser can also help committees frame the issue clearly, gather the right evidence and avoid avoidable delays. This is particularly important for larger losses involving temporary accommodation, engineering reports, waterproofing disputes, combustible materials or damage across multiple lots.

The broader message for strata communities is that insurance outcomes are shaped well before a claim is lodged. Premiums matter, but so do governance, record keeping, communication and realistic expectations about what a strata insurance policy is designed to cover.