Each week, Insurance for Strata brings you a clear, no-fuss wrap of the biggest Australian strata and insurance stories. We filter regulatory updates, premium trends, weather and catastrophe impacts, building compliance developments, and notable claims decisions into a quick, reliable brief. Designed for committees, strata managers, and property stakeholders, it helps you stay informed, spot emerging risks, and understand what’s changing across states—so you can make confident, timely decisions without wading through headlines.
This Week:
Cyclone Narelle hits Far North Queensland, with heavy rain and wind risks for strata buildings and urgent claims steps advised. A global report confirms secondary perils like storms and floods now dominate insured losses, increasing pressure on reinsurance and strata premiums, with practical risk‑reduction actions suggested. A Victorian court rejects a directors PI claim linked to a cladding judgment, highlighting limits in counterparties cover and the need for robust records and fit‑for‑purpose strata policies. Calls grow for flood mitigation after recent events, with measures strata schemes can take to reduce repeat losses.
EPISODE 1438 | Insurance for Strata Weekly News Wrap | Sat, 21st Mar 2026
25 Mar 2026 | Paige Estritori
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Read Full Transcript:
Hello and welcome to Insurance for Strata Weekly News Wrap, Im Paige Estritori, and its Saturday, 21 March 2026.
First, Cyclone Narelle made landfall in Far North Queensland yesterday as a severe system, bringing destructive winds, coastal inundation and intense rain across Cape York, with more heavy weather tracking toward the Northern Territory today. For strata communities from Cairns north and across the Gulf, this raises immediate safety, access and water‑ingress risks. If your scheme is impacted, prioritise make‑safe works, document damage with time‑stamped photos, keep receipts for urgent repairs and alternative accommodation, and contact your broker or insurer early so coverage for storm, flood and debris removal can be assessed without delay.
Next up, a new global analysis shows so‑called secondary perils — severe storms, floods and bushfire — now drive the vast majority of insured catastrophe losses, with last years Brisbane thunderstorm singled out as one of Australias costliest. That trend keeps pressure on reinsurance and, in turn, on premiums and deductibles for apartments, especially in exposed regions. Committees can help control the risk profile by keeping roofs, gutters and drainage maintained, updating sums insured to current rebuild costs, and investing in resilience measures; these steps can support cover availability and more workable terms.
Meanwhile, the Victorian Supreme Court has rejected a directors professional indemnity, or PI, claim tied to a multimillion‑dollar cladding judgment. The court found the claim fell outside the policies claims‑made periods and that the directors liability arose from construction activity, not insured professional services. For owners corporations managing defects or combustible cladding, dont assume counterparties insurance will respond; keep your compliance and materials records tight, progress rectification planning, and ensure your own strata policy — including liability protections for committee members — is fit for purpose.
And finally, after recent Queensland flooding, local voices are again pushing for levee and mitigation projects to reduce repeat losses. For flood‑prone schemes, map water pathways through basements and common areas, consider relocating critical equipment above flood levels, and ask your broker about how engineered mitigation and documented maintenance can be reflected in underwriting.
Thats it for this week. For clear guidance and tailored strata insurance support, visit insurance-for-strata.com.au and well help you protect your building with confidence.
The information on this website is general in nature and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation, or needs. Consider seeking personal advice from a licensed adviser before acting on any information.
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Knowledgebase
Exclusion: Specific conditions or circumstances for which the insurance policy does not provide coverage.
