Condo insurance bridges the gap for what strata insurance does not cover, such as a unit owner’s improvements, their belongings, liability and strata assessments. Home insurance (for single homes) provides coverage for the home itself, belongings and liability.

They are labelled as “high impact” because they can result in a significant loss and expense. Water damage on average costs $15,000 to repair and an earthquake could cause full devastation to your home with a need to rebuild. As these claims have a high cost, they are usually available for purchase as an optional extra coverage. Speak to your agent to review what you are covered for, because paying a little now to could assure you that peace of mind later.

By having coverage for an earthquake, your home would be repaired from direct and resulting loss or damage caused by the shaking of an earthquake. Plus, if you can’t live in your home, extra expenses such as for food, accommodation, medications and pet care would be covered. Many think that when the “big one” hits insurance companies might not be able to pay out the claim. At BCAA, we reinsure all our earthquake policies. This means that we secure insurance from other companies around the world so that in the event of a devastating earthquake, the cost of claims are spread out over numerous companies, and we'd be able to pay out on all claims.

A deductible is the portion of the claim that you pay. For example, if your policy deductible is $500 and your claim is $5,000, you will pay $500 and your insurance provider will pay $4,500. Deductibles help keep insurance premiums affordable because they prevent an overwhelming number of small claims. Plus, they provide you incentive to take care of your property.

Home insurance is not driven by fault, so in the event of a claim, you’ll be responsible for your deductible and your insurance provider will cover the rest, up to the coverage limit.

They limit the amount of coverage when it comes to valuable and high risk items such as jewellery, money or bikes. They vary between insurance providers and can be found on your policy documents or wording. If you need more coverage, you have the option of increasing the limits or scheduling the property (meaning to insure it as a separate item).