CHU Underwriting Agencies (CHU) has focused its latest residential strata reforms on making cover more responsive to the realities of modern strata living. By refining policy structure and improving pricing visibility, the organisation is delivering practical innovation across the insurance journey.
For CHU, that belief has driven one of the most significant updates to residential strata insurance in recent years and earned the organisation recognition as one of Insurance Business’ 5-Star Insurance Innovators for 2025.
Australia’s largest strata insurance underwriting agency covers approximately one million apartments, units, villas and townhouses nationwide, more than any other strata insurer in the country. Its latest residential strata policy reflects a long-standing focus on customer-centred solutions designed to simplify insurance and support more resilient strata communities.
CEO Kimberley Jonsson explains that the policy’s evolution is rooted in a practical objective. “At CHU, we believe insurance should evolve with the needs of our customers,” she says. “This upgrade to our residential offering is about removing complexity, bridging gaps in coverage, and ensuring strata owners are better protected.”
A central feature of the update is a change to lot owner contents insurance, an optional cover designed to bridge the gap between strata insurance and traditional contents policies. For claims where both common property and certain owner contents are affected, owners can now deal with a single insurer rather than two. The intent is to reduce disruption and enable repairs and recovery to begin sooner.
The optional cover supplements traditional contents insurance rather than replacing it. It includes fixtures and fittings such as the following:
It doesn’t extend to personal belongings, including clothing, jewellery or accessories, which remain under separate contents policies.
The new residential strata policy also introduces an important structural change. Office bearers liability is now automatically included across all policies, rather than offered as an optional extension.
Jonsson says strata committees carry complex responsibilities, and this new standard inclusion provides an additional layer of protection for individuals and the committee as a whole. “The work of strata committees is complex. We chose to make office bearers liability a standard inclusion in our coverage for strata committees, as there will always be residents who disagree with decisions and may bring action against individual committee members, regardless of the legitimacy of their case,” she says.
For committee members who volunteer their time and expertise, that protection is intended to provide reassurance that they are supported while carrying out their duties.
CHU’s focus on innovation reaches further than policy design and into the tools it places in brokers’ hands. The organisation has also launched an indicative pricing feature that provides brokers with an immediate, non-binding premium estimate, improving visibility and reducing delays in the quoting process.
“Our new indicative pricing feature helps brokers access the information they need, when they need it, so they can deliver better outcomes for their clients,” Jonsson says.
She acknowledges that waiting for final underwriting responses is one of the most common pain points for brokers. The new functionality addresses that challenge directly. “By providing immediate price visibility, we’re helping brokers add more value for customers and spend more time talking to and supporting strata communities,” she says.
The policy enhancements and the pricing tool demonstrate how CHU approaches innovation. The agency has concentrated on resolving bottlenecks in both coverage and process. The result is a residential strata offering that aims to simplify claims, strengthen protection for committee members, and equip brokers with faster access to pricing information.
With a portfolio covering around one million dwellings across Australia, CHU’s decisions affect a significant portion of the strata market. Its recognition as a 5-Star Insurance Innovator underscores the scale and impact of those changes.
For CHU, innovation is measured by practical improvements that respond to customer needs. In residential strata insurance, that means reducing gaps in cover, supporting those who govern their communities, and giving brokers tools that allow them to serve clients more effectively.
This article is sponsored by CHU Underwriting Agencies
