CHU has more than doubled the size of individual strata risks it can write in Australia, expanding its ability to insure larger residential and commercial strata developments.
The strata insurance underwriting agency has raised its maximum single risk capacity to up to $690 million, from a previous limit of $300 million. The change applies to CHU’s strata insurance policies across both residential and commercial properties. The capacity figure represents the total of all property-related sections under a single policy, including insured property, catastrophe cover, and lot owners’ fixtures and improvements. It sets the maximum aggregate sum insured that CHU can offer for any one insurable risk.
CHU chief executive officer Kimberley Jonsson said the move reflects changes in the profile of strata developments. “We are seeing a sustained trend in strata developments becoming bigger, both in size and unit volume, so the opportunity to provide insurance to more customers living in strata is an exciting and important prospect,” she said. The higher limit affects how the agency can participate in placements for larger or higher-value assets. “This development allows for more choice for customers. CHU will now be able to independently offer quotes for larger risks, while also being able to, where needed, place larger shares in existing coinsurance arrangements,” Jonsson said.
Jonsson said that although more strata capacity has entered the Australian market in recent years, much of it has focused on smaller risks. “While the strata insurance market has seen multiple new participants in recent years, nearly all this new capacity has been capped at the lower end of the market, so this change will be welcomed by the broader market, which is desperately seeking more options in the large sum insured space. CHU welcomes the opportunity to provide insurance for customers across a wider scale, expanding our product offerings to considerably larger buildings,” she said.
The capacity increase follows CHU’s launch of an indicative pricing feature that provides brokers with a non-binding premium estimate before submitting a risk for full underwriting assessment. Available on CHU’s self-service platform, the tool gives an initial view of pricing that brokers can use when deciding whether to proceed with a formal referral. “Our new indicative pricing feature is a game changer for brokers. Non-binding price guidance increases visibility and will dramatically speed up the broker’s quoting process. It helps brokers access the information they need, when they need it, so they can deliver better outcomes for their clients,” Jonsson said.
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Jonsson said the feature is intended to address a common operational issue raised by intermediaries. “Wait times for final underwriting responses on risks is one of the most common pain points for brokers. By providing immediate price visibility, we’re helping brokers add more value for customers, and to spend more time talking to and supporting strata communities,” she said.
CHU said the indicative pricing capability builds on earlier system changes that removed certain referral triggers and reduced manual underwriting review across a large volume of transactions. The feature forms part of its self-service approach for brokers, aimed at shortening turnaround times on standard strata risks.
