The Strata Insurance Landscape in Australia (2026): Providers, Prices and Sentiment

Search for the best strata insurance and you will find listicles that rank insurers one to five, as though you could pick a winner and buy it like a phone plan. That is not how strata insurance works in Australia, and a ranking that pretends otherwise will send you in the wrong direction.

The real picture is more useful. A small group of specialist underwriting agencies design and price strata cover, large insurers stand behind them and carry the risk, and your owners corporation buys the policy through a broker. The premium your building pays depends on its own size, age, height, location, cladding and claims history, so two buildings on the same street can pay very different amounts for the same insurer. The best policy is the one that fits your building's risk profile and has been tested against the market, not the one with the lowest sticker price or the most stars on a review site.

This article maps that landscape: who the providers are, what cover costs in 2026, how the sentiment reads across two different lenses, and how a committee secures a competitive deal at renewal.

How strata insurance is actually bought in Australia

Most owners assume strata insurance comes straight from a household name like QBE or Allianz. Those insurers are in the chain, but you rarely deal with them. Between the insurer and your building sit two other parties, and understanding the chain is the key to everything that follows.

1. 01
   Your owners corporation must hold cover by law
2. 02
   A strata broker tests the market on the building's behalf
3. 03
   An underwriting agency designs and prices the product
4. 04
   A licensed insurer carries the risk behind the agency
5. 05
   Owners pay their share through quarterly levies

Three roles, three different jobs:

• The insurer holds the capital and carries the risk. In strata this is a short list: QBE, Allianz, Vero (part of Suncorp), AIG and a handful of others. They are backed in turn by global reinsurers, which is why world events move local premiums.
• The underwriting agency acts as the insurer's agent under a binding authority. The agency writes the product, sets the appetite, prices the risk and handles claims, all under the insurer's licence. The name on your certificate of currency, CHU or Strata Community Insurance or Longitude, is almost always an agency, not the insurer itself.
• The broker works for your building. They take your scheme to multiple agencies, gather quotes, advise on cover and place the policy. Many owners corporations buy through a broker arranged by their strata manager, though a committee can appoint its own.

This structure is why the best strata insurer is the wrong question. You are not choosing a single company. You are choosing a product, priced for your building, placed by someone who did or did not test the market. Get the chain right and the rest of this guide makes sense.

The major strata underwriting agencies, compared

A handful of agencies write the large majority of residential strata in Australia. They differ in who backs them, how broad their appetite is, and what they are known for. None is best for every building: appetite for high-rise, older stock, cladding or regional risk varies, and an agency that declines one building will compete hard for another.

Agency	Risk carried by	Profile
CHU	QBE	The oldest and largest strata specialist, operating since 1978 and owned by Steadfast. Broad appetite, national reach, and the publisher of the widely cited annual Strata Market Report. Added cyber cover to residential policies in 2026.
Strata Community Insurance	Allianz	An Australian strata specialist with more than 40 years in the sector, insuring close to half a million lots. Its residential product consistently tops the independent StrataRatings rankings (see below).
Flex Insurance	QBE	From the same stable as CHU, built to be configured across small to large buildings. Positioned as a flexible, broker-focused alternative within the QBE-backed group.
QUS	AIG	An independent agency operating since 2008, known for broker service and a straightforward residential product. A common second or third quote alongside the larger players.
Longitude	Vero (Suncorp)	A specialist agency covering residential, commercial and mixed-use schemes under the tagline Service Beyond Strata. Often competitive where larger agencies have narrowed their appetite.

Beyond these five, agencies such as Strata Unit Underwriters and Axis Underwriting write strata, and insurers including Chubb take on certain buildings directly, particularly larger commercial or mixed-use schemes. On the broker side, names such as Body Corporate Brokers, Whitbread, Honan and the wider Steadfast network place a large share of the market. The point for a committee is not to memorise the list, but to know that several genuine quoting options usually exist, even when only one lands in front of you. Underwriting and binder arrangements also change over time, so confirm the insurer currently behind any product on its certificate of currency and product disclosure statement.

How the products compare on cover: the independent ratings

If what you want is the strongest cover rather than the cheapest price, there is an independent reference point. StrataRatings is an independent ratings agency founded in 2017 by Simon Plummer, a former national claims manager at one of Australia's largest strata insurers. It does not sell insurance. It analyses historical claims data across more than 20 strata products, weights each policy benefit by how likely it is to pay out in a real claim, then factors in exclusions and conditions to award a tiered rating, with Platinum at the top.

This matters because the cheapest policy often wins on price by trimming cover, lowering limits or raising excesses in exactly the areas where strata claims actually happen. A claims-weighted rating cuts through that.

On those independent rankings, Strata Community Insurance has held a Platinum rating for its residential and commercial products and has rated at or near the top of the residential field in recent years, sitting in a small Platinum group alongside the strongest products from the other major agencies. Read that for what it is: StrataRatings' independent measure of policy strength and likely claim outcomes, not a promise about the price your building will be quoted or the service you will receive at claim time. Those depend on your building and your broker.

Overall sentiment: what owners actually report

Product strength is one lens. How owners feel about their insurer at claim time is another, and the two do not always agree. Customer sentiment around strata insurance is mixed at best, and it pays to understand why before reading too much into a star rating.

Insurer reviews are written disproportionately by people in the middle of a dispute. A renewal that simply rolls over rarely prompts a five-star review; a claim that drags on for a year does. So review-site scores skew negative across the whole insurance category, not just strata, and a low score reflects claims-time frustration more than the average policy experience.

With that caveat, the public record is still informative. CHU, the largest and most-reviewed strata insurer, carries an overall rating of about 4.1 out of 5 from roughly 160 reviews on ProductReview.com.au, split close to two-thirds positive and one-third negative, which is towards the better end for an insurer. It is used here because the sample is large; the complaint themes below are drawn from strata insurance reviews across the sector, not from any single agency:

• Claims delays. The most common serious complaint is time: claims that stretch for months, in the worst cases past a year, often involving water damage where cause and liability are contested.
• Premium increases after a claim. Owners report sharp jumps at the renewal following a claim, including large excess increases, which feels like a penalty even when it reflects the building's revised risk.
• Disputed declines. A smaller but bitter group describe claims knocked back on the interpretation of a policy clause, several only resolved after escalation.

That escalation path is worth knowing. If a claim is declined or stalls, an owners corporation can take a dispute to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), a free, independent ombudsman service whose determinations are binding on the insurer. A meaningful share of the angriest reviews end with AFCA involvement, and some with the claim ultimately paid.

The honest read: no major agency has clean, glowing sentiment, the differences between them on customer experience are smaller than the marketing suggests, and the strongest predictor of a good claims experience is often the quality of the broker advocating for you, not the logo on the certificate.

Transparency, commissions and disclosure

A large part of the frustration around strata insurance is not about claims at all. It is about what owners pay and what they are told.

For years, the standard arrangement was that the strata manager or broker received a commission from the insurer, typically a percentage of the premium, and owners did not always see the figure clearly. Commissions, and the conflicts of interest they can create, have since drawn sustained regulatory attention, and the ACCC has publicly called for commissions in strata insurance to be banned. Whether or not a ban arrives, disclosure rules are tightening across the country:

• NSW disclosure rules. From 3 February 2025, changes to the Strata Schemes Management Act require itemised breakdowns of insurance quotes, commissions and broker fees, so owners can see what is being paid and to whom.
• Commission phase-out. From 1 January 2026, the peak body Strata Community Association (NSW) is phasing out the acceptance of insurance commissions by managing agents, with new standard contracts shifting to a transparent fee for service.
• Consent requirements. Broader Corporations Act changes have tightened the consent and disclosure required before commissions are charged to retail clients.

None of this is a reason to distrust your strata manager. Commissions were a legal, industry-wide arrangement, and a good manager earns their fee. It is a reason to read the disclosure, ask what is being paid, and treat the commission line as one input into whether your premium is competitive. Transparency is the direction of travel, and you are entitled to use it.

Competitive prices: what strata insurance costs in 2026

There is no public price list for strata insurance, because every premium is built for one building. What does exist is solid benchmark data, and after several brutal years the 2026 picture is calmer than the headlines suggest.

According to CHU's 2025 Strata Market Report, the national average strata premium was about $981 per lot, up 2.8 per cent over the year to June 2025. That rise sat below the 3.4 per cent growth in household incomes over the same period, and well below the 14 per cent surge in standalone house insurance, so on a national average basis strata cover held its affordability rather than worsening.

Averages by capital city show how much location moves the number:

City	Average premium per lot
Hobart	$765
Adelaide	$842
Melbourne	$920
Brisbane	$995
Perth	$1,085
Sydney	$1,176
Gold Coast	$1,403

Two warnings about these figures. First, they are per-lot averages, not your quote: a high-rise with a multimillion-dollar sum insured, a lift, a pool and a basement can pay six figures in total premium, while a row of older townhouses pays a fraction of that. Second, the national calm hides regional pain. Owners in parts of Victoria have reported rises of 30 to 50 per cent year on year across several years, increases of 25 to 40 per cent have been widely reported in Queensland, and the ACCC has continued to flag premiums in northern Australia, especially north-west Western Australia, as very high.

It helps to know how a premium is built, because that is where a competitive quote is won or lost:

• Sum insured. The cost to rebuild the whole building and common property, set by a current insurance valuation. This is the single largest driver. Too low and you are dangerously underinsured; too high and you are simply overpaying.
• Rate. A percentage the agency applies to the sum insured, reflecting the building's age, height, construction, location and claims history.
• Other covers. Public liability (commonly $20 million or more), office bearers' liability, workers compensation where required, plus optional extras.
• Government charges. Stamp duty, GST and, in some states, an emergency services or fire services levy, which can add a significant percentage on top.
• Broker remuneration. Commission or, increasingly, a transparent fee for service.

The outlook for 2026 is the most encouraging it has been in years. Brokers and underwriters describe an east-coast market that is softening and stabilising, with good risks rolling over at flat rates and, in some cases, attracting discounts as capacity returns and competition picks up. For a well-run building, 2026 is a good year to test the market rather than accept the renewal as offered.

How to secure competitive, well-matched cover for your building

A competitive outcome is something a committee works for, not something it stumbles into. The owners corporations that pay the least for the right cover follow a consistent process. Here is the checklist.

1. Test the market at renewal. Do not let the policy roll over by default. Ask your broker to obtain fresh quotes from multiple agencies every year, or at minimum every second year.
2. Get more than one quote. Appetite varies, so the same building can be priced very differently by CHU, SCI, Flex, QUS and Longitude. A single quote is not a market test.
3. Judge the product, not just the price. Check the StrataRatings tier and compare excesses, exclusions and liability limits, not just the headline premium. The cheapest policy can be the most expensive one at claim time.
4. Get the sum insured right. Commission an up-to-date insurance valuation, usually every three to five years. Underinsurance can see a major claim scaled back; an inflated sum insured quietly overcharges you every year.
5. Read the remuneration disclosure. Use the new NSW breakdowns, or simply ask, to see what commission or fee your broker or manager receives, and weigh it against the service provided.
6. Improve the risk you present. A funded capital works plan, rectified defects, a documented maintenance program and a clean recent claims history all give an underwriter reasons to price you keenly.
7. Mind the exclusions before you sign. Cladding, water damage, defects and unoccupied lots are where claims get contested. Know how your policy treats them before there is a claim, not after.

Red flags that signal bad value

The same process in reverse tells you when a policy is poor value, whatever the brand on it:

• The sum insured has not been revalued in years. You are guessing at the most important number on the policy.
• The premium never gets market-tested. A renewal that quietly rolls over every year is the most common way buildings overpay.
• The cheapest quote wins on excesses and exclusions. A low premium that carries a high water-damage excess or thin liability cover is not a saving.
• The remuneration is opaque or stacked. Multiple fees and commissions you cannot see clearly are worth a question.
• The policy excludes your building's main risk. Cover that carves out the very thing most likely to cause a claim is value on paper only.

How to read a quote pack in 20 minutes

Brokers often send three PDFs and a covering email. Owners glaze over. The committee should not.

Open each quote and write six numbers on one page:

1. Sum insured (building, including demolition and professional fees if stated)
2. Premium including levies and GST
3. Water-damage / escape-of-water excess
4. Other material excesses (storm, machinery, claims-free discounts lost)
5. Public liability limit
6. Named exclusions that match this building: cladding, defects, flood, unoccupied lots, office-bearers

If two quotes use different sums insured, stop. Ask the broker to reprice all of them on the current valuation. A $40,000 "saving" that is actually $2 million less rebuild cover is not a saving.

Then read the claims service paragraph. Who you ring, whether an independent loss adjuster is used, and typical time to a first payment on a water claim matter more than the agency's marketing page. Ask the broker for two recent claims they placed for similar buildings, with identifying details stripped. A broker who cannot describe a claim file has not done this work lately.

What "testing the market" actually is

Rolling the same agency for five years because "they know the building" is how loadings stick after the claim that caused them has aged out. Testing the market means the broker approaches more than one agency this year, with the same presentation: valuation, claims history, defects register, capital-works plan, and photos of completed waterproofing or fire work.

It does not mean a 48-hour email to one alternative the week the notice arrives. Underwriters price the file they are given. A thin file gets a cautious rate. A file that shows the membrane was replaced and the fire doors rehung gets a different conversation.

NSW disclosure rules now make broker and manager remuneration visible. Read that page. A 20% commission on a $90,000 premium is $18,000 of your levy, sitting in someone else's account. Fee-for-service can be cheaper or dearer. The point is to see it and ask what you get for it. Other states are not identical; ask anyway.

If the manager's related broker is the only channel, minute that conflict and get one independent quote. You do not have to move. You do have to know the number.

Sentiment versus your building

Industry surveys and Facebook threads describe a market that feels hostile. Some of that is real: weather, defects, reinsurance. Some of it is a building that has not valued, not disclosed, and not shopped.

Separate the two. If comparable schemes of your size and postcode renewed at +8% and you are at +35%, the difference is usually your file: an open defect, a thin valuation, a single-agency placement, or a water claim the underwriter still sees as live. If everyone in the postcode is at +30%, you are in the weather. Shop anyway. Do not expect a miracle.

Owners who want to "change insurer" at the AGM without a broker pack are asking the meeting to pick a brand. The meeting should pick a comparison table. The brand is a column, not the decision.

After a declined or ugly claim

A declined water claim is not only a repair problem. It is next year's pricing input. Ask in writing why it was declined: exclusion, non-disclosure, gradual damage, or inadequate maintenance. Fix the maintenance story before renewal. Lodge an AFCA complaint if the decline looks wrong, but do not wait for AFCA before you repair the leak. Empty apartments and mould do not pause for an ombudsman.

Tell the next underwriter what you fixed. Silence after a decline looks like the same risk wearing last year's certificate.

Buyers should read the insurance page of the strata report the same way: sum insured versus a rebuild guess, last valuation date, claims in three years, excesses, and whether flood or cladding is carved out. A cheap premium on a $12 million building insured for $7 million is not a selling point. It is a special levy waiting for a fire.

Committees should diary valuation every 24–36 months in a high-inflation construction market, not "when we remember". The certificate of currency should live where any committee member can find it the week a contractor asks for it. A lapsed or unfindable certificate is how works stop and how a claim argument starts.

If two agencies decline to quote, ask why in writing. A decline for cladding, flood mapping or an open defect is information. It tells you what to fix before you beg the remaining agency for a price. Three polite declines are a building problem, not a "hard market" slogan.

At the AGM, move the insurance item with the comparison table attached, not as "renewal noted". Owners who see two agencies, one valuation date and one excess recommendation will pass the premium. Owners who see a single invoice and a shrug will spend twenty minutes on Facebook rumours and still pass it late.

Keep last year's PDS and this year's PDS side by side for water, flood and office-bearers. A cheaper agency that quietly narrowed escape-of-water is not a win you discover at claim time. Minute that you compared those clauses. That minute is what a later committee needs when someone asks why you did not take the cheapest sticker.

Contents and landlord policies are not a substitute for the building policy. Tell investor owners that in the pack. A hole in the strata cover is not patched by their individual insurer when the claim is common property.

How UnitBuddy helps

UnitBuddy is software owned by the building: its owners and residents. It keeps your insurance in one place, so the picture is clear long before the AGM rather than buried in a renewal pack.

The platform tracks your certificate of currency, your premium history across renewals, the sum insured and the date it was last valued, the renewal date with reminders, and the commission and fee disclosure, alongside a benchmark of how your premium compares with similar schemes. That makes it straightforward to see whether your cover is competitive and well matched, and to walk into a renewal conversation with the right questions ready.

See how UnitBuddy handles insurance and financials · Get started

Further reading

• StrataRatings and its rating methodology: independent, claims-weighted product ratings
• National strata insurance ratings for 2026, via LookUpStrata
• CHU 2025 Strata Market Report: national and city premium benchmarks
• All the strata insurance underwriters in a bucket: a plain-English map of the agencies, via GoStrata
• Australian Financial Complaints Authority: the free ombudsman for declined or delayed claims

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Frequently asked questions

Can I choose my own strata insurer?

Not individually. The owners corporation holds a single policy for the whole building, and the committee decides on it, usually on a broker's advice and with owners voting at the AGM. You influence the choice through the committee and the AGM, not by buying your own strata policy. You do buy your own contents insurance separately.

Is there a single best strata insurance company in Australia?

No single insurer is best for every building. On independent, claims-weighted product ratings from StrataRatings, Strata Community Insurance's residential policy has rated among the strongest in recent years, with the leading products from CHU and the other major agencies close behind. But price and service depend on your specific building, so the best outcome comes from testing several quotes rather than assuming one brand wins.

Why is my strata insurance so expensive?

The biggest driver is your sum insured, the full cost to rebuild the building, multiplied by a rate that reflects age, height, construction, location and claims history. Cladding, water-damage history, coastal or flood exposure and government levies all push it up. A high total premium spread across many lots can still be a reasonable per-lot figure.

Is the cheapest strata insurance the best value?

Rarely. A low premium often comes from a lower sum insured, higher excesses or narrower cover in the areas where strata claims actually occur, particularly water damage. Compare the StrataRatings tier, the excesses and the exclusions, not just the headline price.

Are strata insurance commissions being banned?

Not banned nationally, but they are being phased out and made transparent. NSW has required itemised disclosure of commissions and fees since February 2025, the peak body in NSW is phasing out commission acceptance by managing agents from January 2026 in favour of a fee for service, and the ACCC has called for an outright ban. Ask to see what is paid on your policy.

How do I compare strata insurance quotes properly?

Put every quote on the same basis. Use the same sum insured, then compare excesses (especially water damage), exclusions, public liability limits and the StrataRatings tier, and only then the premium. A strata-specialist broker can line up multiple agency quotes for you, and you are entitled to ask them to.

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Further reading

• What Does Strata Insurance Cover? The Complete Guide

Last updated: 10 June 2026. UnitBuddy publishes general information for Australian strata owners and committees. It is not insurance, financial product, or legal advice, and it is not a recommendation of any insurer, agency, broker or policy. UnitBuddy does not hold an Australian Financial Services Licence. Company names, ratings, review scores and premium figures belong to their respective owners and sources, were drawn from publicly available information believed to be accurate at the time of writing, and can change without notice. Always check the current product disclosure statement, the certificate of currency, and advice from a licensed strata insurance broker before making a decision.

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