Property – Building and Contents
Insurance Providers: QBE, Vero, CCI and Allianz
Loss or damage to buildings and contents can have a significant and often long-term impact on local communities and your business operation. Without adequate protection, the financial and personal impact may be costly and distressing.
LCA Property Insurance offers excellent protection for your property and contents. As sole provider of insurance for the LCA, you can be sure that LCA Insurance has taken great care to choose the best policy from reputable provider/s.
What does 'buildings and contents' mean?
Buildings and contents means all property belonging to your organisation or held in trust by your organisation, at an insured location/address, anywhere in Australia.
Your buildings and contents policy will include:
- Rewriting of records
- Fire extinguishment costs
- Architects, surveyors and other professional fees
- Removal of debris
- Additional costs in reinstating or replacing property.
Understanding reinstatement and/or replacement cover
Reinstatement means that where property is destroyed, in the case of a
building, it will be rebuilt, or in the case of other property, it will be replaced with
similar property. In either case, the property will be reinstated to a condition that
is equal to but not better or more extensive than new.
Replacement means that where property is damaged, the repair of the damage
or the restoration of the damaged portion of the property will be to a condition
that is the same as but not better or more extensive than its condition when
new.
Automatic increases, also known as an escalation clause, will generally be applied to the total replacement value of buildings and contents to allow for increasing costs due to inflation and the increasing costs of building.
What excesses apply?
| Policy Limits | Excess | |
|---|---|---|
| $ | $ | |
| Property (Building and Contents) | ||
| Fire, earthquake, lightning, storm, water damage, flood | Full cover | 2,000 |
| Wind, rainwater, hail damage to property in open air, including gates, fences and retaining walls, shade sales, textile awnings and blinds | 1,000,000 | 2,000 |
| Malicious damage | Full cover | 2,000 |
| Burglary (forced entry) & Theft (other than money or property in transit) | 2,000,000 | 2,000 |
| Theft of property in the open air | 250,000 | 2,000 |
| Accidental damage | 5,000,000 | 2,000 |
| Loss of money | 150,000 | 2,000 |
| Glass | Replacement Value | 2,000 |
| Goods in transit (cover limited to incidental movement within LCA properties) | 250,000 | 2,000 |
| Livestock (fire cover only) | 500,000 | 2,000 |
| Additional Cover in the event of one of the above | ||
| Loss of land value | 2,000,000 | - |
| Clearance of drains, exploratory costs | 500,000 | - |
| Landscaping | 500,000 | - |
| Extra costs of reinstatement | 10,000,000 | - |
| Art works, Antiques and Curios | 1,000,000 | - |
| Temporary accommodation (following damage to residential property) | 2,000,000 | - |
Major exclusions
- Communicable Disease (Business Interuption costs)
- Jewellery, precious stones, furs, precious metals or bullion
- Registered motor vehicles (See Motor Vehicle policy)
- Aircraft, watercraft, locomotive or rolling stock
- Damage to any boiler and/or vessel under pressure, although resultant damage is covered
- Money or goods stolen from unlocked, unattended premises or vehicles
- Bridges, canals, roadways, tunnels, railway tracks, dams, reservoirs and their contents
- Standing timber, growing crops and pastures
- Docks, wharves and piers not forming any part of any insured building
Damage exclusions
- Wear, tear, gradual deterioration or developing flaws, rust, oxidation, fading, scratching or mariring
- Moths, vermin, termites or other insects
- Dampness of atmosphere or variation in temperature, mould or mildew, wet or dry rot, corrosion, disease, inherent vice or latent defect
- Normal settling and normal shrinkage or expansion of buildings, foundations, pavements, roads and the like, creeping, heaving and vibration
- Erosion, subsidence and earth movement
- Error, omission in design, plan or specification or normal upkeep or making good
- Unexplained or inventory shortage
- War, invasion, act of foreign enemy, hostilities or warlike operations
- Faulty materials or faulty workmanship
- Nuclear weapons, material or fuel
- Damage to machinery caused by mechanical, electrical or electronic breakdown, mechanical derangement, malfunction or failure (refer seperate Equipment Breakdown Policy)
- Any fraudulent or dishonest act committed by an employee
- Water from the action of the sea, tidal wave or high water.
What is Business Interruption (or Consequential Loss) Insurance?
This section of the policy provides cover for loss of income and additional expenses arising following damage that is claimable under your Property Insurance policy. Cover includes:
| Policy Limit $ | |
|---|---|
| Additional increased cost of working (additional expenditure incurred for the sole purpose of avoiding or diminishing any reduction in turnover) - Indemnity Period 60 months | 25,000,000 |
| Claims preparation cost (professional fees and other expenditure payable for the preparation of claims) | 500,000 |
| Loss of gross revenue and resulting ongoing payroll following major loss - Indemnity Period 48 months | 100,000,000 |
| Loss of rent | 1,000,000 |
| Prevention of access due to subsidence, landslide or flood | 10,000,000 |
Handy Tip for Lutheran Schools and Aged Care facilities: Arrange regular valuations
We recommend that Schools and Aged Care facilities obtain a valuation from a professional valuer on the basis of current replacement value of buildings and contents every three years.
The insured value must reflect the full current replacement value of buildings and contents, unless other arrangements have been made with LCA Insurance.
A professional valuation for insurance purposes should include costs of:
- Securing the site after a loss
- Removal of debris and general clearance of site
- Professional fees (including architects fees) to allow you to consider rebuilding options
- Complying with current building regulations (also called extra cost of reinstatement)
- Escalating building prices during reconstruction
- The contract price for the work to be done.
General information on making a claim
Important Information
- All events that may result in a claim must be notified to LCA Insurance as soon as possible to the event date but no later than14 days.
- As with all claims, it is important that you do not proceed with repairs/replacement unless LCA Insurance or our insurers have given approval, failure to do so may result in your claim being denied.
- All claims will require submission of a completed claim form, written quotes, and photos of the damage prior to approval.
- Our insurers and LCA Insurance also reserve the right to appoint an assessor to any claims made.
- Any loss by theft or any willful or malicious damage must be immediately advised to the Police and reasonable steps taken to trace and recover any missing property.
Property - Building and Contents
WHAT TO DO IF YOU EXPERIENCE WATER DAMAGE TO CARPET
Immediately phone a carpet firm to have the damaged carpet lifted. Ensure they take the necessary steps to have the carpet dried and stretched.
In the event of the carpet shrinking to the extent it cannot be re-laid, obtain two (2) quotations for its replacement. The new carpet should be identical to the damaged carpet. Should the carpet firm have difficulty in obtaining an identical carpet, quotations should be obtained for replacement with one of a similar quality.
BURGLARY OR THEFT
A burglary claim is where an item/s has been stolen and there are signs of forced entry. A theft claim is where there is no sign of forced entry.
In the first instance, please report any act of malicious damage, burglary/theft to the Police. A copy of the Police report or report number must be included with the claim form.
In signing a claim form for burglary or theft, you agree to notify LCA Insurance immediately if any of the stolen property is recovered. You also agree (at the discretion of LCA Insurance) to return the goods to LCA Insurance or refund the amount of money received in compensation.
MAKING A CLAIM
Once the quotes have been authorised, we require the client to pay the repairer/supplier in the first instance (unless otherwise authorised). We will make the reimbursement to the claimant upon receipt of the completed claim form and copies of paid invoices.
Where property claims are likely to be over $10,000 it is very important to contact us immediately as in most cases where claims exceed $10,000 an Assessor is hired. The Assessors role is to act on behalf of the Insurer and help the client with the claim until finalised. Do not proceed with repairs/replacements over $10,000 unless LCA Insurance Insurers or Assessors have given approval.
- General Claim Form (Online) available soon
- General Claim Form (PDF)
Please note that this website only provides a summary of coverage. More detailed information is available by contacting LCA Insurance directly. The insurers policy wordings will take precedence over information contained in this website.