Short answer
Because the owners corporation holds the building policy, claims on it are lodged by the owners corporation (or whoever manages the scheme), not by an individual owner. If an insured event affects your lot — such as water damage from a common-property source — you report it to the committee or manager, who lodges the claim. Damage to your own contents is claimed through your personal insurer instead.
Who lodges the claim
The strata damage policy is held in the name of the owners corporation, so it is the owners corporation that makes a claim against it. In a managed scheme the strata manager usually handles the lodgement; in a self-managed scheme the committee does. Either way, an individual owner does not claim directly on the scheme’s building policy — they report the damage so the scheme can.
The usual steps
Reporting an insured event generally runs: document the damage (photos, dates, what happened); report it promptly to the committee or manager; notify the insurer and lodge the claim, often with quotes or an assessor’s inspection; then manage the repair and settle any excess. Acting quickly matters — delay can complicate or prejudice a claim.
Excess and contents
The excess on a claim is a separate question from cover, and who pays it depends on the circumstances and the by-laws (see who pays the insurance excess). Damage to your own contents or improvements inside the lot isn’t claimed on the strata policy at all — that goes through your personal contents insurer.
Running claims cleanly without a manager
A self-managed committee can handle claims well when the policy details, damage reports and correspondence stay in one organised place. A system such as Straita keeps the insurance policy, the record of the incident and the claim trail together, so the committee can lodge promptly, track the claim through to repair, and keep a clear record of what was reported and decided.
Primary sources
- Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) — the building damage policy is held by the owners corporation (ss 160–161).
- NSW Government — Strata schemes (Fair Trading) — making a strata insurance claim.