Why Plumbing in Victoria Has No Insurance Safety Net
Plumbing in Victoria…why is there is no safety net?
This is something that needs to be said:
The amount of plumbing related building defects I see in properties in Victoria is astonishingly high. Often they exceed all other defects!
I’m not just talking about roof plumbing, there is such significant issues with ground plumbing and why this so pervasive is it can impact heave subsidence and other movement related claims.
Why is this so bad?
This is so bad because
- Complexity: claims of this kind can be both factually and legally complex;
- Home insurance exclusions: mean that property insurance and strata property insurance will not respond because they either exclude claims arising from movement of earth or otherwise defect exclusion apply meaning traditional Insurance does not respond
- Substantial loss: These are BIG engineering claims often requiring demolition of a dwellings or remediation of resultant water damage including mould.
- The type of insurance that should respond in these circumstances has effectively become junk insurance.
Can you believe that?
What I am talking about is plumbing insurance under the Licensed Plumber’s General Insurance Order 2002.
The Case for transformation report led to much of the recent changes in building legislation in Victoria. It also raised issues with plumbing work and plumbing insurance but the recommendations made have still not been implemented.
This is insurance that responds to defect claims from the issue of a plumbing compliance certificate.
One of the major issues with this Insurance is it does not cover claims related to damage after six years. Yet the law allows a building defect claim for 10 years.
The big issue with this type of plumbing insurance is it’s become a farce.
For one, homeowners can’t even claim on the policy as was recently confirmed in the recent O’Connell decision.
Secondly, certain insurers just take the position of pretty much opposing any claim.
The ministerial order that introduced this insurance is from 2002 which is roughly when HIH collapsed some 24 years ago and the insurance industry have still not updated.
Where we are at with plumbing issues in Victoria is in a really bad state and the Building and Plumbing Commission has a lot to do including breaking the dead silence on why government won’t make changes to plumbing insurance and what is being done to improve plumbing compliance in Victoria.
This article is a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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