What’s Covered by Body Corporate Insurance?

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When you buy a unit-titled property in New Zealand, your body corporate levies don’t just cover maintenance and management costs – they also contribute to your insurance. We look at what’s covered.

What Does Body Corporate Insurance Cover? 

Bodies corporate are legally required to carry comprehensive reinstatement insurance, meaning the entire property complex is insured under a single policy.  

Body corporate insurance is designed to protect the building and all common property shared by the unit owners. This includes areas such as:

• The building: The entire structure, including the roof, walls, floors, and foundations.
• Common areas: Shared spaces like hallways, stairwells, car parks, gardens, pools, spas, lifts, and recreational facilities (e.g., tennis courts). 

In the event of damage, body corporate insurance claims are handled through the body corporate policy, covering repair and replacement costs for shared areas and the building itself. As an individual unit owner, you cannot take out separate insurance for your unit. 

Do I Need Contents Insurance in a BC? 

If you own a unit-titled property it is vital you have your own contents insurance. While the body corporate insurance policy covers the physical structure and common property, it does not extend to personal belongings inside your unit.  

Body corporate insurance does, however, cover fixed chattels within a property.  

Insurance Council Warning 

While Body Corporate insurance provides strong protection, not all multi-unit buildings have a body corporate setup. Some properties may be fee simple or freehold, meaning individual owners are responsible for their own insurance.  

The Insurance Council of New Zealand advises caution when purchasing units in properties without a body corporate arrangement, as the absence of centralised insurance could present a significant risk. Find out more in our article on Buying a unit in a multi-unit dwelling that doesn’t have a body corporate. 

What is Body Corporate Specific Insurance? 

Bodies corporate should have insurance designed specifically for body corporate needs. This insurance accommodates the key features of multi-owner complexes, which ordinary building insurance does not cover, including protection for owners acting in good faith on their entity’s committee.  

Crockers has worked with insurance broker Gallagher to create Orion insurance, a market-leading insurance package designed specifically for body corporate property owners. 

While Orion is tailor-made for bodies corporate, Gallagher will also provide quotes from other insurance companies, depending on the level of cover the client requires. 

Orion insurance is offered exclusively to Crockers’ body corporate clients. 

Not a Crockers Body Corporate client yet? Get in touch with our friendly BC Business Development team at  09 968 3311 or email  bc@crockers.co.nz, and they'll be happy to help.