Strata properties falling short on long-term maintenance are increasing their risk of claims and insurance coverage problems, according to a manager who is working on a solution.

Terrace Strata director Sally Bevis, who has worked as a broker and strata manager, says lack of building maintenance is a major problem at a time when resilience is a focus, leading to increased claims and higher insurance costs, with potential implications for cover availability.

“If you keep having claims, that’s also going to mean other insurance companies won’t want to quote, because claims frequency is as much an issue as quantum,” she said.

Mrs Bevis says strata properties in some states are legally required to have long-term maintenance plans, but often budgets are insufficient, owners may baulk at special levies and work does not take place as planned.

“Whatever’s in play at the moment is not working, because it’s a huge national issue,” she told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “It’s hard to get work done because people do plans and then they say, ‘It’s going to cost a lot of money, let’s kick that down the road.’ ”

Mrs Bevis says she is in the early stages of developing a preventative and capital maintenance program called Future Proof Strata that would implement and manage 15-year plans prepared by quantity surveyors.

The program provides for work to be scheduled, budgeted and carried out, with the goal of improving resilience, reducing special levies, lowering claims and lifting property values.

It would provide documentation of work completed and pending – another area in which the system is failing, she says.

Mrs Bevis, based near Hobart, is working on the program with quantity surveyor Acumentis, which has highlighted property value benefits from maintenance programs.

Benefits for insurers and brokers would include fewer damage claims, unity between owners and easier management of strata insurance policies, she says.

The program could be delivered nationally and is appropriate for small, medium and large schemes.