The amendments to the Strata Property Act and Financial Institutions Act will help stratas better mitigate the rising costs of insurance by bringing more transparency to the strata insurance industry and give strata owners and corporations the tools they need to do their part.
People living in condos and strata corporations in British Columbian are experiencing high increases in the cost of strata insurance or are having challenges even finding insurance at all. The amendments to the Strata Property Act and Financial Institutions Act will help British Columbians cope with rising costs of insurance while bringing more transparency to the insurance industry. The amendments will both end the practice of referral fees between insurers or insurance brokers and property managers or other third parties, require strata corporations to inform owners about insurance coverage, provide notice of any policy changes, including increasing deductibles, and allow stratas to use their contingency reserve fund when necessary to pay for unexpected premium increases. It will also pave the way for future regulations to help lower strata insurance costs for people.