CHU today announced that Chief Executive Officer Bobby Lehane will step down from his role in March 2021, following nearly six years of leadership.

Lehane advised that, with the business strongly positioned for the future, it was time to pursue his next professional opportunity.

CHU is pleased to confirm that Kimberley Jonsson will succeed Lehane as Chief Executive Officer. Jonsson has been with CHU for 15 years and has held several senior roles across the business, most recently leading the New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory region, which is CHU’s largest portfolio.

Lehane said he was delighted to see an internal successor appointed.

“Kim’s appointment as CEO is a tremendous outcome for CHU. It is one of the leading roles in the Australian insurance industry and I am very pleased to see someone of Kim’s calibre step into the position,” he said.

Steadfast Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Robert Kelly acknowledged Lehane’s contribution to the business.

“Bobby has overseen a period of significant progress and growth at CHU, and we thank him for his leadership and commitment,” Kelly said. “With a strong and experienced leadership team in place, CHU is well-positioned for continued success. Kim is a highly capable executive with a proven track record, and we are delighted to see her appointed to lead the business.”

Jonsson said she was honoured to be appointed to the role.

“To be given the opportunity to lead CHU is a privilege, particularly having started my career with the business,” she said.

“Under Bobby’s leadership, CHU has evolved into a resilient and high-performing organisation. We are well-positioned to deliver on our strategy through to 2025, and I am confident about the opportunities ahead.”

Reflecting on his tenure, Lehane said he was proud of the progress he achieved as CEO.

“It has been an incredibly rewarding period, and I am proud of what the team has accomplished,” he said. “While the environment continues to evolve, I believe it is important to continue moving forward and making decisions with confidence.

“I leave the business in a strong position and with an outstanding successor in place.”

Lehane will continue in his role until March 2021 to support a smooth transition.

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Helping strata owners get back on their feet after a claim

After flooding or fire, one of the biggest issues for strata owners is restoring their property back to its original condition.

To help them get back on their feet quicker CHU has created a panel of restorers (CHU Builder and Restoration Panel) to ensure there is no long-term impact from the original disaster, such as mould from the water damage or smoke issues from a fire.

Some big pluses:

1. The CHU Builder and Restoration Panel helps simplify and speed up the claims process. 
2. CHU will reimburse the panel restorer directly, taking the hassle out of owners needing to pay and seek reimbursement from CHU.
3. The quality of the restoration work will be guaranteed by CHU.
4. The CHU restorers will ensure the appropriate restoration work is carried out and help reduce claims costs.

The CHU Builder and Restoration Panel complements CHU’s existing loss adjuster and builder panels on specific claims, such as major water damage, fire and drug lab residue.

All the restorers on this nation-wide panel are accredited by the restoration industry standards certification, IICRC.

Builders and restorers work in unison with one another – speeding up the rectification process.

Builders have the authority to engage with a CHU panel restorer and vice versa.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=E6vOVx7Gz6w%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D0

More information is available on the CHU website – including the Builder and Restorer Panel list and Builder and Restorer Panel FAQ’s. If you are unsure of whether to contact a Builder or Restorer please call CHU on 1300 361 263.

If you have any queries about the panel process please contact Steve Toppercov, National Supply Chain Manager via email steve.toppercov@chu.com.au or your local claims team on 1300 361 263.

40% of the waste Australia generates each year is from the demolition and construction sectors, with more than a third of it ending up in landfill. Insurance clean-up and repair work material are significant contributors.

How clean-up and repairs are carried out after a catastrophe however has a major impact on how much of this material ends up in landfill.

Reducing landfill

As part of its environment and sustainability strategy, leading Australian strata insurance specialist CHU is piloting a scheme with eco waste managers Handel Group to lessen impact on landfill.

In the aftermath of the Darlings Down floods and severe storms in south-east Queensland in February 2020, CHU is now working with handel: to recycle waste from the clean-up and repairs.

CHU is using handel:’s unique FLEXiSKiPs to collect and remove the waste. The skips are made from 100 per cent recyclable material and can be easily erected on sites. The waste materials are later moved to handel:’s recycle partners to recycle.

“We are excited to partner with CHU, and their builder panel, to deliver landfill diversion and a suite of reporting tools to assist CHU monitor and meet their 2025 strategy,” said Steve Rohloff, Co-founder of the Handel Group.

Following the pilot CHU is looking to encourage its panel of builders across Australia to use the skips so that the waste can be recycled.

“CHU’s 2025 strategy includes a major environment and sustainability filter and we are constantly seeking meaningful initiatives to help play our part,” said CHU CEO Bobby Lehane.

“While it’s absolutely vital for us to help customers get back on their feet after a catastrophe strikes, it’s important we don’t forget that’s not the end of the story. There’s a substantial amount of waste material generated in the clean-up and repairs following a catastrophe or a major event. With the demand on our landfill sites growing , insurers need to do their bit to help reduce the impact,” Mr Lehane said.

Some 80 per cent of demolition and construction waste can be recycled or sold and handel: is looking at ways it can direct more of that waste to be recycled.

Recycling in action

CHU is committed to being a carbon neutral business and last year signed a three-year agreement with environmental scientist/explorer Tim Jarvis’s Forktree Project that has the dual aims of helping combat climate change and biodiversity loss. The project involves replanting native trees and restoring native habitat on a 53ha former pastoral property on the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia. At the start of the project, the land had only 30-40 native trees left on it whilst the number should be in tens of thousands. After much hard work and active tree planting over the past year and a half, the property now has almost 5,000 native trees planted, with two thousand more to go in the ground in the next 2 months.

Tim has recently started this year’s planting and urgently needed stakes to hold the tree guards around his fledgling trees in place. CHU was able to assist Tim in sourcing and supplying 4,500 of Integrated Recycling’s composite recycled plastic tree stakes manufactured from recovered plastics, including agricultural films, bottles, pipes and drums combined with organic fibre. Material that would otherwise potentially end up in landfill or worst case as plastic pollution in the broader environment. Tim is really pleased with the results especially given the longer life expectancy of the stakes, superior strength compared with traditional wooden stakes and the fact that no trees need to be harmed to make them. A win-win!

“That’s just one practical way recycling can help the environment,” said Lehane

Significance of the Forktree Project

The Forktree Project involves re-establishing tens of thousands of native trees and shrubs on the property that will in turn bring back native animals, insects and birds as well as sequestering tens of thousands of tonnes of carbon. (To put it in perspective, the average Australian’s carbon footprint each year is roughly 25 tonnes).

“Restoring this once pristine land in such an incredible part of Australia is important to do, coming at a globally critical time for species/habitat loss and climate change,” said Jarvis.  This is especially important given that Australia is one of seven countries responsible for more than half of global biodiversity loss.

Australia is however also one of the top countries globally with the space to plant trees on spare or underutilised land. Collectively if we planted trees on all the suitable, spare land that existed globally we could store over 200 billion tonnes of carbon and buy about 20 years in the fight against climate change.

“What is happening on the ground at Forktree is really important but the real value lies in the positive example it sets for others to follow,” said Jarvis. Smaller farms and rural properties constitute between 5-10% of Australia’s agricultural land, covering tens of millions of hectares and so have the potential to be real game-changers. 

‘SYDNEY’S millennial generation are in danger of renting well into their late 40s’

‘Locked out: It’s all gone horribly wrong for generation rent’

These are just a couple of media headlines suggesting those who rent are doomed. Frankly, it’s an urban myth. Renters have many of opportunities to leverage off renting.  We will explore just how renting can actually be a positive move – financially and emotionally.

Many Aussies persist with the great Aussie Dream of owning their own house on their own piece of land. It remains firmly entrenched in our psyche. As part of that psyche those who rent are seen as – and may feel – they are chasing an unachievable dream.

Surely rent money is dead money? And with property prices bound to rise, surely you will get ahead of the curve in the long run?

But our blinkered vision of the Aussie Dream forgets about the high costs in buying and maintaining a house. Stamp duty remains a huge speed bump. There are rates and water bills and, of course, that Herculean climb to pay your mortgage and its rising interest rates. A golden rule, by the way: don’t move too often and paying the high costs associated with that like stamp duty, removalist, utility connection fees…

Renting can benefit your pocket

There is some good news for renters. Instead of ploughing all their money into their property, renters can look at using their capital to invest into other assets.

A US study found renting to be the superior investment strategy while Australian Reserve Bank research suggests there is little difference in buying or renting from an investment point of view.

Independent local economic research shows that overall, over the last 30 years, property owners have had better returns than renters, but – importantly – not every year. Timing can be very important. When house prices fall or plateau – something we face in many cities now – renters come up on top.

As previously stated, a significant plus for renters is they can turn to other investments. Shares remains superior to other forms of saving. But for home owners just to make the hefty mortgage repayments is a struggle, let alone invest cash elsewhere. Renters can invest the cash they save into maintaining a leveraged ASX200 investment.

Creating a diversified investment portfolio can yield high rates of return without relying on the housing market remaining stable.

Another growing financial trend is young people, often with two healthy incomes, looking to rent at the same time buying lower-priced investment properties to lease out, helped by Australia’s negative gearing policy. They can use the rent towards paying off their mortgage on the property while having a home in their chosen area. Be mindful that the negative gearing policy is always subject to change with new government.

A lifestyle choice

Renting not only gives renters more financial freedom it can give them more lifestyle choices. Moving home because of a job or just to be in a more favourable area is much simpler and cheaper for renters.

Many millennials, in particular, are happy to rent. It means they can choose to live in an area which would be beyond their means to buy in. 

The adage of ‘rent where you want to live and buy where you can afford’ resonates with many as an alternative investment strategy to maximise the tax benefits of owning property.

It also gives them a flexibility if they want or need, for their jobs, to move to another area without the hassle of selling their present home and then looking for another one somewhere else.

And there’s more … co-living

The urge to rent has seen some other interesting possibilities emerge.

“The Sydney Morning Herald” reports that a form of dormitory living for adults has been established in the Sydney city area.

Called co-living, it features private rooms and large common areas and shared utilities – a bit like the university dormitories of old, but very much 21^st Century. Rentals are similar to normal rent or higher but with more flexibility for short or long-term stays but include all utilities and internet, with flexible terms for both short and long-term stays and added features like Wi-Fi.

The concept is already popular in Europe, Asia and North America and is now growing in Australia, with operators looking to establish the sites in most major cities.

According to one local operator the co-living concept was originally expected to attract mainly young people but those over 60 are also embracing co-living.

Older renters can benefit

One challenge facing today’s renters is when they become tomorrow’s retirees. Australia’s aged pension and superannuation system is not at present set up for people who rent.

However, there are still pluses in renting in retirement whatever your age. A Texan study showed that renting offers greater flexibility to retirees seeking the right kind of environment for their new lifestyle. And getting that location right can have tremendous benefits for health and longevity.

The same financial positives for younger renters can be equally beneficial for astute older renters. As mentioned previously, without a burdening mortgage and the possible instability of the housing market, older renters can create a diversified investment portfolio to offset their rent and cost of living.  

And with the continuing rise in people renting here there is every chance future governments will seek to a change in policy and legislation to ensure all Australians can reap the benefits of a rental lifestyle.

So, is it so bad to rent?

So, back to the original question: is it better to buy or rent a property?

Well, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) released a study one year saying that over time, it’s cheaper to rent than buy a house. But just 12 months later a RBA researcher concluded that under current market conditions, it’s a better idea to buy than rent!

But as you have read, renting gives renters choice, unlike those locked into crippling mortgage repayments. Renting not only gives them more financial freedom – and there are many avenues they can invest very profitably – it can give them more lifestyle choices.

Home ownership is no longer the be-all and end-all in Australia. Astute renters who carefully plan their futures can live happily in a rented premises as long as they wish. After all, with many more areas offering rentals, if they get bored with where they are living it’s not too hard to move to “greener pasture”.

Note: This content in this article should not be treated as providing any definitive advice and should not be relied upon as such. It is recommended that readers should always seek advice separately before taking any action based on this publication.

Strata, also known as strata title or strata scheme, allows for individual ownership of part of a property called a ‘lot’. A lot can be an individual apartment, unit or townhouse.

A strata-titled property owner, as well as owning the lot, also shares ownership of common property – such as driveways, gardens, lifts – with other lot owners.

Underinsurance of strata properties is a major growing concern, according to CHU, Australia’s leading strata insurance specialist.

Confusion over what your strata building insurance policy covers is the main cause of underinsurance.

For example, did you know that your mandatory residential strata insurance (insurance that the owners corporation/ body corporate have to cover the building, common property and common area contents of a strata scheme) does not cover your personal property or liability within your apartment?

There is a great misunderstanding as to what is covered by the residential strata insurance. Many customers believe much of their personal contents will be covered by this residential strata policy. This is not the case and they are often left underinsured and under protected.

From CHU’s internal data more than 30%** of CHU strata building claims affect personal property, including claims from water damage, natural events, fire, accidental damage, malicious damage and theft.

A separate contents or landlords’ insurance policy is vital to protect your personal belongings, as well as protecting you against legal liability or damage to another person’s property within your unit.

Whether a renter/tenant or lot owner, it’s important you have clear understanding of what residential strata insurance covers and what landlord and contents insurance does so you can fully protect yourself and your personal belongings. To avoid confusion between which items are insurable under the policies issued by CHU, we have provided some guidance.

What is covered by your residential strata building insurance?

Residential strata insurance provides general insurance cover for the building, shared or ‘common’ areas, common property and common area contents and legal liability in common areas:

*Based on CHU’s Residential Strata Insurance Plan

What is covered by contents or landlords insurance?

Contents will cover your household and personal possessions, such as clothing, jewellery, furniture, TV, carpets and electrical appliances. It covers the cost of repairing or replacing these possessions in the event of loss or damage. Landlords insurance will also cover loss of rent if the tenants leave or if the unit becomes unfit to be occupied.

Contents or Landlords Insurance will cover:

^Based on CHU’s Landlords and Contents Insurance for Strata Policies. For more information about CHU’s Landlords and Contents Insurance policies head to CHU Landlords Insurance for Strata and CHU Contents Insurance for Strata.

Legal Liability

A very important component of landlords and contents insurance is what’s called legal liability cover. Legal liability cover protects you against financial loss if your actions, negligence or the condition of your property is found to cause a person to be injured or killed.

It’s important you read the residential strata policy purchased by the body corporate/ owners corporation to understand what is and is not covered inside your lot/unit so you can take out the appropriate content or landlords cover. Insurance on these items is the responsibility of the owner or tenant and not part of the residential strata insurance policy. 

For more information about CHU’s Landlords and Contents Insurance policies head to CHU Landlords Insurance for Strata and CHU Contents Insurance for Strata.

Excess Waived

CHU is one of Australia’s largest and most awarded underwriting agencies. If your residential strata insurance is managed by CHU you receive these additional benefits: 

• Save on your excess payment: if CHU insures your building and you and the body corporate / owners corporate make a valid claim for the same incident.
• Speedier repairs: If your personal property and building is damaged in the same incident, your property will be repaired or replaced quicker.

** Estimate based on CHU Assess claims

CHU Underwriting Agencies Pty Ltd (ABN 18 001 580 070, AFS Licence No: 243261) acts under a binding authority as agent of the insurer QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited (ABN 78 003 191 035, AFS Licence No: 239545). Terms, conditions, limits and exclusions apply to the products referred to above. Any advice in this article is general advice only and has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before making a decision to acquire any product(s) or to continue to hold any product we recommend that you consider whether it is appropriate for your circumstances and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement which can be viewed on this website or obtained by contacting CHU directly. 

Strata insurance – the past and future.

In 1978 Corporate Home Unit Underwriting, the first strata insurance specialist in Australia, was established. Forty years on CHU, as it’s now known, is Australia’s leading strata insurer.

On 16 February 1979 CHU wrote its first policy for 24A, 26 Macquarie Place, Mortdale, NSW. It cost $439.45. In that year NSW had about 14,000 blocks of residential home units. By the end of that year CHU insured nearly 500 of them.

The demand for strata insurance started to gather speed in the 80s, although it was not seen as a part of mainstream insurance for some time, with CHU remaining the sole strata insurer until 1999.

CHU’s success was noted by the bigger insurance players in Australia and in November 2005, QBE acquired CHU from the founders.

CHU continued to grow and in 2015 there was another change in ownership. The Steadfast Group acquired CHU and this saw a renewed focus and strategic direction for CHU.

CHU now offers the market-leading cover for residential strata, commercial strata, community title, company title, non-strata units and landlords and contents for strata.

So, what does the future hold for strata insurance and the strata community?

“The digitalisation of strata insurance has begun, however, strata insurance is lagging other general insurance lines in that regard. That will absolutely change. The charge has been led by CHU with its introduction of straight through processing 24/7,” said CHU CEO, Mr Bobby Lehane.

“The demand for tailored more flexible insurance policies is growing and the need to simplify the core strata insurance product is vital.”

“The shift to brokers providing strata insurance will continue to accelerate.  With the increasing complexity of schemes strata insurance is – and will continue to be – an ideal avenue for brokers to help their clients,” he said.

“Smaller self-managed schemes will increasingly purchase their insurance online and, again, CHU is well placed to meet this digital demand.”

Mr Lehane added, “CHU’s future strategy is very much geared to prepare for the changes we see to the market in the coming three to five years, which we believe to be enormous.”

In the near future, the strata insurance industry will see:

Increased automation and shift to digital platforms and self-service. 

“While strata insurance is lagging other general insurance lines that will absolutely change. With the roll out of CHU StrataTech to intermediaries and our digital transformation plan for CHU we are well positioned to address this change. This will also address the emerging needs of a mobile and flexible workforce that is becoming the norm,” said Mr Lehane.

Flexibility of core Strata Insurance product.

The core strata Insurance package product has become increasingly complicated and rigid over the years. Commented Mr Lehane: “This type of product will come under increasing scrutiny as educated consumers seek to pay for only what they need. CHU is leading with CHUiSAVER’s products, moving to higher minimum excesses more appropriate for strata cover and a streamlined, tailored product offering choice and flexibility outside of mandatory covers. Successful changes to this product will be applied to our core CHU product over the next few years.”

Shift to Broker.

The increasing complexity of schemes and changing legislation requiring multiple quotes will continue to drive a shift to broker for strata insurance. CHU has moved to 60% through broker over the past two years. “We are creating the toolset and the service to support this change, and continue to anticipate that 80% of Strata will be through a broker in three years’ time,” Mr Lehane said.

Growth of Direct for smaller schemes, and change of buying behaviours. 

Smaller schemes, with no strata manager or broker involved will increasingly look to purchase their insurance online as with other transactions. “We will support this through the full quote and bind functionality offered by StrataTech,” said Mr Lehane.

The age-old Australian dream of owning your own home is changing.

Research shows an increasing number of Australian families will rent, possibly for their entire lives. A concept new to Australia but growing overseas is ‘build to rent’, with developers in expensive cities building apartment blocks that would be entirely for rent. “In Australia the concept is only just started to take-off and, with the rental market growing, developers are reconsidering the idea. The New South Wales and Victorian governments are now looking at ways to encourage developers to invest in apartment blocks that would be entirely available for rent,” Mr Lehane said.

CHU celebrated its 40th anniversary in Sydney on September 7 with more than 250 strata industry guests attending.

Leading Australian strata insurer CHU today announced the launch of an innovative business unit to help customers get back on their feet quickly after disaster strikes.

CHUAssess is an agile, internal loss assessment team, owning on-site assessment and settlement.

The team is able to provide on-site approval of works to panel builders, speeding up the start of repairs.

CHUAssess will also improve the speed of settlement, with decisions made on the assessor report rather than later by a claims consultant.

“The need for speed is vital for strata owners and their tenants when disaster strikes. Not only is it important for those living in the property but also for strata owners who rely on their property as an investment,” said Mr Andy Martindale, CHU’s Head of Claims.

“CHU’s goal is to drive good customer experience. The decision is made on the spot by a CHU assessor, so that the claim is handled by the assessor not claims consultant, removing another layer in the process.”

Mr Martindale added, “Besides the establishment of CHUAssess, CHU has been working hard for some time in other ways to provide a speedy service when clients are in need. The ‘moment of truth’ – paying the claim as quickly and smoothly as possible – is crucial.

“A fast track claims service was achieved last year by the introduction of CHU’s Strata Service Centre (SSC), which is able to triage claims when they are lodged. Simple claims can be processed immediately.”

Mr Martindale said CHU’s aim was to lodge and process 95% of simple claims within the first two hours. CHU had consistently outperformed that target. Likewise, it had outperformed its 95% target of finalising a simple claim in one day.

CHUAssess was trialed for five months and is being rolled out to NSW this month, with other eastern states to follow.

For further information contact:
Anne-Maree Paull
Chief Customer Officer
CHU
+ 61 (0) 28923 5341

anne-maree.paull@chu.com.au

The manufacture and use of the illicit drug crystal methamphetamine, commonly known as ice, is rising rapidly across Australia.

According to the latest figures from the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, more than eight tonnes of crystal methamphetamine were consumed between August 2016 and August 2017.

During the same period, nearly 600 clandestine drug laboratories — or clan labs — were detected nationwide, including 234 in Queensland.

Data from the Real Estate Institute of NSW suggests the problem is also leaving a growing footprint in the property market. Around 10 per cent of properties in New South Wales are estimated to contain methamphetamine residue above Australian guideline levels, equating to at least one contaminated home on many streets.

As Minister for Justice Michael Keenan noted at the time, “Nationally, around two-thirds of the clan labs detected were in residential locations, posing significant risks to surrounding communities. These sites are used to covertly manufacture illicit drugs or their precursors, with many of the chemicals involved both hazardous and corrosive in nature.”

For landlords, the risks are substantial — not only the threat of fire or explosion, but the often significant cost of remediation when contamination occurs.

CHU, Australia’s leading strata insurer, advises property owners to remain alert to potential warning signs of clandestine drug activity. These may include windows that are blacked out or permanently covered, occupants who display secretive or erratic behaviour, and patterns of inconsistent occupancy.

Frequent short-term visitors at unusual hours, often waiting in vehicles, can also be an indicator, as can the presence of unusually high levels of security without clear reason. Strong chemical odours — including solvents, acids, ammonia or liquorice — may also be present.

Other warning signs include discarded chemical containers, metal drums, wiring or PVC piping, often with labels removed or obscured, as well as unusual waste disposal behaviour, such as avoiding regular collection or using neighbouring bins.

Authorities emphasise that suspected drug labs should never be approached directly. If there are concerns a property is being used for illicit drug manufacture, the matter should be reported to police.