The Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation (ARPC) has introduced strata mitigation discounts for eligible risks that form part of the ARPC Cyclone Pool, with effect from 1st April 2025.
Flex has introduced five new underwriting questions as a result of these changes, the answers to which may affect your premium. These five questions are as follows:
- What is the most appropriate mitigation method for the roof construction for all Buildings at your plan?
- Does your Building have Permanent protection installed externally on all glass windows?
- Are all external doors located on all Buildings at your plan
- Metal;
- Timber with solid cores, or;
- Glass doors (including balcony doors)?
- Is the Garage Door located in the Main structure/Building and has been installed to be compliant with AS4505 (version 2012 or later)?
- Are all gutters on all Buildings compliant with the following conditions:
- Gutter overflows for all perimeter gutters on boxed eaves and/or all box gutters (at each end), or;
- All eaves have no eave lining?
Flex has not previously collected this information, therefore these questions are currently marked as 'Unknown.' Intermediaries can easily update answers to these question at a policy level through StrataTech. For direct customers, they can contact Flex on 1300 201 021 to update this information.
You can find out more about the mitigations and qualifying criteria below:
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What is the most appropriate mitigation method for the roof construction for all Buildings at your plan?
Metal Roof Types: Metal/Colorbond, Decramastic, Aluminium, Iron, and Copper.
Pre-1982 Year Built
Full Roof Structure Retrofit with Compliant Fastened Flashings
- Full roof replacement and roof structure tie-down upgrades to AS 1684.3 (version 1999 or later).
- Fastened flashings must comply with AS1562.1 (version 2018 or later).
Full Roof Structure Retrofit without Sarking Under Tiles
- Full roof replacement and roof structure tie-down upgrades to AS 1684.3 (version 1999 or later).
- Sarking is not included under the tiles.
Post-1982 Year Built
Metal Roof Types with Compliant Fastened Flashings
- Metal roof types where fastened flashings comply with AS1562.1 (version 2018 or later).
Tile Roof Types: Concrete Tiles, Terracotta Tiles, Shingle, and Slate.
Pre-1982 Year Built
Full Roof Structure Retrofit with Sarking Under Tiles
- Full roof replacement and roof structure tie-down upgrades to AS 1684.3 (version 1999 or later).
- Sarking is required under the tiles.
Full Roof Structure Retrofit without Sarking Under Tiles
- Full roof replacement and roof structure tie-down upgrades to AS 1684.3 (version 1999 or later).
- Sarking is not included under the tiles.
Tile Roof Types with Sarking
- Tile roofs that have a sarking layer under the tiles.
If roof mitigation methods are either Unknown or Does not meet any of the above criteria, the policy is not eligible for this mitigation discount.
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Does your Building have Permanent protection installed externally on all glass windows?
Permanent protection (cyclone wind-rated shutters or cyclone debris-rated screens), installed externally on all glass windows.
For house-type buildings that comply with the scope of AS 4055, shutters are certified to resist wind pressures given in AS 4055 (version 2012 or later). For all other buildings, shutters are certified to resist wind pressures given in AS/NZS1170.2 (version 2011 or later).
Cyclone debris-rated screens should have a test certificate for resisting the debris load for the wind region in which the building is located (or a higher wind region) as given in AS/NZS 1170.2 (version 2011 or later).
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Are all external doors located on all Buildings at your plan: - Metal or; - Timber with solid cores or; - Glass doors (including balcony doors
Any timber doors have solid cores.
All glass doors, including balcony doors, need to have shutters or debris-rated screens, compliant with the following:
- For house-type buildings that comply with the scope of AS 4055, shutters are certified to resist wind pressures given in AS 4055 (version 2012 or later). For all other buildings, shutters are certified to resist wind pressures given in AS/NZS1170.2 (version 2011 or later).
- Cyclone debris-rated screens should have a test certificate for resisting the debris load for the wind region in which the building is located (or a higher wind region) as given in AS/NZS 1170.2 (version 2011 or later).
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Is the Garage Door located in the Main structure/Building and has been installed to be compliant with AS4505 (version 2012 or later)?
Pre-2012 Year Built & Main structure/Building is three or less storeys
Vehicle Access door installed prior to 2012 has been retrofit (or braced) to be compliant with AS4505 (version 2012 or later), is located in the main structure, and main structure has three storeys or less.
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Are all gutters on all Buildings compliant with the following conditions: - Gutter overflows for all perimeter gutters on boxed eaves and/or all box gutters (at each end) OR - All eaves have no eave lining?
The following gutter designs from the Australian Building Codes Board Housing Provisions Standards 2022 (1 May 2023) would be examples of acceptable overflows:
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FAQ’s
How does Flex determine my level of discount if eligible?
FLEX policies that have their property replacement values greater than $25M total sum insured are underwritten by QBE who are participants in the ARPC Cyclone Reinsurance Pool. For eligible policies (residential strata where 50% or more of floor space is used mainly for residential purposes), the ARPC provides insurers with the percentage of discount applicable for each risk mitigation type.
FLEX policies that have their property replacement values less or equal to $25M total sum insured are underwritten by Lloyds who are not subscribers to the ARPC Cyclone Reinsurance Pool. Therefore the discounts afforded by the ARPC are not applicable for these policies.
My building is not eligible for a discount but we qualify for the ARPC Cyclone Insurance Pool – why is this?
Your building may already benefit from a reduced cyclone premium overall as a result of the characteristics of your particular building.
For example, to qualify for the main garage door mitigation discount, the ARPC rules determine eligibility if the building was constructed prior to 2012. If your building was built in 2015, the ARPC has already made an allowance that your property has been built to acceptable building codes and therefore, provided relief upfront for the cyclone premium applicable to your building.
My building does not qualify for the ARPC Cyclone Pool but has carried out mitigation work – what can I do?
Please get in contact with Flex on 1300 201 021 and asked to speak to an underwriter who can assess your individual circumstances to determine what impact this may have on your premium.