You can be handed the strata deductible without having done anything wrong.
A pipe fails inside a wall, water reaches three suites, and the building claims on the strata policy. The Province of British Columbia states it plainly: an owner can be required to pay the strata corporation’s deductible even if they were not at fault. That is the bill most owners have never heard of.
Build the strata file Read the short answer firstBlame is not what decides who pays.
Building deductibles can be very large.
An owner policy can be built to answer it.
Who pays the strata insurance deductible in BC?
Often the owner of the unit where the damage started, and being careful is not a defence. The Province says an owner can be “required to pay the strata corporation’s insurance deductible, even if not at fault”.
The strata policy insures the building, and when it pays a claim the deductible has to come from somewhere. Building deductibles for water damage have risen sharply in British Columbia, which is exactly why this matters more than it used to. An owner policy can be written to answer that charge, but only if it was set up knowing the building’s deductible.
Owners read their own policy limit and feel covered. The number that decides the outcome is not in their policy at all, it is on the strata corporation’s certificate of insurance. Ask the council or the manager for the current deductible, in writing, once a year. If your own cover for it is smaller than the building’s deductible, the difference is yours. Read the Province of British Columbia on strata owner insurance (opens in a new tab).
Four numbers to get in writing every year.
The building’s water deductible
Ask for the figure, not a description of it. It is usually the largest one on the certificate and the one that reaches owners most often.
Your cover for that deductible
An owner policy can include an amount specifically for the strata deductible. It has to be at least as large as the building’s, and it should be reviewed when theirs changes.
Where the building’s cover stops
Original fixtures and finishes are usually the strata’s. Anything upgraded, replaced or added since is usually yours. Renovations quietly move that line.
Somewhere to live
If the building is unlivable for months, the strata policy repairs the building. It does not house you. That belongs on your own policy.
Three buildings, three ordinary failures.
The hose behind the washer
Nobody was home and nobody was careless. The water started in one suite, reached two below, and the deductible followed the unit rather than the blame.
The renovation nobody logged
New floors and a new kitchen, paid for by the owner years ago. When the claim came, the question was which parts were original and which were the owner’s.
The deductible that doubled
The building renewed and the water deductible went up. The owners’ policies stayed where they were, and the gap sat quietly until the next claim found it.
The questions owners and councils ask.
It was not my fault. Can they really charge me?
The Province says an owner can be deemed responsible and required to pay the deductible even when not at fault. Whether it happens in your building depends on the bylaws and the council, which is why an owner policy is the safer answer.
How much deductible cover should I carry?
At least the building’s current water deductible, and review it whenever the strata renews. Carrying less than theirs means carrying the difference yourself.
I rent my unit out. Who is exposed?
You are, as the owner. Your tenant needs their own policy for their belongings and their liability, and you should ask for proof of it every year.
Can the strata corporation make me buy insurance?
Bylaws differ, so read yours. Whether or not it is required, going without it in a building with a large deductible is the risk being described on this page.
We are the council. What should we be giving owners?
The current certificate of insurance with the deductibles on it, sent to every owner after each renewal. It costs nothing and it prevents most of the arguments that follow a claim.
Two that sit next to this on the same site: where the building stops and your unit begins, and what your landlord’s policy does not cover.
Not the question you had? Send us the building’s certificate and a licensed person will read it with you. Use the short contact form.
Find the gap before a hose does.
One certificate, one comparison, one conversation. It is the cheapest way to deal with the largest bill in strata living.