Why Are Queensland Strata Owners Being Left at the Mercy of Insurers?
Unit Owners Association of Queensland
The Unit Owners Association of Queensland (UOAQ) is raising serious concerns about the proposed General Insurance Code of Conduct 2026 and what it could mean for more than one million Queenslanders living in strata communities.
UOAQ committee member Andrew Turnour, President of the Townsville Lot Owners Group, and a long-standing strata insurance consumer advocate has, since 2011, examined billions of dollars in strata insurance invoices, policies and government inquiry reports, building a formidable evidence base on the cost and conduct of this compulsory insurance market.
Turnour notes that the current 2021 General Insurance Code of Practice (GICOP) commits insurers to trust, integrity, fairness, respect and meeting community expectations.
Alarmingly, those six principles have disappeared from the proposed 2026 Code.
The UOAQ questions whether this reflects the findings of the four Federal insurance inquiries conducted during 2024, which identified serious deficiencies in the 2021 Code, including a lack of consumer empathy and a failure to recognise the vital role of a meaningful general insurance industry in Australia.
These concerns are further underscored by the record number of general insurance complaints received by the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) in FY2025, and the continuing rise in reported GICOP 2021 breaches.
Of particular concern is paragraph 39, which allows just 14 days for renewal. That is manifestly inadequate for volunteer body corporate committees expected to assess complex policies, compare quotations and make major financial decisions on behalf of owners.
Residential strata insurance is compulsory under Queensland law. Owners cannot simply opt out. Yet it remains the most profitable, lowest risk and least regulated sector of the general insurance industry, delivering insurers a gross profit margin of 166 percent and claims risk ratio of 34 percent.
The proposed 2026 Code appears to weaken protections in a market where consumers already have limited choice, little bargaining power and rapidly escalating costs. It signals that the industry is failing to adequately honour its community responsibilities, social licence, and moral obligation to provide fair and accessible residential strata insurance products.
The UOAQ asks the question governments and regulators can no longer avoid:
Why are strata owners being ripped off, and when will governments act to protect them?
If the 2026 Code cannot protect Queensland’s strata owners, the state government that created these Residential Strata Insurance (RSI) obligations, must step in and do so.