Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Builders Home Warranty insurance issues 2Jun 14, 2010 10:46 pm You can only claim if the builder has died, become insolvent or dissapeared. It's therefore called a "last chance insurance". Otherwise it is a redundant insurance if you are building with a bigger builder because the chance of it happening is small. Be warned that it does not protect you from defects from the builder. There is a parlimentary enquiry on such insurance and it's practicality. Re: Builders Home Warranty insurance issues 3Jun 18, 2010 12:05 pm Yes, that is correct and there are many of other restictions and limitations with Builder warranty insurance. Interested to hear if anyone has been successful or unsuccessful lodging a Builder Warranty insurance claim. Re: Builders Home Warranty insurance issues 4Jul 02, 2010 5:02 pm I was wondering, if the builder loses his license due to incompetency, will the insurance cover? I'm having issues with my builder at the moment where he may lose his license in court over the non-completion of another project. If he loses his license he will not be able to complete my project. Re: Builders Home Warranty insurance issues 5Jul 04, 2010 11:53 pm The insurance company will not pay unless one of the following events occur, the builder has died, become insolvent or dissapeared. Losing his license will not trigger this. If you cannot get the builder to finish your house, you will need to terminate your contract legally and take the builder to court. You would only do this if you have no other alternative and there was alot of money at stake. Which state are you in and which insurance company do you have insurance with? Re: Builders Home Warranty insurance issues 6Jul 05, 2010 2:42 pm Okay let me provide more detailed information. I bought a new home off-the-plan from an investor. The investor has contracted a builder to complete the home. What's happened is, now 7 months down the road, the house is only built up to almost the lock-up stage and we've been told that the builder is currently undergoing court proceedings. The builder's other project build time frame is so slow from the promised date of completion that he is taken to court and may lose his building license. If he does lose his license he will then have trouble completing the house that I bought. The investor has revealed to me in the Section 32 document that the insurance is under CGU. My mistake, there is no clause in the contract that specifies a firm completion date else a penalty will apply. The build process is now taking far too long to reach the lock-up stage. I'm wondering if I'll ever see the house completed before the end of this year from lock-up stage. I'm really worried now, if the builder cannot complete the home and if the investor is unable to fork out more costs to complete the project and folds I will lose my 10% deposit. Re: Builders Home Warranty insurance issues 7Jul 06, 2010 12:39 am sounds complicated as the owner is still in control of the building contract . You need to see a solicitor in order to plan what you should do next and protect your interests . Which state are you from? Re: Builders Home Warranty insurance issues 9Jul 07, 2010 9:28 am You shouldn't lose your deposit - that should be being held by the vendor's solicitor (or agent) pending completion of the property. If the vendor is unable to go through with the contract, then it should be returned to you. On the downside, you wouldn't have your house, but you shouldn't lose both the house and the deposit. Re: Builders Home Warranty insurance issues 10Jul 07, 2010 11:43 am Is it a Sale of Land Act contract, or a building contract? Re: Builders Home Warranty insurance issues 11Jul 15, 2010 8:24 am Good thread - as activists we have been asking for years ....that is, who really cares about Builders Warranty Insurance? It seems, not many people at all because the Government refuses to reform it. But you DO care very much if you are (and some of you unfortunately are) an innocent consumer who has tried to claim your 7 year (or 61/2 year) builders guarantee because your house is riddled with defects. Because when you do, you will be shocked to realise that you do not have a guarantee at all and that all you actually have is a (*******) insurance policy that is supposed to provide the benefit and power of the guarantee. Sounds simple enough until you realise that the ONLY three triggers that will enable you to call your 7 year guarantee are if the builder dies, disappears or is insolvent AND you can prove a financial loss as a result. That is, your home could literally be falling down around about your ears but you have NO guarantee against this ** work unless one of those three triggers is met to the satisfaction of a for-profit insurance company. So, what happens next? If your builder refuses to play ball, then all you are guaranteed is an expensive and drawn out litigation with both your builder and then the insurer if you can ever manage to send your builder broke. This is why the industry and government SHOULD care very much about this product because we are misleading consumers about the strength and ability of the 7 year guarantee to actually guarantee, even remotely, that your home will be finished at NO additional cost to you. The complexities and the inner workings of insurance are irrelevant in this debate, the core issue is that a statutory guarantee should be a real guarantee and it is obvious that Government can ill afford to ignore this any longer because as of March 2010 this is now a Government supported and sponsored 7 year guarantee and a guarantee that will leave consumers high and dry in the courts. The upper house inquiry referred to has been featured twice on Stateline - I have uploaded the latest video here: http://www.mrconstructions.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=4&Itemid=10 Builders are people too.... Re: Builders Home Warranty insurance issues 12Jun 29, 2011 8:18 pm I have a bad experience with a construction company who has insured my home before construction for a short span of time i.e. 1 year and because of that I am facing a lot of problems in recent times due to bad construction work being done by him and I am paying a lot for these construction defects. Re: Builders Home Warranty insurance issues 13Jul 03, 2011 12:46 pm Thanks for this thread. Like many, I only realised today that the so-called '7 year warranty' is not for defects that the builder has to fix; rather only if the builder dies, disappears or goes insolvent (which as some have already pointed out, is very unlikely with the bigger builders). We were talking to a bigger builder, but now about to sign with a very small / new builder, so this kind of warranty has some meaning to us. But I am still perplexed as to how owners cover themselves for defects that appear after the 'defects period' (which I have seen some companies provide 90 days, others 12 months...). Hm... SunshineT's Build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34585 Designs start: 4/12/09 DA: 5/7/11 Demo: 22/12/11 Slab: 24/2/12 Keys: 31/8/12 Re: Builders Home Warranty insurance issues 14Jul 05, 2011 10:27 am The issue in Victoria and NSW at the moment is that it is all up to the Home Owner to protect themselves and fight their own battles. This is because the Warranty Insurance system is a 'last resort' system which means that the Home Owner has to exhaust every avenue before you get any redress. These 'avenues' will mean legal action if your builder is recalcitrant and refuses to fix his defects.....and on and on it will go. In Qld the builder is given a small window of time to fix the defects and if not done then the QBSA will come in and fix everything for you and then take the responsibility to chase the builder so that you as the home owner can get on with your life. This is the system we have been pushing for in Vic and NSW for nearly 10 years but the financial vested interests involved have been a much too powerful voice for consumers and builders to fight against. It will change eventually, but letters and emails to MP's would be very helpful - especially with new Governments in NSW and VIC. Builders are people too.... Hi Suku18 In NSW the statutory required insurances are: 1. HBCF ( Home Building Compensation Fund) - This is if the builder dies or goes broke. But this only covers 20%… 1 2709 Hi there, long-time lurker but first time posting. I've bought a house 2 and a bit years ago and last year we had some major water damage on a converted pergola area… 0 7930 I apologise for any confusion, but your understanding is correct. We approached our situation differently based on advice from… 11 53203 |