Condominiums and Strata
Condo and strata insurance has to address a split between the corporation's master policy and each unit owner's own policy. Bylaw-driven repair confusion, an earthquake deductible reaching into the millions and volunteer boards navigating this without staff create real exposure. HUB reviews bylaws against both policies.
Stay Ahead of Industry Challenges
Where bylaws decide who repairs what
Every condo and strata corporation HUB serves face the same challenges: two policies that do not always align, a deductible allocated to an owner and a board expected to navigate it without staff. HUB has seen one exposure combine with the next and structured its approach accordingly.
When damage happens in a condo or strata building, both the cause and the bylaws matter. The cause determines which policy responds. The bylaws determine who is responsible for repairs and how costs are allocated between the corporation and the unit owner. A mismatch between the master policy and unit owner coverage often isn't caught until a claim tests it.
HUB reviews the bylaws' repair-responsibility assignment against the master policy and unit-owner policy side by side before a loss and confirms explicitly where legislation protects unit owners from subrogation, so the corporation and its owners know exactly who's covered for what.
Avoiding a dispute comes down to timing: reviewing how bylaws and coverage interact before a loss, not explaining it for the first time during a claim.
Repair responsibility is clear before a loss happens; the master policy and unit-owner policies work together without a hidden exposure, and owners understand upfront when legislation protects them from subrogation.
A strata's earthquake deductible can reach into the millions, allocated to each owner by unit entitlement. That bill can arrive alongside catastrophic damage, at exactly the moment owners are least prepared to absorb it. BC and Quebec both carry meaningful earthquake exposure, and while a major event may not have occurred in generations, the financial consequence of one arriving uninsured is not a recoverable position for most unit owners.
HUB addresses earthquake deductible exposure at both the corporation and unit-owner level. For condo and strata corporations, HUB can place an earthquake deductible buy-down policy that reduces the corporation's deductible before it is ever allocated to individual owners. For unit owners, deductible assessment coverage is a standard component of a unit-owner policy, but the default limits are not always sufficient to cover the owner's actual share of a large corporate deductible. HUB reviews those limits for each client and increases them where needed.
Timing is the only thing that matters here. The coverage needs to be in place before the event, not purchased in response to one.
An earthquake deductible assessment doesn't blindside an individual owner because the coverage was already in place, and a corporation-level buy-down means less of that deductible ever reaches owners in the first place.
Volunteer strata councils are expected to navigate structural-safety legislation, deductible allocation and insurer expectations largely alone. One high-rise strata that engaged its broker nearly a year early saved more than $400,000 in premium. Standard timelines were never built around volunteer capacity. Early engagement changes the outcome.
HUB connects with a council roughly 90 days before renewal, shares completed maintenance and risk-mitigation work directly with insurers and brings the broker into council meetings and the Annual General Meeting (AGM) so volunteer board members aren't left explaining complex insurance decisions to owners alone.
Getting the best renewal outcome comes down to timing and preparation: bringing the broker in months early and letting a risk team build the case for insurers, rather than scrambling at the last minute.
A volunteer board doesn't have to become an insurance expert to get a strong renewal, and risk-mitigation work gets translated into insurer-ready evidence months in advance rather than at the last minute.
Tailored Risk Solutions for Your Industry
One coordinated program for your corporation's shared structure
Generic single-owner property programs miss what makes condos and strata different: a two-policy structure, deductible exposure allocated to individual owners and volunteer boards navigating both without dedicated staff. HUB coordinates bylaw review, deductible planning and renewal support into one condo association insurance structure designed around those conditions.
When damage occurs in a condo or strata building, both the cause and the bylaws matter. The cause determines which policy responds. The bylaws determine who is responsible for repairs and how costs are allocated between the corporation and the unit owner, and a master policy vs unit owner insurance mismatch often isn't discovered until a claim tests it. HUB reviews the bylaws' repair-responsibility assignment against both the master policy and the unit-owner policy side by side before a loss occurs, closing the gap between what each policy assumes the other covers. That review also confirms, in plain terms, where applicable legislation protects unit owners and tenants from insurer subrogation; a counterintuitive but confirmed protection many owners and boards do not fully understand. Strata sections insurance receives the same review: sections functioning as distinct entities within a larger corporation carry their own property, liability and directors & officers (D&O) exposure that isn't automatically covered by the parent corporation's policies.
A strata's earthquake deductible can reach into the millions, and each owner is responsible for a proportional share calculated by unit entitlement — a bill that can arrive alongside catastrophic property damage itself. HUB addresses this exposure from both directions. At the corporation level, HUB can place an earthquake deductible buy-down policy that reduces the per-unit entitlement share to a manageable amount, typically bringing a $50,000 per-unit exposure down to $25,000. At the unit-owner level, HUB offers individual earthquake deductible assessment coverage, reimbursing an owner's remaining share of the corporation's deductible levy up to typical limits of $250,000, and reviews those limits to confirm they're sufficient given each owner's actual entitlement share. That coverage is paired with proactive risk management at the corporation level — completed maintenance, water mitigation programs and other risk-reduction work that insurers recognise and that has measurably reduced premiums for corporations that pursued it. Together, this reduces what the corporation owes, ensures unit owners are covered for what remains, and eases the broader premium pressure a hard market creates.
Volunteer strata councils and condo boards are expected to navigate structural-safety legislation, earthquake deductible allocation and insurer expectations largely on their own, without the dedicated staff a larger organization would have. HUB connects with a council about 90 days before renewal, well ahead of a typical last-minute renewal conversation, and helps translate completed maintenance and risk-mitigation work into evidence insurers recognise. That support extends to bringing the broker directly into council meetings and the annual general meeting, so volunteer board members are not left explaining complex condo association insurance decisions to owners without expert support in the room. One high-rise strata that engaged in this approach nearly a year before renewal achieved more than $400,000 in premium savings alongside an improved risk profile.
Industry Insights
Condo and strata insights and research
