Introducing the new Apia Apartment Style Residence Insurance Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) for policies renewing on or after 23 March 2021. The PDS contains important information you need to know about your Apia insurance product, please ensure you read it carefully.
We’ve changed the layout of the PDS to help make it easier to understand. And we have also made other changes to the policy – we have added and changed covers and we have added and changed exclusions and conditions.
Below are some examples of things we have changed:
- Extra support (new section in your PDS)
- Your responsibilities
- When you need to contact us about changes (we have expanded the situations when you need to contact us)
- Excess (when and how to pay)
- What apartment, apartment building and contents not in good condition means
- Things we don’t cover
- Temporary accommodation cover after an insured event
- How we settle your claim
- Joint policyholders
- Conduct of others (new section in your PDS)
For full details, please refer to your PDS.
Details of some of the changes to the PDS
Changes when there are joint policyholders
During the period of insurance, we might ask all joint policyholders first before we action a request or direction in relation to your policy (e.g. before we cancel your policy, reduce your cover or remove another policyholder). This way we can help protect the interests of all policyholders.
Contents stored at an apartment complex
We have updated this cover by removing the 25% of the sum insured limit. The total amount we will pay for any one incident is now $10,000. Limits for the maximum amount we will pay per individual item or theft claim remain unchanged.
Home office equipment (only available with home cover)
There is no longer a fixed limit on home office equipment.
Temporary accommodation for tenants or strata title owners
The limit of cover has been revised and the most we will pay for any one incident is 10% of your contents sum insured. Previously the limit was up to 20% of the contents sum insured for a maximum of 52 weeks.
When you need to contact us
We have expanded the list of situations in which you need to contact us. For example, you need to contact us if you have had another insurer cancel or decline an insurance policy, impose specific conditions on a policy or refuse a claim during the period of insurance.
You need to tell us if you:
- there are changes to a business activity at the insured address; or
- you lease or rent 2 or more rooms to tenants or paying guests.
Conduct of others
When we consider a claim, we will have regard to any prejudice you have suffered due to the conduct of others and we may meet the claim when we are not legally required to do so.
Excess
We have clarified that there is no requirement to pay the excess upfront when you first lodge your claim.
Summary of cover table
New ‘Summary of cover’ table including insured events, additional covers and optional covers to assist you with navigating the new format.
Personal valuables cover
The types of contents that you can cover under these optional covers have been updated. Such as for clarity hearing aids have been added as an example of personal valuables.
Please read the PDS carefully.
Your responsibilities
Several changes have been made to the ‘Your responsibilities’ section, including the below.
The reference to ‘take reasonable care’ to prevent theft, loss, damage or legal liability has been replaced with ‘take steps’. Ensuring there are working smoke detectors in the apartment is given as an example of a step you can take.
Details of some of the changes to the Claims Section
How we settle your claim
Apia has included updates around how we settle contents claims.
For contents claims, how we settle broadly depends on whether a member of our supplier network can complete the repair or rebuild or alternatively, if a member of our supplier network is unable to complete the repair or rebuild.
It will also depend whether the contents need to be repaired or replaced, and the applicable limits under your policy and the type of settlement you request.
Please read the PDS carefully.
Our right to recover from those who are responsible
We have added examples of the assistance that may be required from you if we take action against a party for the recovery of your loss.
Matching undamaged parts
We now have a limit of $1,000 per incident when repairing or replacing covered undamaged parts of the contents in order to achieve a uniform appearance where the loss or damage occurred.
