What Owners Need in Their Own Policy, and Why Councils Should Say So

Most insurance disputes in BC stratas start with the same misunderstanding: an owner assumes the strata policy covers everything inside their walls, or a council assumes owners already know it doesn't. Both assumptions are expensive. Here is what the Strata Property Act actually divides between the two policies, and what a council can reasonably do to make that division visible.

What the strata corporation must insure

Under s.149 of the Strata Property Act, the strata corporation must obtain and maintain property insurance on:

• common property
• common assets
• buildings shown on the strata plan
• fixtures built or installed on a strata lot by the owner developer as part of the original construction (this last item does not apply to bare land strata plans)

That insurance must be on a full replacement value basis, except in prescribed circumstances, and must insure against the major perils set out in the regulations plus any other perils named in the bylaws. Note the key point owners miss: the strata policy is not limited to common property. It generally covers the original building, including strata lots. The corporation must also carry liability insurance under s.150, and it may choose to buy optional coverage under s.152 for perils or liabilities not covered by ss.149 or 150, and for fixtures the owner developer did not install.

What owners can insure themselves

An owner's policy is a section 161 policy, not a section 152 one. Section 161 says an owner may obtain and maintain insurance for any or all of:

• loss or damage to the strata lot and original developer fixtures against perils the strata does not insure, and for amounts in excess of what the strata insures
• fixtures in the strata lot other than the original developer fixtures
• improvements to those original fixtures — the upgraded flooring, the renovated kitchen
• loss of rental value beyond what the strata corporation insures
• liability for property damage and bodily injury, whether it happens in the strata lot or on common property

Owners in a bare land strata plan are in a different position again: s.161(2) lets them insure the buildings and fixtures built on their own lot, because s.149(1)(d) does not reach them.

Also worth knowing: under s.162, the strata policy and an owner policy are not brought into contribution with each other unless both are issued on the same property. The two policies are designed to sit side by side, not to argue.

Questions councils get asked

Does the Act require an owner to buy insurance?
The Act does not impose that duty — s.161 says an owner may insure. In practice, mortgage lenders usually require it, and some strata corporations' registered bylaws address owner insurance. Whether yours does depends on your own filed bylaws, so read them rather than assuming.

If a pipe in my unit floods the suite below, who pays the strata's deductible?
This has two very different answers and they must not be merged. Under s.158(1), payment of a deductible on a claim against the strata's insurance is a common expense, contributed through strata fees calculated under s.99(2) or s.100(1). But s.158(2) preserves the corporation's capacity to sue an owner who is responsible for the loss to recover the deductible — and that is the owner's liability in full, not a share by unit entitlement. Responsibility is not automatic simply because the water started in your unit; it has to be established.

Can we levy for a deductible without a vote?
Yes. Section 158(3) says that despite any other provision, strata corporation approval is not required for a special levy or a CRF expenditure to cover an insurance deductible the corporation must pay to repair or replace damaged property — unless the corporation has decided not to repair or replace under s.159.

Can I appeal my insurer's denial?
There is no statutory appeal of an insurer's claim decision. The realistic routes are the insurer's internal complaint or review process, escalation to the General Insurance OmbudService, a complaint to the BC Financial Services Authority, or legal action.

Why councils should say so — in writing, annually

Section 154 makes this a duty, not a courtesy. The strata corporation must review the adequacy of its insurance annually, report on coverage at each annual general meeting, and inform owners and tenants as soon as feasible of any material change, including any increase in a deductible. A deductible that jumps from $25,000 to $250,000 is exactly the change an owner needs to hear about before renewal, not after a claim.

Good practice built on that duty:

• Circulate the insurance summary with AGM materials, and keep the summary that goes out with an Information Certificate (Form B) under the Strata Property Regulation current.
• State the water damage and earthquake deductibles plainly, in dollars.
• Remind owners that improvements and betterments are theirs to insure under s.161, and that many BC insurers offer coverage often described as deductible assessment or loss assessment — availability, wording and limits vary, so owners should ask a licensed broker rather than a neighbour.
• Keep track of the claim mechanics: insurance money is paid to the insurance trustee or held in trust (s.156) and must be used to repair the damage without delay under s.157, unless the corporation passes a 3/4 vote not to repair within 60 days of receiving the money (s.159). A 3/4 vote means at least three-quarters of the votes cast by eligible voters present in person or by proxy, excluding abstentions — see the definitions in s.1.

Insurers price risk on maintenance history, so the same records that support your renewal support your repair obligations — our guide to strata maintenance planning and work orders covers how to keep that trail. Where a claim intersects with a unit modification made for a disability, the analysis in accessibility and the duty to accommodate is a useful companion. And if you own in more than one province, do not port assumptions across borders: the framework described in condominium management in Alberta is a different statute with different terminology.

Self-managed councils can run all of this without a property manager — nothing in the Act requires one. ManageStrata helps councils track renewal dates, deductible changes and the s.154 annual report, and tools like SearchStrata can use AI to surface insurance clauses, exclusions and deductible figures buried in a long policy or set of minutes before an owner has to find them the hard way.

This article is general information about BC strata law, not legal advice; verify against the current Strata Property Act and Regulation or consult a BC strata lawyer.