Gold Coast
Level 4 Cnr Clifford & Appel Streets, Surfers Paradise Qld 4217.
Phone – 07 5579 1600
Fax – 07 5579 1601
Darwin
Level 1, 84 Smith Street
GPO Box 3015
Darwin NT 0801
Phone - 08 8981 8009
Sydney
Level 2, 210 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Phone – 02 9258 4000
Fax – 02 9258 4050
Resident Unit Managers Combined Liability & Professional Indemnity - RUM
Overview
An important area of risk for Resident Unit Manager’s (RUM’s) is the cover required for Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance. There has been an increase in recent times for claims against RUM’S for various Bodily Injury and Property Damage incidents such as slip and falls, balcony railing collapse and failure to maintain equipment causing damage and injury to name a few.
Resident Unit Manager’s should ensure they have cover for both Professional Indemnity and Public Liability insurance. It is preferable to have both covers with the one insurer as there are some claims which can fall into a grey area between the two covers which can leave Resident Unit Manager’s caught in the middle as each insurer argues over which cover is to respond.
The main difference between Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance can briefly be described as follows.
Public Liability insurance protects RUM’S against claims such as bodily injury or property damage for which the RUM can be held legally liable. It is important to note though that most Public Liability policies exclude claims arising out of a breach of Professional Duty, so you should also obtain Professional Indemnity insurance for this exposure.
Professional Indemnity insurance protects you for claims made against you by third parties for errors, omissions or negligent acts arising out of the operation of your professional business and therefore potentially a breach of Professional Duty which then results in the (alleged) loss or damage including financial loss and personal injury or property damage.
There is a long list of circumstances which may give rise to an incident/claim where RUM’S can be held legally liable and/or a breach of Professional Duty, it is therefore essential to ensure you have adequate cover for all types of insurance, particularly Public Liability and Professional Indemnity.
Unfortunately we now live in a very litigious society with the legal profession employing a tactic in many cases which sees all parties joined in the action, be they the Body Corporate, RUM’S, contractors or sub-contractors, therefore it is also important to ensure you have adequate insurance cover for your own protection.
Sirius Risk Services, in conjunction with CGU Insurance an APRA licensed Australian Insurer, have developed a tailor made insurance product which incorporates both Professional Indemnity and Public Liability in one package with the one insurer and provides numerous additional benefits specifically for RUM’S.
Some advantages of this tailor made package cover:
- One insurer for both covers, alleviates the potential for a claim to fall into the area of uncertainty between the two covers.
- Bodily Injury cover to the full sum insured on both Professional Indemnity and Public Liability covers.
- Defence Costs are provided in addition to the sum insured
- Fidelity cover is automatically included
- Various other cover extensions are included specifically to protect RUM’S.
