Minister welcomes relief for builders
The decision by insurer Royal & Sun Alliance (RSA) to relieve builders of the need to provide personal deeds of indemnity for home warranty insurance is welcome news for NSW builders, according to Fair Trading Minister, John Aquilina.
The insurer has indicated that this change has been made as a direct result of the NSW government’s recent home warranty insurance reforms. RSA and the Housing Industry Association says this change will take effect immediately.
Aquilina says that despite concerns to the contrary, around 12,000 builders insured in NSW with RSA, only 19 percent, or 2300, had been required to provide indemnities. “However, I am pleased that now no builders insured with RSA will be required to do so,” he notes.
Aquilina says the announcement will ease the pressure on thousands of builders and their families, many of whom had been required to use their family home as security to obtain insurance for building projects.
“I have been calling on the insurance companies to address this issue for some time,” he says. “This is great news for builders who just want to get on with the job.”
Aquilina says important reforms passed through State Parliament last week have already helped to provide a more stable home warranty insurance market. “The RSA today indicated that these reforms allowed them to remove the requirement for personal deeds of indemnity,” he says. “The reforms have already been the catalyst for change in the industry.
“This is the first step. I’m confident that further reforms will follow once insurers have had the opportunity to fully assess the longer-term impact of the Government reforms.
“Other issues I have raised with the insurers include delays in processing, premium fees, the complex application process and general standards of customer service.”
Source: Building Products News.
24-May-2002