On 1 January 2018 a series of significant reforms were introduced to the Home Building Compensation (also known as Builders Warranty Insurance) scheme in NSW. The reforms have opened the door to new insurers and other providers to enter the scheme as well as enabling significantly increased levels of cover for homeowners.

The Home Building Compensation (HBC) scheme in NSW has undergone an overhaul, with new life being breathed into the scheme by a series of changes designed to encourage innovation and competition, whilst also increasing the level of cover available to home owners.
The reforms include:

1.Allowing insurance providers other than the government’s own licensed insurer, SICorp to enter the market to provide cover to homeowners;

2.Enabling insurance providers to issue separate cover for non completion risk and defects being:

• sconstruction period cover, with a minimum of $340,000 cover for non-completion loss and defects during construction; and
• warranty period cover, with a minimum of $340,000 cover for defects that are discovered after completion

thereby potentially doubling the limit of cover available to homeowners.

3.The State Insurance Regulatory Authority now has the authority to assess and approve premiums to ensure the financial viability and fairness of the scheme.

4.Homeowners can check the validity of their HBC insurance policy and any claims on the policy by a previous owner, through an online search facility.

Read more here.