What insurance do you need to have as a resident of a retirement village?
The retirement village operator will insure the village, with the annual premiums paid out of the village operating budget funded by residents through their village fees. Your responsibility as a retirement village resident is to insure the contents inside the unit.
But what is included in “contents”?
Obviously, all your personal items are included in the definition of contents, but what about the items in your unit supplied by the village, such as carpets, joinery, floorboards, fixtures and fittings, etc? I recommend that you ask this question and get an answer in writing, because if an accident happens, it is important to know which party claims the damage and pays the excess on their policy.
Sometimes it can be a grey area. For example, there is a storm event and the roof is damaged, allowing water into the unit which damages carpets, cabinet joinery and some of your personal items. Typically, the village would claim the entire amount on their insurance policy and pay the excess from the village operating budget. Some operators may claim insurance for their component of building damage and make you claim the damage to your personal items on your insurance policy.
Another example would be where you leave a tap running that overflows the sink and damages the flooring and cabinetry. Most village operators would expect this to be covered by your contents policy and insist you repair all damages. If you have not taken the time to ensure your policy covers fixtures and fittings provided by the village, you could be up for a very expensive repair job!
It is likely that the village manager or sales agent will not know the answer to this question. They may have to get advice or obtain a copy of the insurance policy to see if a unit’s internal fixtures and fittings are included under your insurance or that of the village.
The last word
As a side note, make sure your contents insurance includes a Public Liability component, to cover any person other than yourself entering your premises (visitors, tradesmen, carers, etc). Remember, under your residence contract you have a lease or licence over the internal space of the unit. If a visitor enters your unit, has a slip or fall and is injured, they may sue you. You need to have insurance for this eventuality, as the village insurance will not cover your internal space.