Building insurance needs renovation

THE NSW Government is getting ready for another attempt to fix the home building insurance mess. By law, builders in NSW cannot build homes unless each project is covered by builders' warranty insurance. This is intended to cover their clients in case the builder defaults, or goes bankrupt or dies, or the work is not up to standard. The problem is that in NSW, as in most other states, redress can only be obtained through the insurance as a last resort. Cover may be compulsory, but the client who pays for it must exhaust every other avenue first if something goes wrong €“ pursuing the builder through the courts for damages, and sending him bankrupt. Only when all that has been done, or if the builder disappears or dies, will the insurance company consider paying out.