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What the Programme covers
The School Building Insurance Funding Programme is for buildings that we own or partly own. The programme covers repairs for unexpected damage. Common causes of damage are:
- fire
- water – from unexpected flooding or plumbing failure
- earthquakes, including events that happen following an earthquake, such as fire, tsunami, or geothermal activity
- extreme weather like storms, heavy snow, gales, lightning strikes and floods
- lost or stolen keys (up to $50,000).
How we work out the funding
For buildings owned partly by the school or community, we cover the cost for the portion of the building we own. You need to arrange insurance for your portion of the building.
Funding is calculated to replace a like-for-like reinstatement of the building we own. The funding covers the highest of:
- replacement of what was there
- a reinstatement to meet the current building code.
It includes demolition costs and consultants' fees related to the reinstatement project.
We might decide not to fund your school for reinstatement in some cases where it would not be a good investment decision:
- your school has more property than is needed for your roll based on our property calculators, we may decide not to reinstate.
- If your region experiences a major event, we may reinstate property based on a managed network approach.
You might also be covered for costs needed to keep the school running for the period between the loss and reinstatement, such as:
- temporary services like toilets
- barriers or panels to provide safe access to the school
- temporary security patrol costs.
When the event is underway
Make sure that everyone is staying safe during the event.
Do what you can to stop further damage, without putting anyone's safety at risk. This might mean calling the fire brigade, closing off a burst pipe, or covering a broken window with plastic.
Call the emergency response coordinator.
Emergency response coordinator contacts
The emergency response coordinator will be able to get the right experts to your school to make the site safe again.
What to do after an event
- Contact us
Contact your property advisor as soon as possible. They will advise you of how to handle the damage and apply for building insurance funding.
If you get the work done before talking to your property advisor, your funding request may be declined.
- Do the urgent repairs
You will need to do an emergency procurement to engage contractors. Wherever possible you should get our approval before going ahead with the procurement.
When doing urgent repairs:
- talk to your property advisor about whether you need to call in the emergency response coordinator
- keep repairs to essential work to keep the school open and stop further damage
- take photos showing the damage and the repairs
- keep a record of damage, all the work completed to make the site safe and all invoices.
- Keep a record of damage and the work done
We will need your record of the damage and work done to check that you meet the criteria for funding under the programme.
- Repair costs
You must always follow our procurement rules.
When calculating the total cost of repairs make sure this is exclusive of GST and the documents include:
- any emergency repairs already done
- your project manager’s fees
- the cost of the reinstatement work.
Repairs valued over $10,000
If the repairs are valued at over $10,000, you need to follow our procurement process for property projects and work with your property advisor.
Property project procurement process for schools
A loss adjuster must be involved if:
- the total cost could go over $20,000
- a professional opinion could be needed
- it might be possible to recover costs from another party.
Your property advisor will engage them when necessary.
