With Cyclone Alfred developing, insurers have temporarily paused issuing new home insurance policies in affected areas, which is most of South-East Qld. This is standard insurance industry practice, known as an insurance “embargo”, to prevent last-minute policy purchases before a significant disaster event.
If you’re in the process of buying a home, this could affect your ability to secure insurance. Lenders typically require home insurance as a finance condition, so without insurance, property transactions which are subject to finance are at risk of being terminated or rendered unable to be completed for want of finance. It’s particularly dangerous if a contract is not subject to finance, but the buyer is requiring finance from a lender nevertheless.
If this might apply to you, we recommend contacting your legal adviser urgently (regardless of whether that is our firm or another firm).
