This insurance manual has been prepared by The Uniting Church in Australia, Queensland Synod, Risk and Insurance office in conjunction with Aon Risk Services Australia Limited who are the insurance broker for The Uniting Church in Australia, Queensland Synod. The purpose of this manual is to provide an outline of general information and procedural details in respect of the insurance program covering The Uniting Church in Australia, Queensland Synod as well as presbyteries and congregations.

This insurance manual is an internal document only. This document is not for release/distribution to any external organisation(s) or individual(s).

Insurance Manual for presbyteries and congregations

A certificate of currency is a document provided by the insurer or broker which confirms the name of insurer, the insured, the policy number, the period of insurance and a summary on the policy coverage.

There have been some historical issues encountered and significant exposures created with previous incorrect use of insurance certificates of currency, and it is important to properly understand the purpose and appropriate use of insurance certificates of currency.  Please find following a brief outline of who is covered by our insurance and what activities are covered by our insurance.

Who is covered by insurances arranged through the Queensland Synod Risk and Insurance office?

Primarily the insurance arranged through the Queensland Synod Risk and Insurance office covers all entities falling under the legal entity of The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Q.).  There are a small number of separately incorporated bodies falling directly under the oversight of entities of the Uniting Church in Australia, Queensland Synod which have been declared to and accepted by our insurers are also insured under our insurance program.

If you are required to enter into any agreement with a third party, it is important that you properly understand all of the terms and conditions of the agreement, particularly any insurance or indemnity clauses, prior to signing. Some agreements will attempt to pass all of a third party’s liabilities onto you, which would not be covered by our insurances. It is highly desirable for appropriate legal guidance and advice to be obtained in respect of all such agreements prior to signing.

Unless specifically advised to and agreed by our insurers, there is no cover for any third party (e.g. suppliers, clients, property owners, contractors, sub-contractors, government agencies or departments, etc.) under our insurance program other than for our own liabilities as the Insured. It is important when providing any of our insurance certificates of currency to third parties, that they clearly understand it is being provided as proof that our insurance is current and unless stated otherwise on the certificate they are not protected as an Insured party by our insurance.

What activities are covered by our insurance?

Only activities declared to the Insurer by the Insured (via the Queensland Synod Risk and Insurance office), in accordance with duty of disclosure requirements of the policy (see below), are covered by our insurance policies.

Duty of Disclosure

We have a duty, under the Insurance Contracts Act 1984, to disclose to the insurer every matter that we know or could reasonably be expected to know, is relevant to the insurer’s decision whether to accept the risk of the insurance and if so, on what terms.

We have the same duty to disclose those matters to the insurer before we renew, extend, vary or reinstate a contract of general insurance.

We therefore request that any previously undeclared activities and/or other circumstances be advised to the Queensland Synod Risk and Insurance office as soon it comes to your attention.

Failure to comply with the duty of disclosure may entitle the insurer to reduce their liability under the insurance policy in respect of a claim or cancel the insurance policy.

What does each class of insurance provide cover for?

These are the Certificates of Currency for the period 31 October 2022 to 31 October 2023. Please contact ucinsurance@ucaqld.com.au or 0408 157 792 if you have any questions.

  1. Buildings and Contents Insurance 2022 – 2023
  2. Volunteer Workers Personal Accident Insurance 2023 – 2024
  3. Motor Vehicles Insurance 2023 – 2024
  4. Public Liability including Foodbank

If there is a requirement for an insurance certificate of currency for a specific purpose or with a special notation, the following Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, Specific Certificate of Currency Request Form, will need to be completed, saved and returned to the Queensland Synod Office Risk and Insurance Team via ucinsurance@ucaqld.com.au. We will endeavour to respond to all such requests within 48 hours of the request being made; however, we do ask to be advised as soon as it has been identified that a specific insurance certificate of currency will be required.

Building and contents

Below is a link to the Property Resources web page which includes links to the appropriate forms and information for use by congregations when:

  1. their premises are used by another organisation outside of the organisation, and
  2. the organisation does not have exclusive use of the property.

Example: A karate club using the congregation’s hall one night per week or the use of the congregation’s hall for a 21st birthday party.

The agreement must be read and signed by the organisation using your property and the Church Council Secretary or Property Committee Chairperson of your congregation. Once the agreement has been signed by both parties, it is to be sent back to our Property Services Division and they will organise the signing of it by a Property Trust member. Our Property Services Division will then post two copies back to you, one for your church records and one for the organisation. The original agreements are retained within our Property Services Division.

For any further queries about the agreement, please contact our Property Services Division by phone on 07 3377 9839 or by post to Uniting Church in Australia, Queensland Synod, Property Services Division, GPO Box 674, Brisbane QLD 4001.

Make a claim

Claim for Property including Fusion

  1. All reasonable steps should be taken following an accident or loss to protect the property or person from any further damage or injury.
  2. Any incident should be immediately reported to UC Insurance where co-ordination and management of all such claims for the Uniting Church in Australia, Queensland Synod are handled.
  3. Any loss by theft and/or wilful or malicious damage should be immediately advised to the nearest Police station.
  4. To claim for loss or damage of property, please complete and return the Property and Liability Claim Form to Risk and Insurance to the address below, together with any supporting documents.

Risk and Insurance

Crawford TPA
Email: ucaclaims@crawco.com.au
Phone: 07 3223 3155
 

Motor Vehicle Claim

To submit a claim please telephone
Vero Claims First Response Unit  on 1800 222 043.

All employees authorised to drive The Uniting Church’s vehicles must adhere to all traffic regulations, drive safely and courteously and familiarise themselves with this procedure:

Procedures in the Event of an Accident

Vero Insurance
Attention: Libby Fomison
Ph:. 1800 222 043
Fax: (07) 3031 2077

General Liability Claim

Under No Circumstances Must Liability Be Admitted Either Verbally or in Writing

It must be remembered that this is a Legal Liability policy and as such only indemnifies us for our Legal Liability and not what we may believe to be a moral responsibility for injury or damage. An admission of liability on our part could void our policy.

General Liability

Upon the happening of any incident likely to give rise to a claim, the following points must be noted:

  1. All reasonable steps should be taken following an accident or loss to protect the person or property from any further injury or damage.
  2. Any demands made by a third party must be in writing.
  3. Please complete and return the Property and Liability Claim Form, together with the originals of all correspondence received from a third party or solicitor, and any accompanying accounts.
  4. No correspondence should be entered into with a third party except acknowledgement of receipt of the claim.The acknowledgement letter should read as follows: “Without Prejudice”
    We acknowledge receipt of your correspondence concerning the alleged incident at …     This is receiving our attention.
  5. Do not give any interview or make any statement to a Loss Assessor or other person investigating any accident or damage unless such person is acting on behalf of your Insurer or Principal. Contact Risk and Insurance first to determine if the Loss Assessor or Investigator is working on your behalf.

Risk and Insurance

Crawford TPA
Email: ucaclaims@crawco.com.au
Phone: 07 3223 3155