Should a body corporate hold Office Bearers Liability Insurance?
A. Like their commercial director counterparts, office bearers can be held personally liable for losses suffered by aggrieved third parties. Here are a few of the areas where action can be taken: • Mismanagement of body corporate funds • Lack of due care in the management of body corporate property • Libel and slander • Inadequate insurance • Breach of statutes. This highlights exposures which attach to body corporate councillors simply by virtue of their position. The body corporate may have contracted with a managing agent to act on their behalf but body corporate councillors can still be the target of a preferred party action. This is particularly possible where the aggrieved third party is: • Employing litigation as a commercial tactic to apply pressure so that a dispute is resolved • Conscious of the “deep pocket” syndrome. The more parties joined together the greater potential for the increased judgement debt. Life is not always easy and the unexpected turns up. You don’t have to
