Stratum Legal and Gadens are proud to announce their appointment to the EBM Panel for Legal Expense Insurance for Management Rights (LEIMR).

LEIMR is an innovation of EBM Insurance Brokers, Australia’s leading privately owned and operated insurance broking firm.

EBM has deep connections with the Management Rights Industry, providing specialised insurance products for Management Rights Operators across the country and with a particular focus in Queensland.

With an increase in Management Rights litigation over the last several years, and the power imbalance suffered by Management Rights Operators, EBM formulated the LEIMR product to assist.

Even in a moderately sized community titles scheme, a management rights operator on the receiving end of unreasonable or unjustified demands from a committee, faces a significant and inherent disadvantage; the management rights operator has only their own resources, while the Body Corporate can raise funds from dozens of owners. Worse still, the Body Corporate’s Insurance Policy will almost always include Legal Defence Expense Cover (typically at $50,000), which provides a significant ‘war chest’.

EBM recognised that more and more management rights operators were having to take action to protect their business, whether against unjustified claims or on critical compliance or operational issues.

The LEIMR product is intended to address the imbalance and support management rights operators, by providing ‘proactive’ cover. That is, the LEIMR cover can respond without litigation having commenced. That enables management rights operators to take proactive steps, including to try to head off a dispute before it escalates.

Crucially, LEIMR extends beyond litigation and includes, depending on the level of cover:

• statutory licence protection
• personal injury of an employee
• discrimination protection
• contract disputes
• privacy issues
• tax disputes and investigations.

Stratum Legal and Gadens Lawyers may now be accessed as lawyers on the EBM Panel for the LEIMR product, whether they are your current lawyers or not.

Information in relation to the right insurance for Management Rights Operators, including the LEIMR product, can be obtained from Christopher Traill, Executive Account Manager at EBM (christophert@ebm.com.au).