Building Insurance Certificate: Settlement Evidence

A building insurance certificate gives a lender evidence of the property’s insurance for settlement. Request a current certificate of currency from the insurer, match its details to the property and loan documents, then obtain the lender’s acceptance.

For brokers, the result to record is a cleared insurance condition on the loan file. A downloaded certificate or successful upload alone doesn’t establish that result.

What the Certificate Shows

A certificate of currency records the stated insurance details at the time it is issued. It identifies the policy and its insurance period, with details of the insured person or entity and the cover being confirmed.

The certificate is a summary. An Allianz-issued certificate expressly allows for later policy changes or cancellation. A future expiry date therefore doesn’t guarantee that cover will continue unchanged until that date.

The policy wording sets the cover, exclusions and claim conditions. The schedule records the cover selected for that particular policy. An insurer may call that schedule a certificate of insurance, so document names alone aren’t enough to identify what the lender needs.

A certificate of currency doesn’t establish that the cover suits the client’s needs, that the insured amount is adequate or that a future claim will be paid. Those questions require the policy documents and, where needed, insurance advice.

Building cover and contents cover also have different jobs. Moneysmart’s home insurance guidance explains that building insurance covers the house and fixtures, while contents insurance covers household belongings. A contents-only certificate doesn’t prove building cover for a mortgage.

Request Settlement Evidence

Use the insurance condition in the selected lender’s formal approval and loan documents to decide which evidence to request and when to supply it. Before contacting the insurer, have the property details, proposed settlement date and the lender’s required notation available.

Macquarie’s settlement instructions, as at October 2026, give a concrete example for broker-originated loans. They require a certificate naming Macquarie Bank Limited as the interested party, supplied with the loan documents. They say the policy must start from settlement day and exclude strata insured securities from this requirement.

That is Macquarie’s stated requirement. Another lender’s approval can specify different evidence or timing, so copy the condition for the actual file into your settlement checklist.

Follow these steps to obtain the document.

1. Record the exact insurance condition and its due date. Identify the lender or settlement solicitor responsible for accepting the evidence.
2. Ask the policyholder to obtain the certificate from their insurer or the insurance intermediary handling the policy. A broker requesting it for the client must use the insurer’s authorised-representative process.
3. Supply the full insured address, including the unit number where relevant. Give the policy number and policyholder names, plus the lender’s exact legal name if the condition requires it.
4. Request a certificate showing the cover and policy period relevant to the proposed settlement. If the policy needs changing first, have the insurer process that change before issuing the updated certificate.
5. Save the insurer-issued document and compare it with the lender condition before submission.

For direct Allianz home policies, the current certificate instructions give two retrieval paths. Newer AAL or BC policy numbers use My policies, then the policy’s Documents menu. Older policies use View Policies, Policy Details and Confirmation of Insurance.

Allianz also provides assistance with finding or updating a certificate. If online access fails, the policyholder can use the insurer’s support route. Don’t share the client’s login credentials to retrieve the document.

Do You Need Home Insurance for a Mortgage?

You need to satisfy the building-insurance requirement attached to your mortgage and property. If the lender requires building cover, a borrower without that cover hasn’t met the condition merely by signing the loan documents.

A strata property can follow a different evidence route because the building may be insured by the body corporate. Establish who holds the building policy and obtain the evidence the lender requests. A requirement for building insurance doesn’t automatically require the borrower to buy a combined building-and-contents policy.

Ask the client’s conveyancer or solicitor when responsibility for the property passes under the sale contract. That legal timing question is separate from the lender’s deadline for receiving insurance evidence.

Check the Certificate Details

Match the certificate against the loan’s security details, transaction documents and written insurance condition before submitting it. Treat the following as reconciliation checks, with the lender condition deciding which fields must appear.

Detail	Match it against	Action if it differs
Insured property	Street address, unit number and property identity in the transaction documents	Ask the insurer to correct the address or explain the notation
Named insured	The policyholder and the person or entity buying or owning the property	Resolve any unexplained mismatch with the insurer and lender
Lender or interested party	The exact name required by the loan condition	Request the correct insurer-issued notation
Policy period	The commencement and expiry dates, including any stated times	Confirm the required cover period includes the revised settlement timing
Building cover	The cover type and any insured amount required by the lender	Obtain evidence of building cover or refer a shortfall for resolution
Policy identity	Insurer and policy number on the current insurance documents	Ask the insurer to resolve conflicting or missing references

An interested party is a party whose interest the insurer records on the policy evidence, such as the mortgage lender. The notation doesn’t itself establish the scope of that party’s rights under the policy.

Consider this hypothetical file. The contract identifies Unit 4 at 18 Example Road, but the certificate shows Unit 14. Treat the address as unresolved, even if the street and policyholder names match.

Send the discrepancy to the insurer for correction and tell the lender what is outstanding. Retain the replacement certificate with the original correspondence. Never edit the certificate yourself or add a lender’s name to the PDF.

An abbreviated lender name or a different address format can need clarification rather than a new policy. Obtain the insurer’s explanation and the lender’s decision on whether the evidence is acceptable. Keep insurance suitability questions with an appropriately authorised adviser.

Clear the Settlement Condition

Clear the insurance condition by submitting acceptable evidence through the authorised file channel and retaining confirmation that the lender accepts it. Use the destination specified for this application, which can be the lender’s submission system or its settlement solicitor.

1. Submit the current certificate with the application or loan reference. Identify the insurance condition it answers and include any explanation requested for a discrepancy.
2. Retain the upload receipt or email acknowledgement. Record the document version, submission date and recipient in the file.
3. Obtain confirmation that the insurance condition is satisfied. If the system records only document receipt, keep the condition open until the lender or authorised settlement team accepts it.
4. Recheck the evidence after any change to the settlement date, property details or policy status. Obtain updated insurer-issued evidence where the change affects the condition.

For example, a hypothetical settlement moves beyond the certificate’s policy expiry. The old certificate no longer demonstrates the required period of cover. Obtain evidence for the renewed or replacement policy and submit it for acceptance before treating the condition as cleared.

If a document remains rejected, ask the accepting team to identify the unmet field or condition. Send that specific issue to the insurer for resolution, then resubmit the corrected evidence. An acknowledgement that an attachment arrived isn’t an instruction to proceed to settlement.

The home loan settlement guide covers the other conditions and handoffs that must be completed alongside insurance evidence.

Separate Property Cover From Building Warranty Evidence

A building-insurance certificate of currency confirms property insurance, while building warranty evidence concerns insurance for domestic construction work. The two documents answer different conditions and can both be relevant to a construction file.

The Building and Plumbing Commission’s guidance illustrates why the jurisdiction and contract date matter. In Victoria, the applicable building-work scheme depends on when the contract was signed and cover was issued.

Use the lender’s condition to identify whether it requests ongoing property cover, construction-related warranty evidence or both. For detailed state-specific builder-cover checks, use the domestic building insurance certificate guide.

Before closing the file’s insurance task, confirm that the accepted document answers the exact condition for this property and settlement date. Record a separate outstanding item if the lender also requires building warranty evidence.