Who helps builders and contractors?

Home Building Compensation Fund (HBCF). Home Owners Warranty. Home Warranty Insurance. Whichever term is used between builders and contractors it’s sure to result in an animated discussion. Tolerate it or loathe it, it’s a requirement for builders to obtain home building compensation (HBC) insurance before taking on any residential work valued over $20,000.

MBIB assists builders and contractors to understand, apply for and manage their HBCF eligibility facility and purchase Certificates of Insurance (COIs) for their projects.

Certain MBIB builder and contractors support services are provided free and the weight of fees charged by MBIB is biased towards obtaining project certificates as this is more often directly passed to home owners who are the beneficiaries of the policy, meaning less out-of-pocket costs for our builders.

MBIB provides expert advice, very competitive pricing and assists builders successfully navigate the HBC Insurance scheme so that they can focus on what they do best – building. MBIB achieves this by focussing their support at two pinch points, eligibility reviews and certificate issuance.

MBIB staff have years of experience in HBCF and the building and construction industry and stand ready to provide information and guidance needed to make the right business decisions.

What do MBIB broker fees cover and how do they compare?

Distributors’ fees and charges are published on the icare HBCF website. The difficulty in comparing rates across Distributors is that each Distributor takes a different approach.

For instance, MBIB have deliberately used a single rate with a minimum and maximum fee to make it a straightforward calculation for builders. Many Distributors favour a broker fee plus percentage of premium approach which means their rates may initially appear cheaper but once the various fees are added the final cost is higher.

It is also important to note that 33% of the certificates processed by MBIB attract a broker fee close to the $75 minimum fee payable.

MBIB certificate fees are on the lower end compared to other Distributors for most builders and most building categories.

MBIB fees for assisting builders with various types of eligibility reviews are on the lower end as compared to the other Distributors.

The eligibility review fee charged is all-inclusive, is nominal and does not reflect the amount of work involved in assisting builders with eligibility reviews.

MBIB do not charge fees for producing work in progress/completion reports, processing of completions or handling disputes related to eligibility reviews or COIs.

MBIB Education & Information Services

The education and information support services provided by the MBIB warranty team are available to builders and contractors free of charge.

MBIB find that by educating builders and their financial advisors’, builders are better able to structure their business and make decisions that align with the requirements of the HBCF. This provides builders the best opportunity to minimise the time and costs associated with eligibility reviews.

During eligibility reviews MBIB often spend time with the builder’s accountant to explain the HBCF Scheme so that they better understand the product and therefore are better able to assist their client.

MBIB also provide training sessions to builders and their staff around the certificate issuing process to improve efficiencies and reduce errors and rework. These sessions are often held at a builder’s premises.

MBIB attend in excess of 40 Master Builders events annually to provide ongoing education about topics relating to HBCF. MBIB also provide builder and accountant seminars as required at no cost to attendees. These are done on an ad-hoc basis but usually occur every few months.

Where there are changes to premiums, HBCF forms or processes, MBIB communicate these changes to builders via email. Where changes are significant, MBIB send a reminder email, make phone calls and send individual emails to builders likely to be most affected.

Want to know more?

Visit our website at mbib.com.au or talk to our specialist team at 1800 150 888.