CHU Underwriting Agencies

What CHU Underwriting Agencies does

CHU Underwriting Agencies Pty Ltd is an Australian specialty insurance underwriting agency founded in 1978 and headquartered in North Sydney. It is the creator of Australia's first strata plan insurance policy and operates as one of the country's largest pure-play strata underwriters, covering more than 100,000 strata buildings (almost one million apartments, units, villas and townhouses) with approximately $500 billion of insured value across all Australian states and territories. CHU holds AFS Licence 243261 and writes insurance as agent of QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited under a binding authority, distributing through insurance brokers (including the Steadfast Network, of which CHU is a majority-owned subsidiary), strata managers and online self-service quoting.

The product suite spans Residential Strata, Commercial Strata, Owners Corporation, Community Association Insurance, Community Association Home, Contents, Portable Contents, Landlord and Build to Rent Residential Insurance. Surrounding the underwriting core, CHU runs a services ecosystem including StrataTech online self-service quoting, CHU Assess in-house loss adjusting, the nationwide CHU Builder and Restoration Panel for claims delivery, and Building Resilience Services — an inspection capability built on advanced 3D LiDAR and AI-integrated drone imagery that produces digital models, 360-degree tours, dilapidation reports and Scope of Works/BOQs for strata properties.

Revenue is generated primarily through agency commissions and fees on insurance premiums arranged under the QBE binding authority (recurring, premium-based), supplemented by Steadfast Group-level Professional Services Fees for shared services and project- or engagement-based fees from CHU Assess and Building Resilience Services. Pricing is quote-based, varies by building sum insured, jurisdiction, occupancy mix and optional covers (e.g. Catastrophe, Lot Owners' Contents Extension, Accidental Damage, Portable Contents, Rent Default by Tenant, Cyber), and is delivered through brokers, strata managers and direct online channels.

Name

CHU Underwriting Agencies

Legal name

CHU Underwriting Agencies Pty Ltd

Website

https://chu.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

CHU Underwriting Agencies is Australia's largest pure-play strata insurance specialist, arranging residential, commercial, community association, contents, landlord and build-to-rent cover under a binding authority for QBE Insurance and distributing through brokers, strata managers and online self-service.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Strata Insurance Underwriting

NAICS

Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (52421), Claims Adjusting (524291), Other Direct Insurance (except Life, Health, and Medical) Carriers (524128)

SIC

Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411), Fire, Marine & Casualty Insurance (6331)

akta.pro primary industry

Wholesale Insurance Brokerage (Excess & Surplus Lines) (FSAEADAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Construction Specialty (Wrap-Ups/Builders Risk/Contractors) (FSAJAGAH), Association Accounting, Budgeting & Financial Reporting Services (BPAJAHAL)

Keywords

• Strata insurance underwriting
• Residential strata insurance
• Commercial strata insurance
• Community association insurance
• Landlord insurance underwriting

Headquarters

HQ city

North Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Insurance underwriting commissions / agency remuneration: CHU Underwriting Agencies acts under a binding authority as agent of QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited, arranging strata, community association, contents, landlord and build-to-rent insurance policies and earning agency commission on premiums. Recurring, premium-based revenue tied to in-force policy book.
2. Steadfast Group Professional Services Fee (PSF): As a majority-owned subsidiary of Steadfast Group Ltd, CHU may have shared services funded by SGL (compliance tools, manuals/training, legal, HR, banking, group purchasing) and/or pays/receives a Professional Services Fee for access to regulatory/compliance support, marketing & communications, data insights and technology platforms from Steadfast.
3. Fee-based services (CHU Assess and Building Resilience Services): Beyond insurance, CHU provides ancillary services: CHU Assess (on-site loss adjusting/building consultancy) and Building Resilience Services (drone/LiDAR inspections, imagery, dilapidation reports, roof inspections, solar scans, Scope of Works/BOQs) — typically project- or engagement-based revenue from strata managers, owners and brokers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

CHU Underwriting Agencies arranges strata, community association, contents, landlord and build-to-rent insurance in Australia as a licensed underwriting agency acting under binding authority on behalf of QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited. It distributes through brokers (including the Steadfast Network), strata managers and direct online self-service quoting via the StrataTech platform, and supports policyholders with in-house loss adjusting (CHU Assess), drone/LiDAR-based building inspections (Building Resilience Services) and a nationwide IICRC-accredited builder/restorer panel for claims remediation.

Product overview

No source data was provided in the input. A product overview cannot be authored without verifiable source material.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CHU Assess: On-site loss adjusting and assessment service for residential and commercial strata properties; provides timely damage assessments and claims guidance.
• Building Resilience Services
• CHU Builder and Restoration Panel
• StrataTech

Products and services

• Residential Strata Insurance
• Commercial Strata Insurance
• Owners Corporation Insurance
• Community Association Insurance Plan
• Community Association Home Insurance
• Contents Insurance
• Portable Contents Insurance
• Landlord Insurance
• Build to Rent Residential Insurance
• CHU Assess (On-site Loss Adjusting Service)
• Building Resilience Services (Imagery / Drone-LiDAR Inspection)
• StrataTech Online Self-Service Quoting Platform

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles8 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship / core capacity partner, flagship / primary distribution channel, strategic industry partner and tactical / project-based.

• QBE Insurance (Australia) Limitedflagship / core capacity partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnderwriting capacity partner. "CHU Underwriting Agencies Pty Ltd (ABN 18 001 580 070, AFS Licence No: 243261) acts under a binding authority as agent of the insurer QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited (ABN 78 003 191 035, AFS Licence No: 239545)." All CHU policies are underwritten by QBE — described on About CHU as "one of Australia's most secure insurance companies". This is the principal insurance capacity relationship for the entire CHU product suite (Residential Strata, Commercial Strata, Community Association, Contents, Landlord, Build to Rent, Community Association Home).
• Steadfast Network brokersflagship / primary distribution channelChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary broker distribution channel. "The PSF is not determined by the volume of the business that the Steadfast Network brokers place, nor is the amount of the PSF known to the Steadfast Network Brokers, so it is not able to influence recommendations to their clients." CHU is the dedicated strata underwriting agency for Steadfast-aligned brokers and provides broker-specific resources, co-brand collateral, broker FAQs and dedicated broker enquiry line 1300 361 263.
• Strata Community Association (SCA)strategic industry partnerOthers"In 2022, CHU took a significant step forward by becoming a signatory to the Strata Community Association's Sustainability charter." CHU has adopted the United Nations Sustainability Goals (SDGs) and prioritised eight of these. The signed declaration is published on chu.com.au. The partnership positions CHU within Australia's strata industry body and its sustainability initiatives.
• The Park (Sydney-based experiential agency)tactical / project-basedGTM or Marketing Partner"The booth was designed by Sydney-based experiential agency The Park." The Park's Managing Director Erika Morton Allen designed CHU's "Which side are you on?" immersive split-apartment activation for the 2026 Steadfast Convention, featuring authentic damage recreations using real copper piping, resin, torched furniture and red wine staining. The activation will tour industry events throughout 2026.
• Circle Back InitiativeOthers

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Honan Insurance Group: Australian insurance intermediary and underwriting agency group with a strong specialty insurance book; comparable to CHU as an Australian underwriting agency serving brokers with niche property and commercial products.
• Elders Insurance: Australian underwriting agency and authorised representative network distributing general insurance (including property) via regional brokers; comparable to CHU as an underwriting agency model distributing through brokers at scale.
• Hollard Insurance Australia: Large Australian general insurer that underwrites strata and property insurance products, directly competing with CHU in the residential and commercial strata segments through brokers and aggregator channels.

Emerging players

• Ansvar Insurance: Specialty Australian insurer focused on community, faith-based, education and care sectors; comparable to CHU as a niche Australian insurer with adjacent community-association and not-for-profit exposure.
• BizCover: Australian insurtech operating an online comparison and binding platform for SME commercial insurance; comparable to CHU's StrataTech online quoting capability and a threat at the simple-risk end of the strata and contents book.

Broad incumbents

• Suncorp Group: Major Australian general insurer (AAMI, Suncorp, APIA, Bingle, GIO) offering home, contents and strata products; comparable to CHU as a broad incumbent with overlapping strata-adjacent product lines.
• Allianz Australia: Major Australian general insurer (subsidiary of Allianz SE) offering strata, contents and landlord products as part of a broad personal and commercial lines portfolio; competes with CHU across strata and adjacent personal lines.
• Insurance Australia Group (IAG): Largest general insurer in Australia (NRMA, CGU, SGIO, SGIC) offering strata, commercial and residential property insurance at scale; competes with CHU across strata and adjacent lines as a broad incumbent.
• QBE Insurance Australia: One of Australia's largest general insurers and CHU's exclusive underwriting capacity partner; QBE also writes strata and commercial property directly, making it both a strategic partner and a partial direct competitor.

Regional players

• Civic Insurance: New Zealand-based underwriting agency specialising in body corporate and strata insurance; comparable to CHU as a strata-focused underwriting agency with a similar product suite, though operating in a different (NZ) geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLKiJ0H_pBLcezmqp1tBrpQoiNL6Mh-RIu
• Xx.com/CHU_strata_ins

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CHU Underwriting Agencies