Heavy Motor Insurance

About This Policy

This Policy insures trucks, prime movers and trailers used in a business, and any light commercial vehicles insured with them. Each Insured vehicle is insured at one of three cover levels, shown for that vehicle in the Schedule:

Two optional sections apply only where the Schedule shows that they do. The Downtime (Optional) section pays a weekly benefit while a Powered vehicle is off the road after loss or damage we have accepted. The Non-owned Trailers (Optional) section covers loss of or damage to a Non-owned trailer while it is in your control.

This Policy does not insure goods carried. Insurance for goods in transit and for a carrier's liability for goods must be arranged separately.

The Policy is made up of this wording, the Schedule and any Endorsement. Where the Schedule and this wording differ, the Schedule applies. Words with special meanings are listed in the Definitions section.

Who This Policy Is For

This Policy is designed for owner-drivers and small transport operators: businesses that own, lease or use heavy rigid trucks and prime movers, and the trailers they tow, to carry their own goods or goods for others. It is not designed for buses, mobile plant or fleets insured on a fleet basis, which are insured under other wordings.

Cover for a vehicle with a Carrying capacity of more than 2 tonnes is not a motor vehicle insurance product under the Corporations Regulations 2001 (Cth), so it is not provided to a retail client on that account. Cover for a vehicle with a Carrying capacity of 2 tonnes or less, such as a light commercial vehicle insured with the trucks, may be provided to a retail client where the buyer is an individual or a small business. Where any part of this Policy is provided to a retail client, the issuer must give a Product Disclosure Statement, make a Target Market Determination available and meet the General Insurance Code of Practice. This wording is not itself a Product Disclosure Statement. [WP REVIEW: confirm the carrying-capacity test in regulation 7.1.11 of the Corporations Regulations 2001 (Cth) and how it applies to a schedule that includes both heavy and light vehicles.]

This Policy is intended to be entered into for business purposes, so the duty of disclosure in the Your Duty of Disclosure condition applies. If it is a consumer insurance contract, that clause says which duty applies instead. [WP REVIEW: confirm whether an owner-driver who is a sole trader or partnership is a party to a consumer insurance contract under the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth), and so which duty applies.]

Where the insured or one of the insureds is a natural person, cover for a vehicle with a Carrying capacity of 2 tonnes or less may be a prescribed contract for motor vehicle insurance under the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) and the Insurance Contracts Regulations 2017 (Cth). The issuer must then clearly inform the insured in writing, before the contract is entered into, of each way in which this Policy differs from standard cover for that vehicle, and must check any change to a Default Schedule Value against that list. [WP REVIEW: list the departures from prescribed motor standard cover that apply to a light vehicle insured under this wording.]

Compulsory Third Party Insurance

This Policy is not compulsory third party (CTP) insurance. CTP is a separate statutory insurance, arranged through each State or Territory scheme, that covers liability for death or bodily injury caused by a motor vehicle. You must keep CTP, or registration that includes it, in force for every registrable Insured vehicle. The Supplementary Bodily Injury extension gives limited cover only where no CTP or statutory scheme responds.

Version and Document History

This document is version-controlled. The version and date shown on the cover page and in the footer of each page govern this text. The Version of This Wording condition says which version applies to your Policy.

Schedule

(Completed separately for each policy. It contains your specific details.)

The Schedule shows:

• The named insured, ABN and contact details
• The Period of Insurance
• The vehicle schedule: for each Insured vehicle, its registration, make, model and year, Vehicle class, Gross vehicle mass (and Gross combination mass for a prime mover), Carrying capacity, body type, Permitted use, garaging postcode, cover level, value basis and Sum insured, and any Excess or Endorsement that applies to that vehicle only
• The Radius of operation
• The driver basis: any authorised driver, or the named drivers
• The third party property damage limit and the sub-limits for supplementary bodily injury and Dangerous goods
• Whether Downtime (Optional) applies and, if it does, the weekly downtime benefit for each Powered vehicle it applies to, the waiting period and the maximum period
• Whether Non-owned Trailers (Optional) applies and, if it does, the Non-owned trailer limit
• The Excesses
• Sub-limits and other values that differ from the defaults in the Default Schedule Values
• The premium, with stamp duty, levies and GST
• The State or Territory whose law governs this Policy (see the Governing Law and Jurisdiction condition)
• The Endorsements that apply, by code, with their variables
• Interested parties, such as financiers and lessors

Definitions

These words have the meanings below wherever they appear in this Policy, the Schedule or an Endorsement, with a capital letter. The singular includes the plural.

Cover for Your Vehicles

This section applies to each Insured vehicle shown in the Schedule as Comprehensive or as Third party, fire and theft. It does not apply to a vehicle shown as Third party only.

Comprehensive

If an Insured vehicle shown as Comprehensive suffers Accidental loss or damage during the Period of Insurance, we will pay for the loss or damage as set out in the Basis of Settlement provision. This includes Accidental loss or damage caused by collision or overturning; fire, lightning or explosion; theft or attempted theft; storm, flood, hail or cyclone; malicious damage or vandalism; falling objects; impact with an animal; immersion in water; and landslide, subsidence or earthquake.

Third Party, Fire and Theft

If an Insured vehicle shown as Third party, fire and theft suffers loss or damage during the Period of Insurance caused by fire, lightning or explosion, or by theft or attempted theft, we will pay for the loss or damage as set out in the Basis of Settlement provision. This cover does not include collision, malicious damage, storm, flood or any other accidental damage to the Insured vehicle, except as Uninsured Motorist Damage provides.

Basis of Settlement

We settle a claim for loss of or damage to an Insured vehicle on the value basis shown for it in the Schedule:

Where the vehicle can be economically repaired, we settle as set out in the Repairs provision. Where it is a Total loss, the Total Loss provision applies.

Repairs

Where an Insured vehicle can be economically repaired, we may pay you the reasonable cost of repair, or arrange the repair. The Choice of Repairer provision applies to who repairs the vehicle. We do not use second-hand or non-genuine parts without your consent, except where the vehicle is more than five years old and genuine parts are not reasonably available. We will not pay for an improvement in the vehicle's condition beyond its condition before the loss, except where the only reasonable repair is with new parts.

Total Loss

Where an Insured vehicle is a Total loss, we pay on the value basis shown in the Schedule, less the Excess and any unpaid premium for that vehicle. Cover for that vehicle then ends, and no premium is refunded for it. Where the Schedule names a financier, the Subrogation and Interested Parties condition applies to the payment.

New Vehicle Replacement

If a Powered vehicle shown as Comprehensive is a Total loss within the period shown in the Schedule after its first registration as a new vehicle, we will replace it with a new vehicle of the same make, model and specification, including its body, fitted equipment and on-road costs, where one is reasonably available in Australia. The most we pay is the percentage of the Sum insured shown in the Schedule. If a replacement is not reasonably available, we pay on the value basis shown in the Schedule. This provision does not apply to a trailer.

Choice of Repairer

You may choose your own repairer. If you use a repairer we recommend, we guarantee the quality of the repairs for as long as you own the vehicle. If you use your own repairer, we pay the reasonable cost of repair, which may be less than your repairer's quote if their charges exceed the prevailing market rate for that work. Where we are a signatory to the Motor Vehicle Insurance and Repair Industry Code of Conduct, or a State scheme applies, estimates, authorisations and disputes with repairers are handled in accordance with it.

Additional Benefits

These benefits are paid in addition to the Sum insured, for the cover levels shown, up to the limits shown in the Schedule or, if none is shown, in the Default Schedule Values. No Excess applies to them, except as this table or the Excesses condition says.

We do not pay the hire vehicle benefits for any day for which we pay the Downtime Benefit clause for the same vehicle. Where both could apply, you choose which one we pay.

Signwriting, livery, modifications and accessories are part of the Insured vehicle and its Sum insured. You must tell us before inception or renewal where modifications and accessories on a vehicle are worth more than the amount shown in the Default Schedule Values.

Newly Acquired Vehicles

A Powered vehicle or trailer that you buy or lease during the Period of Insurance is an Insured vehicle from the time you take possession of it, up to the value limit shown in the Default Schedule Values, provided that you tell us about it within the notice period shown there and pay any additional premium we ask for. Its cover level and terms are those of the Insured vehicle it replaces or, if it is an additional vehicle, those of the Insured vehicle of the same Vehicle class with the highest cover level. If there is no Insured vehicle of the same Vehicle class, it is insured at Third party only until we accept it in writing.

A vehicle you tell us about after the notice period is an Insured vehicle only from the date we accept it in writing. This extension does not apply to a vehicle whose Vehicle class is not one listed in the definition of Vehicle Class, such as a bus or a piece of mobile plant.

What Is Not Covered for Your Vehicles

In addition to the General Exclusions section, we do not pay under Cover for Your Vehicles for:

• mechanical, electrical or electronic breakdown, failure, wear and tear, rust or corrosion, unless caused by an insured event;
• damage to tyres by road punctures, cuts or bursts, unless other insured damage to the vehicle happens at the same time;
• loss of value or depreciation after a repair;
• loss of use, loss of income or any other consequential loss, except the benefits in the Additional Benefits extension and the cover in Downtime (Optional);
• loss of or damage to a Load, which this Policy does not insure;
• loss of or damage to a Non-owned trailer, except under Non-owned Trailers (Optional); or
• loss of or damage to a vehicle taken by a person who obtained it by deception or a dishonoured payment.

Your Legal Liability

This section applies to every Insured vehicle, whatever its cover level.

Third Party Property Damage

If an Insured person becomes legally liable to pay compensation for damage to other people's property caused by an Occurrence during the Period of Insurance arising from the use of an Insured vehicle or a Substitute vehicle, we will pay that compensation, up to the third party property damage limit shown in the Schedule for each Occurrence. We also pay the reasonable legal costs of defending the claim that we incur or approve in writing; these costs are paid in addition to the limit.

Who Is Covered

Each of the following is an Insured person under this section: you; any person driving, using or in charge of an Insured vehicle with your permission; any passenger in, or getting into or out of, an Insured vehicle; and your employer or principal, where an Insured vehicle is being used in their business with your consent. Each Insured person is covered as if a separate policy had been issued to them, but our total liability for each Occurrence does not exceed the limits shown in the Schedule.

Where an exclusion or condition of this Policy depends on what a person knew, intended or consented to, it applies to an Insured person only by reference to what that Insured person knew, intended or consented to. What one Insured person knew, intended or consented to is not attributed to another, except that the knowledge, intention and consent of a member of the Control group is the Named insured's.

Dangerous Goods Liability

Where an Insured vehicle carries Dangerous goods in compliance with the law that applies to their carriage, the Third Party Property Damage clause applies to liability arising from the Dangerous goods, up to the Dangerous goods sub-limit shown in the Schedule for each Occurrence. The sub-limit is part of, not in addition to, the third party property damage limit. Carriage in breach of that law is excluded by the What Is Not Covered for Your Legal Liability exclusion.

Supplementary Bodily Injury

We will pay the compensation an Insured person becomes legally liable to pay for the death of, or bodily injury to, another person caused by an Occurrence during the Period of Insurance arising from the use of an Insured vehicle, but only to the extent that the liability is not covered by any compulsory third party insurance or statutory accident compensation scheme. Where a scheme pays part of the liability, we pay only the part it does not cover. This applies only where the vehicle was registered, and any required compulsory third party insurance was in force, at the time (or the vehicle was not required to be registered). The most we pay is the supplementary bodily injury sub-limit shown in the Schedule for each Occurrence, which is part of, not in addition to, the third party property damage limit.

We also pay the reasonable legal costs of defending a claim under this extension that we incur or approve in writing. These costs are part of, not in addition to, the supplementary bodily injury sub-limit.

We do not pay under this extension any amount a scheme has paid or would have paid had the registration, insurance and claim requirements of the scheme been met; death of or injury to the driver of the Insured vehicle; or fines, penalties or aggravated, punitive or exemplary damages.

[WP REVIEW: confirm how this extension interacts with each State and Territory compulsory third party scheme, including claims the scheme pays in part or declines.]

Uninsured Motorist Damage

If an Insured vehicle shown as Third party, fire and theft or Third party only is damaged in a collision with another vehicle whose driver is uninsured, and the driver of the Insured vehicle was Not at fault, we will pay for the damage up to the amount shown in the Schedule, provided you give us the name and address of the other driver and the registration of their vehicle. For this extension, a driver is uninsured if no insurance responds to the damage the driver caused to the Insured vehicle.

Substitute Vehicles

The Third Party Property Damage clause extends to liability arising from the use of a Substitute vehicle, as though it were an Insured vehicle. It does not extend to loss of or damage to the Substitute vehicle itself. If the Substitute vehicle is also insured under another policy, the Other Insurance condition applies. [WP REVIEW: confirm that relying on contribution, rather than a limit for vehicles insured elsewhere, is consistent with s 45 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth).]

Trailers

The Third Party Property Damage clause extends to liability arising from a trailer, including a Non-owned trailer, while it is attached to, or has accidentally become detached from, a Powered vehicle. Loss of or damage to a Non-owned trailer itself is not covered by Your Legal Liability. Non-owned Trailers (Optional) covers it where the Schedule shows that section applies.

What Is Not Covered for Your Legal Liability

In addition to the General Exclusions section, we do not pay under Your Legal Liability for liability:

• for damage to property owned by, leased to, or in the custody or control of an Insured person, including a Non-owned trailer and any Load, other than a Substitute vehicle and employees' and visitors' vehicles in a car park you operate as part of your business;
• for death or bodily injury, except as provided by the Supplementary Bodily Injury extension;
• that is covered, or is required by law to be covered, by workers' compensation insurance, or that arises under an industrial award or agreement;
• arising from the carriage of Dangerous goods in breach of the law that applies to their carriage;
• arising from the use of a vehicle as a Tool of trade (road risk while the vehicle is driven as transport remains covered);
• arising from pollution or contamination, unless it results from a sudden, identifiable and unintended event that happens during the Period of Insurance, such as a collision or overturning that spills fuel, oil or Load (liability arising from Dangerous goods carried in compliance with the law remains subject to the Dangerous goods sub-limit);
• assumed under a contract, except to the extent you would have been liable without it; or
• for fines or penalties, or aggravated, punitive or exemplary damages.

Downtime (Optional)

This section applies only where the Schedule shows that it does, and only to the Powered vehicles shown in the Schedule with a weekly downtime benefit.

Downtime Benefit

If a Powered vehicle to which this section applies cannot be used for its Permitted use because of loss or damage that we have accepted under Cover for Your Vehicles, we will pay you the weekly downtime benefit shown for that vehicle in the Schedule. We pay one seventh of the weekly benefit for each day the vehicle cannot be used:

• starting when the waiting period shown in the Schedule has passed after the Occurrence; and
• ending when the vehicle is repaired and available for use, when we pay or offer to pay for its Total loss, or when the maximum period shown in the Schedule ends, whichever is earliest.

We do not pay for the waiting period. No Excess applies to this section; the waiting period takes its place. The most we pay for each Powered vehicle for any one Occurrence is the weekly downtime benefit multiplied by the maximum period.

We pay the weekly downtime benefit as an agreed amount, without proof of the income lost. We do not pay any other loss of income, profit or contract.

If repairs are delayed because you did not authorise them, or did not make the vehicle available to the repairer, within a reasonable time after we accepted the claim, we reduce the payment by the days of that delay.

What Is Not Covered for Downtime

In addition to the General Exclusions section, we do not pay under Downtime (Optional) for:

• any day for which we pay a hire vehicle benefit in the Additional Benefits extension for the same vehicle; or
• any day on which the vehicle is missing after theft or attempted theft.

Non-owned Trailers (Optional)

This section applies only where the Schedule shows that it does.

Non-owned Trailers in Your Control

If a Non-owned trailer suffers Accidental loss or damage during the Period of Insurance while it is attached to a Powered vehicle insured as Comprehensive, or while it is detached and in the custody of an Insured person in the course of a journey with that vehicle, we will pay the lesser of:

• the reasonable cost of repairing it; and
• its Market value immediately before the loss or damage,

up to the Non-owned trailer limit shown in the Schedule for each trailer for each Occurrence, less the Non-owned trailer excess in the Excesses condition. We pay whether or not an Insured person is legally liable to the trailer's owner for the loss or damage.

We pay you or, if you ask us to, the trailer's owner. A payment to either is a full settlement of that loss or damage under this section.

What Is Not Covered for Non-owned Trailers

In addition to the General Exclusions section, we do not pay under Non-owned Trailers (Optional) for:

• mechanical, electrical or electronic breakdown, failure, wear and tear, rust or corrosion, unless caused by an insured event;
• damage to tyres by road punctures, cuts or bursts, unless other insured damage to the trailer happens at the same time;
• loss of or damage to the Load or anything else carried on the trailer;
• loss of use of the trailer, hire charges paid to its owner or any other consequential loss; or
• a trailer being towed, carried or recovered as part of a towing or recovery business.

General Exclusions

These exclusions apply to every section of this Policy. A section may have its own exclusions as well. Where an exclusion refers to a driver, it applies only to loss, damage or liability that arises while that person is in charge of the Insured vehicle. The Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) condition applies to each of them.

Unlicensed or Disqualified Driver

Loss, damage or liability while the Insured vehicle is driven by a person who does not hold a current licence appropriate for the vehicle, or whose licence is suspended, cancelled or disqualified. This exclusion does not apply to an Insured person who did not know, and could not reasonably have known, that the driver was unlicensed or disqualified, or where the vehicle was driven without your consent.

Alcohol and Drugs

Loss, damage or liability while the Insured vehicle is driven by a person whose ability to drive is impaired by alcohol or a drug, who has a blood or breath alcohol level above the legal limit for that driver, or who refuses a lawful test. This exclusion does not apply to an Insured person who did not know, and could not reasonably have known, of the driver's state, or where the vehicle was driven without your consent.

Unsafe or Unroadworthy Condition

Loss, damage or liability caused by the use of a vehicle in an unsafe or unroadworthy condition that you knew about, or ought reasonably to have known about, before the loss.

Racing and Competition

Loss, damage or liability while the vehicle is used for racing, pace-making, speed or reliability testing, rallying or any competition, or on a racetrack.

Overloading

Loss, damage or liability caused or contributed to by an Insured vehicle or a Combination carrying a Load, or towing, beyond its Gross vehicle mass, its Gross combination mass, its manufacturer's rated capacity, or the mass or dimension limits that apply to it under the law, including any permit or notice under the Heavy Vehicle National Law. This exclusion does not apply where the excess mass or dimension did not cause or contribute to the loss, damage or liability, or where you and the driver took reasonable steps to keep the vehicle within those limits.

Outside Australia

Loss, damage or liability that occurs outside Australia, unless the Schedule shows otherwise.

Hire, Fare or Reward

Loss, damage or liability while the vehicle is used to carry passengers for hire, fare or reward, including rideshare, or while it is hired out to someone else without a driver you provide, unless the Schedule shows that use as Permitted use or an Endorsement covers it. Carrying goods for hire or reward, including as a subcontractor to another carrier, is not excluded by this clause.

Use Other Than the Permitted Use

Loss, damage or liability while the vehicle is used other than for its Permitted use, where you knew of or consented to that use.

Deliberate Acts

Loss, damage or liability that you deliberately cause, or that is deliberately caused by a person acting with your consent or knowledge who intends the loss or damage. The Joint Insureds condition applies.

War

Loss, damage or liability arising from war, invasion, act of a foreign enemy, hostilities (whether war is declared or not), civil war, rebellion, revolution, insurrection, or military or usurped power.

Nuclear

Loss, damage or liability arising from ionising radiation or contamination by radioactivity from nuclear fuel or nuclear waste, or from nuclear weapons material.

Terrorism

Loss, damage or liability arising from an act of terrorism. [WP REVIEW: confirm whether the scheme under the Terrorism Insurance Act 2003 (Cth), as renamed, can apply to motor vehicle insurance and, if it can, whether this exclusion needs an exception for it.]

Your Obligations When Something Happens

These obligations apply to every claim. The Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) condition applies to each of them: we will not refuse a claim only because you did not meet one of them, except to the extent the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) allows.

Tell Us About an Incident

Tell us as soon as reasonably practicable after any accident, theft or other event that may give rise to a claim. Give us when and where it happened; the registration and description of each vehicle involved; the names and contact details of the drivers, passengers and witnesses; what happened and what was damaged; the other party's insurance details if known; and a copy of any police report. Report theft and malicious damage to the police as soon as reasonably practicable.

Do Not Admit Liability

Do not admit fault or liability, or offer or agree to pay anything, without our written consent, except as the law requires. You may exchange details with the other driver.

Protect the Vehicle

Take reasonable steps to prevent further loss or damage. If the vehicle is not safe to drive, arrange for it to be towed. Reasonable towing costs are covered as an additional benefit for the cover levels that include it.

Cooperate With Us

Give us the information and help we reasonably need to assess, defend or settle a claim and to recover from others. Let us inspect the vehicle before repairs start, except emergency repairs needed to make it safe.

Maintain Your Vehicles

Keep each Insured vehicle registered and roadworthy, and comply with the registration, licensing and safety laws that apply to it, including the fatigue, mass, maintenance and chain of responsibility duties of the Heavy Vehicle National Law where that law applies.

Tell Us About Changes

Tell us during the Period of Insurance about vehicles added to or removed from the Schedule; a change in the Vehicle class, Permitted use or Radius of operation of a vehicle; a change in the kind of Load carried, for example starting to carry Dangerous goods, livestock or bulk materials; starting to tow more than one trailer in a Combination; starting to operate on a mine site, port or airport airside area; starting two-up driving; a change in where a vehicle is normally garaged; modifications to a vehicle worth more than the amount shown in the Default Schedule Values; and a change to the drivers, where the Schedule shows named drivers.

We may change the premium or terms because of a change you tell us about, but only by giving you written notice of the new premium or terms. They apply only from the date stated in the notice, which is not earlier than the notice period shown in the Default Schedule Values after we send it. If you do not accept them, you may cancel this Policy as the Cancellation condition allows, and the new premium or terms do not apply to you. [WP REVIEW: confirm this mid-period variation mechanism against the variation and unfair contract terms provisions of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth).]

General Conditions

These conditions apply to every section of this Policy.

Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth)

Nothing in this Policy excludes, restricts or modifies the operation of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth). Where this Policy is inconsistent with the Act, the Act prevails.

If this Policy would otherwise let us refuse to pay a claim, in whole or in part, because of something you did or did not do after this Policy was entered into, section 54 of the Act applies. We may not refuse to pay the claim only because of that act or omission. Our liability is reduced by the amount that fairly represents the extent to which our interests were prejudiced. Where the act or omission could reasonably be regarded as capable of causing or contributing to the loss, we may refuse to pay only the part of the claim that the act or omission caused or contributed to. We may not refuse any part that you prove the act or omission did not cause. This applies to every condition, exclusion, limit and obligation in this Policy, not only to the claims conditions.

Your Duty of Disclosure

Before you enter into, renew, extend, vary or reinstate this Policy, you have a duty under s 21 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) to tell us every matter that you know, or that a reasonable person in the circumstances could be expected to know, is relevant to our decision whether to insure you and on what terms. You do not need to tell us anything that reduces the risk, that is of common knowledge, that we know or should know in the ordinary course of our business, or that we have told you we do not need to know.

If you do not comply with this duty, we may be entitled to reduce our liability for a claim or to cancel the Policy, as the Act allows. If the non-disclosure is fraudulent, we may also be entitled to avoid the Policy from its beginning.

This clause applies where this Policy is not a consumer insurance contract. Where it is, the Act's duty to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation applies instead of the duty above, and our remedies are those the Act gives for a breach of that duty.

Premium and Instalments

The premium is shown in the Schedule. Where you pay by instalments and an instalment is unpaid for one month or more, we may refuse a claim that arises after the instalment fell due, and we may cancel the Policy by written notice in accordance with the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth). Before we refuse a claim or cancel for an unpaid instalment, we will give you written notice that the instalment is overdue and what you must pay to keep the Policy in force. [WP REVIEW: align with s 39 of the Insurance Contracts Act and the issuer's instalment terms.]

Excesses

The Excesses shown in the Schedule apply to each claim, for each Insured vehicle, as follows:

No excess applies to a claim under Downtime (Optional), to a claim for windscreen or window glass only on a vehicle with a Gross vehicle mass of 4.5 tonnes or less, or where the driver of the Insured vehicle was Not at fault and you give us the name and address of the person responsible. Where more than one Insured vehicle is damaged in the same Occurrence, including a Powered vehicle and a trailer in the same Combination, you pay one basic excess (the highest that applies), plus any additional excess for the driver.

Cancellation

You may cancel this Policy, or remove an Insured vehicle from it, at any time by telling us. We refund the premium for the unexpired Period of Insurance on a pro-rata basis, less any non-refundable government charges. If we have paid a Total loss of an Insured vehicle, no refund applies to that vehicle.

We may cancel this Policy only as the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) allows, by giving you written notice as that Act requires, which is at least 30 days' written notice or any longer notice the Act requires. We refund the premium for the unexpired Period of Insurance on a pro-rata basis.

Cancellation does not affect a claim for loss, damage or liability that occurred before the cancellation took effect.

Other Insurance

If a loss covered by this Policy is also covered by another insurance policy, we will not refuse or reduce our payment because of that other insurance. We may seek contribution from the other insurer as the law allows. This does not apply where the Schedule or an Endorsement states that this Policy is excess of a specified underlying policy, in which case this Policy pays only after the limit of that specified policy is exhausted.

GST

Where you are entitled to an input tax credit for the GST on a payment we make, we reduce the payment by that entitlement. You must tell us the extent of your entitlement when you make a claim. Limits and Sums insured include GST unless the Schedule says otherwise.

Subrogation and Interested Parties

After we pay a claim, we may take recovery action in your name against any person responsible, and you must give us reasonable help with it. We will not take recovery action against a person you agreed in writing, before the loss, to hold harmless or not to pursue, where the agreement was disclosed to us or is usual for your business, or against an Insured person or an employee, unless the loss was caused by their deliberate or criminal act.

Where the Schedule names a financier or lessor as an interested party, we will pay a claim for the loss of or damage to that Insured vehicle to them, or to you and them jointly, to the extent of their interest.

Salvage

If we pay a claim for a Total loss, the salvage belongs to us. Before we sell it or dispose of it, we will offer you the chance to keep it at its salvage value, unless the law prevents the vehicle from being repaired or re-registered.

Fraudulent Claims

If a claim is made fraudulently, we may refuse to pay it, as s 56 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) allows, and we may cancel the Policy. The Joint Insureds condition applies.

Joint Insureds

Where more than one person is shown in the Schedule as the Named insured, this Policy applies to each of them separately. A fraud, deliberate act or failure to comply with this Policy by one of them does not affect the cover of any other who did not know of it, did not take part in it and did not consent to it.

Complaints and Disputes

If you have a complaint about this Policy or about a claim, contact us first. We will acknowledge your complaint within one business day and give you a written response within 30 calendar days. If you are not satisfied with our response, or we do not respond in time, you may take the complaint to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), www.afca.org.au, 1800 931 678, subject to its terms of reference. AFCA's service is free to you.

Privacy

We collect, use and disclose personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and our privacy policy, which explains how to access and correct it and how to complain about a privacy matter.

Sanctions

We do not provide cover, pay any claim or provide any benefit under this Policy to the extent that doing so would expose us to any sanction, prohibition or restriction under:

• the Autonomous Sanctions Act 2011 (Cth), the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 (Cth), or regulations made under either Act; or
• the trade or economic sanctions laws of the United Kingdom, the United States of America or the European Union, to the extent they apply to us.

[WP REVIEW: confirm that naming the UK, US and EU regimes is appropriate for Australian capacity; this is a deliberate library-wide scope choice.]

Governing Law and Jurisdiction

This Policy is governed by the law of the State or Territory shown in the Schedule as the governing-law jurisdiction at inception. Each party submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of that State or Territory. [WP REVIEW: add a service-of-suit clause where the insurer is not APRA-authorised.]

Version of This Wording

The version of this wording that applies to your Policy is the version shown in the Schedule. A later version applies only from the next renewal, or from an earlier date we agree with you in writing.

Endorsement Library

An Endorsement applies only where its code is shown in the Schedule. Each modifies only the clauses it names, and is read together with the variables shown for it in the Schedule. Other terms of this Policy continue to apply. If a variable an Endorsement needs is not shown in the Schedule, the default in the Default Schedule Values applies; if there is none, the Endorsement does not apply until we show the variable in the Schedule.

E04 Increased Tools of Trade

The tools of trade benefit in the Additional Benefits extension is increased to the amount shown in the Schedule for each vehicle. Tools of trade must be kept in a locked vehicle or a locked toolbox fixed to it when unattended; we do not pay for theft from an unattended vehicle without signs of forced entry.

Schedule variables: tools of trade limit for each vehicle.

E05 Agreed Value

Each Insured vehicle shown in the Schedule for this Endorsement is insured for its Agreed value, and the Basis of Settlement provision settles a Total loss on that basis. The Agreed value is fixed at inception or renewal and does not change because the Schedule is reissued for another reason.

Schedule variables: vehicles covered; Agreed value of each.

E06 Increased Windscreen Cover

The windscreen and window glass additional benefit is increased to the amount shown in the Schedule for each Occurrence, and includes the recalibration of cameras and sensors mounted on the glass.

Schedule variables: windscreen limit each Occurrence.

E07 Fleet Telematics

You agree to keep the telematics system named in the Schedule installed and operating in the Insured vehicles shown, and to give us, on request and not more often than quarterly, the summary reports named in the Schedule. We use the reports only to review the premium and terms at renewal and to assess claims. A failure of the system that you did not cause does not affect cover.

Schedule variables: telematics system; vehicles covered; reports.

E10 Extended Hire Vehicle

The hire vehicle additional benefits are increased to the daily amount and period shown in the Schedule, and the benefit for hire after an accident applies whoever was at fault.

Schedule variables: daily amount; period.

E12 Dangerous Goods Transport

The Dangerous goods sub-limit in the Dangerous Goods Liability extension is increased to the amount shown in the Schedule. You must comply with the law that applies to the carriage of the classes of Dangerous goods shown, including placarding, driver licensing and vehicle approval, and we cover the reasonable cost of clean-up and removal of Dangerous goods spilled from an Insured vehicle that a public authority requires, within that sub-limit.

Schedule variables: Dangerous goods sub-limit; classes carried.

E14 Electric and Hybrid Vehicles

For each Insured vehicle that is electric or hybrid, the Cover for Your Vehicles section includes Accidental loss or damage to its traction battery, and to charging equipment you own at the garaging address and portable charging cables, up to the amount shown in the Schedule; and the Third Party Property Damage clause extends to liability arising from charging the vehicle. We do not pay for loss of battery capacity through age or use.

Schedule variables: charging equipment limit.

E15 Automated Driving Systems

For each Insured vehicle shown in the Schedule as equipped with an automated driving system, cover under this Policy applies while the system is engaged as though the person responsible for the vehicle were driving it, provided the system is used as its manufacturer instructs and its software updates have been installed when issued. [WP REVIEW: align with the Automated Vehicle Safety Law once enacted.]

Schedule variables: vehicles covered.

E16 Tow Trucks and Recovery Vehicles

For Insured vehicles used as tow trucks or recovery vehicles, we pay for loss of or damage to a vehicle being towed, carried or recovered by them, for which you are legally liable, up to the amount shown in the Schedule for each Occurrence. For that property, the exclusion in the What Is Not Covered for Your Legal Liability exclusion for damage to property in the custody or control of an Insured person, and the exclusion for use of a vehicle as a Tool of trade (where the use is towing, winching, loading or carrying the property), do not apply. Every other exclusion in that clause continues to apply. The driver must hold any tow truck licence or authority the law requires.

Schedule variables: goods in care limit; excess.

E18 Owner-Driver

Where one Powered vehicle is insured and the Named insured is a sole trader, or a company with one working director, who drives it, the driver basis is the Named insured or that director and the relief drivers shown in the Schedule. The unlisted driver excess in the Excesses condition applies when anyone else drives the vehicle.

Schedule variables: relief drivers.

E19 Multi-trailer Combinations

This Endorsement applies to each Combination shown in the Schedule as a multi-trailer combination: a B-double, B-triple, road train or other Combination of a Powered vehicle and more than one trailer. For each of them:

• each trailer in the Combination must be an Insured vehicle or a Non-owned trailer;
• the multi-trailer excess shown in the Schedule applies, in addition to the basic excess, to a claim arising from an Occurrence involving the Combination; and
• you must hold the access approvals, permits or notices that the Heavy Vehicle National Law, or the law of the State or Territory, requires for that Combination on the route travelled. Under the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) condition, we may reduce a claim because of a failure to hold them only to the extent that the failure caused or contributed to the loss.

Schedule variables: multi-trailer combinations; multi-trailer excess.

E20 Tipping Operations

This Endorsement applies to each Insured vehicle shown in the Schedule as a tipper, or fitted with a hook-lift, roll-on roll-off or other body that is raised to unload. For those vehicles, the tipping excess in the Excesses condition is the amount shown for this Endorsement in the Schedule. Liability arising from tipping at a work site remains excluded as use of the vehicle as a Tool of trade.

Schedule variables: vehicles; tipping excess.

E21 Specialist Transport Operations

The specialist operations shown in the Schedule, such as car carrying, logging, concrete agitating or pumping, crane or lifting work, oversize or heavy haulage, or waste collection, are Permitted use for the Insured vehicles shown for them. For those vehicles, the specialist operations excess shown in the Schedule applies in addition to the basic excess. Liability arising from the use of a vehicle or its equipment as a Tool of trade remains excluded.

Schedule variables: operations; vehicles; specialist operations excess.

E22 Restricted Sites

This Endorsement applies to an Occurrence on a restricted site shown in the Schedule, such as a mine site, port or airport airside area. For that Occurrence:

• the restricted site excess shown in the Schedule applies in addition to the basic excess; and
• the most we pay under Your Legal Liability for damage to property of the site operator, or of anyone working on the site, is the restricted site sub-limit shown in the Schedule. The sub-limit is part of, not in addition to, the third party property damage limit.

Schedule variables: restricted sites; restricted site excess; restricted site sub-limit.

Default Schedule Values

These are the defaults that apply where the Schedule does not show another amount. Each figure is a Schedule value: an issuer may vary it in the Schedule without amending this wording. Where this Policy is a prescribed contract for motor vehicle insurance for a light vehicle, the issuer must first check the change against the list of departures from standard cover that it gives the insured.

Licence and Trademark Notice

This wording's text is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). The licence applies to the wording text only. It does not extend to, and no licence is granted in, the "Meridian" name, the Cuttleflow Systems name, logo, bearing mark, or any other trademark, trade dress, or brand asset, all of which remain the property of their respective owners and may not be used without separate permission.

An adopting agency's own schedule, endorsements, and other materials prepared for use with this wording are not required to be released under CC BY 4.0 merely because they are used together with this wording; CC BY 4.0 requires only that you attribute the wording text you use.

This wording is provided for general use and adaptation. Adopting agencies and their advisers are responsible for obtaining their own legal, regulatory, and reinsurance advice before use, and use of this wording requires the approval of the relevant capacity provider, and a Product Disclosure Statement and target market determination where the law requires them. Any Wording Partner review and sign-off letter issued in respect of this wording runs to Cuttleflow Pty Ltd t/a Cuttleflow Systems only and does not constitute legal advice to any adopting agency or insured.

Designed for the Australian market. Assumes application of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth). Users are responsible for their own legal review, regulatory compliance, and reinsurance alignment.