Discretionary mutual Our Ark has signed up its 100th member three years after its launch in December 2020, and now protects about $2.5 billion of assets across the country.

The mutual’s foundation member was the Anglican Diocese of North Queensland. Other members now include community housing providers, land councils, aged care providers, childcare centres, faith-based organisations, non-profits, charities, churches, synagogues, regional accommodation providers and community sporting clubs.

Our Ark says it provides tailored product disclosure statements (PDSs) for its distinct member types.

“The PDSs are designed with representatives of these organisations,” CEO Charles Pollack said. “The inclusions are broad, and include common perils like flood, bushfire as standard. Key differences in the PDSs are for business interruption. It means very different things for a childcare provider compared to a church, so the PDSs address that.”

He says the addition of cyclone insurance last year ensured the mutual’s members in the NT were covered when storms Jasper and Kirrily hit.

“Our members in those areas did a lot of preparation ahead of those cyclones, and the claims that have arisen have not been for major losses,” Mr Pollack said. “Our Ark is not for bad risks, it’s for organisations vital to their local community. We assess the risks of every individual property and price accordingly.

“Plus, we expect our members to proactively manage their risks and perform regular property maintenance. The low volume of cyclone insurance claims from these two events is evidence that our members take risk management seriously.”