Victoria’s builders’ warranty insurance scheme has attracted $53 million of gross premiums since the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority (VMIA) took over the scheme on May 31 last year.

But the VMIA’s newly released annual report says it has received only 41 claims and paid out $945,281 on 15 of them in the 15 months to September 30 this year.

Builders’ warranty insurance (BWI) is managed by QBE for the VMIA and the insurer then sells policies through intermediaries.

How much QBE is paid for providing this service is not known, with the authority saying the contract details are “commercially confidential”. 

According to the VMIA figures, 11 BWI claims were rejected and 11 are under consideration.

The amount of work insured is worth $15.1 billion and the number of policies issued is 74,399.

BWI is required on all contracts that are worth more than $12,000. It pays claims for a builder dying, becoming insolvent or disappearing, as well as contracts that can’t be finished or have defects that need fixing.