Modern corner mixed-use building with two glazed retail tenancies and apartments above

Insuring a Mixed-Use Property Before Settlement or Refinance

The lender won't release funds without a certificate of currency, and mainstream insurers often decline the building outright. Tell us the date first. We sequence the markets around it, and with everything in hand a standard building can be bound in as little as 24 hours.

Date First

Then The Rest

Lender Noted

On The Certificate

Monthly

Instalments Available

Recognition

Industry Awards

THE SHORT ANSWER

Lenders generally won't settle or refinance a mixed-use building until a certificate of currency names them as interested party, and mainstream insurers often decline the building. With all the details in hand we can bind a standard mixed-use building in as little as 24 hours, and usually within 24 to 48 hours; a building with a cafe, a heritage listing or a residential share above half can take longer because specialist markets assess it individually. When settlement is on the line we can expedite it on our side, though we'd rather have the time to map every market properly.

The single most useful thing you can do is give us the settlement or refinance date in the first conversation. It decides which markets we approach and in what order. The second most useful thing is the list of eight details further down this page: with those in hand, the first conversation is a quick one.

Standard building
As little as 24 hours with all details
Cafe, heritage or mostly residential
Longer, assessed individually
Lender requirement
Certificate with interested party

HOW IT WORKS

What happens between your enquiry and the certificate

Buying or refinancing a mixed-use building adds a deadline to a placement that is already harder than most. These are the four things that have to happen, and where the time goes.

Blank contract papers, certificate, keys, calculator and pen arranged on a conveyancer's desk

01

Details in, markets mapped

With the tenancy mix, construction and dates we know which markets will look at the building. Cafes, heritage and a high residential share each remove markets from the list before we start.

02

Appetite, case by case

Each underwriter weighs the tenants, the location, the construction, the documents and the valuation differently, so a building can sit inside one market's appetite and outside the next. Declines along the way are normal for the class; they're one insurer's view, not the market's verdict.

03

Bound, then the certificate

Once you accept terms and the insurer confirms, cover is bound from the date you need. The certificate of currency naming the lender is usually issued the same day, and the policy documents follow.

04

Paying for it

Pay the annual premium up front or fund it over monthly instalments. If you are settling a purchase, the instalment option keeps cash in the deal.

HAVE THESE READY

The eight things that make it fast

Every one of these is a question an underwriter will ask us. Having them ready when you enquire is what turns weeks into days.

The address, the settlement or refinance date, and the lender's name for the interested party
Floor areas of the commercial and residential parts, and the number of tenancies
What each commercial tenant does, the lease terms and the rent for every tenancy
Year built, and when the building was last rewired and replumbed
Wall, floor and roof construction, and any heritage listing
Fire protection and security on site
The building sum insured, ideally from a valuation or the contract of sale
Claims history, and the name of the current or previous insurer

REAL PLACEMENTS

Placed against a settlement or refinance date

Anonymised placements from our mixed-use book where a lender, a settlement or a transfer set the deadline.

Premiums and outcomes described are specific to each client and indicative only. Your own terms will depend on your circumstances and the insurer.

QUESTIONS

Settlement and Refinance - Frequently Asked Questions

With all the details in hand, as little as 24 hours. Usually it's 24 to 48 hours once we have everything, and in some cases we've pushed it through the same day. That isn't ideal, we'd rather have the time to map every market properly, but when settlement is on the line we can expedite it on our side. Buildings with a cafe, a heritage listing or a residential share above half can take longer because specialist markets assess them individually, so the earlier we have the date and the details, the better.
A certificate of currency showing the building sum insured, the period of cover and the lender named as interested party (sometimes called a mortgagee or noted interest). We issue it as soon as the policy is bound. If the lender has a minimum sum insured or specific wording requirements, send them to us with the enquiry so the policy is set up to satisfy them first time.
Yes. Premium funding spreads the annual premium over monthly instalments for a small charge, which suits owners settling a purchase with a lot of cash going out at once. We arrange it alongside the policy. See premium funding.
The insured has to be the entity that owns the building, written the way the lender and the trust deed describe it. Some markets require an ABN for the insured, which a bare trust or a new fund may not yet have, so tell us the ownership structure early. It's a paperwork question, not an appetite question, and we place trust-owned and super-fund-owned mixed-use buildings regularly.
No. Building insurance is personal to the insured and doesn't pass with the title. You need your own policy from the settlement date (in some states from the exchange of contracts, so check with your conveyancer). Do not assume the vendor's cover protects you for a single day after you own the building.
It happens: a building insured as a commercial property with the residence never declared, or as a home with the shop never declared. When you refinance, the lender's valuation often exposes it. Send us the current schedule and we'll tell you what is and isn't covered and re-place the building properly. The cafe-and-house placement on our cafe or restaurant downstairs page started exactly that way: fourteen years insured, residence never covered.
Modern mixed-use building at early evening with lit retail glazing and warm apartment windows

Settling or Refinancing a Mixed-Use Building?

Send us the date, the address and whatever you've from the list above. We'll map the markets around your deadline and can usually issue the certificate the day cover is bound.

Last updated: 03/09/2026

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