1997: NSW Carr Labor government privatises mandatory home-building warranty insurance.

March 2001 : HIH collapses with $5 billion-plus debts.

September 2001: Terrorist attacks against the US cause crisis in the reinsurance industry.

October 2001: Changes to corporations regulations exempt home-building warranty insurance providers from disclosing financial details to government regulators.

July 2002: NSW and Victorian governments downgrade home-warranty insurance from first to last-resort cover.

August 2002: National inquiry finds systemic flaws in the home-building market: fickle insurers, "cowboy" builders and misinformed consumers.

September 2002: Dexta withdraws from the home-warranty insurance market, leaving Royal & Sun Alliance (later known as Vero) with virtual monopoly.

September 2003: NSW Government-commissioned inquiry finds almost 60 per cent of builders are operating without insurance, but warns that returning to a system whereby the government bears all the risks would be unsupportable.

October 2008: Senate Economics Committee inquiry into the mandatory last-resort home-warranty insurance scheme is scheduled to deliver its findings.