Home insurance QA needed?

Parazard2 · Sunday at 4:14 PM

I missed the fact that my insurer increased the rebuild value of my home by 40% last year significantly increasing my premium of course. I think they overdid it but I am keen to make sure to insure for a realistic rebuild cost. I'm considering getting a quantity surveyor to give an estimate. My house is a terraced period house with an extension. Is it ott? I don't want to be throwing money away but equally I don't know that the generic estimates on the QAs site would give an accurate estimate in my case. Any rough idea as to how much a QA would charge for this? TIA

Freelance · Sunday at 4:30 PM

The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland has a guide to rebuilding costs:

A Guide to Calculating House Rebuilding Costs for Insurance Purposes

This is intended to give an indication of the minimum cost of rebuilding. They suggest that you take the following into account when referring to this (note points 2 and 3 in particular)

The figures in the table are a MINIMUM base cost guide for your house insurance. Homeowners may choose to add to this depending on their fittings.

The figures assume a standard quality specification with normal foundations, timber frame or brick/block walls, cladding, slate/concrete tiled roof, concrete ground floor and timber first floor, softwood flush doors and double-glazed windows, painted plaster to walls, plastered ceilings, and standard electrics. Heating and thermal requirements to include insulation, minimum air-tight construction, humidity wall vents, and heat pump to latest BER ratings.

The sum insured should be increased to allow for better-than-average kitchen fittings, built-in wardrobes, finishes and any other items not normally included in an estate-type house.

House contents are not covered by the figures such as carpets, curtains, furniture, etc. These are often insured separately under the contents portion of the insurance.

No allowance has been made for the cost of outbuildings (e.g. garage, sheds, etc.), these should be added with a best estimate cost into the calculator. If you select rebuilding costs including a garage the prices estimated are €22,880 for a single attached garage and €40,928 for a double attached garage, on average.

The figures do allow for a concrete path around the house, for driveway and re-grassing and fencing.

The figures allow for demolition costs, professional fees incurred in reinstatement, and VAT at 13.5% on building costs and 23% on Professional Fees.

Professional fees have been calculated to cover the following services:

Chartered Building Surveyor or Architect/Engineer: prepare working drawings and specifications and administer the building contract.

Chartered Quantity Surveyor: invite and examine tenders, process payments, and agree on final account.

Engineer: advice on structural issues.

Fees associated with the certification of the house under the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014.

The above will give you an indication. You are free to increase the figure if it reassures you. Personally I increase rebuild figure shown until it approaches the market value to cover myself. The impact on premium isn't huge.

Alternatively you could as you suggest get a quote from a QA for providing you with a cost based on a full survey.

Parazard2 · Sunday at 4:39 PM

Yes thank you. That's what I meant: I'm not sure whether it's wise or overkill to get a QA to do a survey. It's a period property so a bit unusual in many ways and I wonder if their estimate would be quite far off the actual costs.

Monbretia · Sunday at 4:49 PM

Would a bog standard auctioneers valuation do? That is what is used to determine the insurance value for mortgages so should be an acceptable estimate. You'd probably have to ask them to include the insurance value, they automatically do for mortgage valuations but not sure if it's on regular ones.

Des Pondent · Sunday at 5:41 PM

Monbretia said:
Would a bog standard auctioneers valuation do?

Might be different for period homes, but often there is a big difference between a home’s value and its rebuild cost.
My standard home’s value is probably 40% more than its rebuild cost. No point in paying for insurance on its value when they will only payout on its rebuild cost.

ClubMan · Sunday at 5:44 PM

Monbretia said:
Would a bog standard auctioneers valuation do?

Such a valuation would normally be an estimate of the market value of the property - not of the reinstatement cost.

Corola · Sunday at 5:55 PM

An auctioneers valuation report includes the market value and reinstatement cost.

ClubMan · Sunday at 6:11 PM

Corola said:
An auctioneers valuation report includes the market value and reinstatement cost.

I've had several such valuations done and they never mentioned a reinstatement cost.

Monbretia · Sunday at 9:33 PM

Valuations done by auctioneers for mortgages always have insurance amount on them so must be easy thing to include it if required.

ClubMan · Sunday at 9:37 PM

I've had valuations done for probate, separation, divorce, and just selling and all of them were market values only and no reinstatement cost.

mathepac · Sunday at 9:54 PM

Reinstatement costs should never include the value of the site and thus should be much lower than valuations for mortgages, probate, etc that include site value.

Leo · Monday at 10:43 AM

mathepac said:
Reinstatement costs should never include the value of the site and thus should be much lower than valuations for mortgages

Reinstatement cost of my home would be higher than the value. We had to insure for significantly more than we paid for it.

Parazard2 said:
My house is a terraced period house with an extension. Is it ott?

I don't think it's OTT. The SCSI figures are intended to represent typical modern estate build houses. Yours will likely deviate significantly from that and perhaps may entail further complications. As a once off it may well be money well spent, if it's estimated that costs would be 20% above the norm, you could use that figure as a guide for future years without the need for further surveys.

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