Buildings Insurance rebuild values

Happychappy

Hi

I am looking for anyone with knowledge of buildings insurance,or loss adjusting? I had a claim which the Insurance has just informed me has been agreed.....however, they state the Loss Adjuster has averaged the claim due to the property being under-insured? The property on buildings only insurance is for £100k

The property is a bungalow with a floor measurement (external) of 69 sq metres, I have looked at the calculator on the ABI website and they give the rebuild insurance value for a bungalow of this age, location and measurements as £72036.

I have a conservatory and a stand alone single garage, the conservatory cost £10k six years ago. Single brick garage with up and over door Value ? Possibly £5k to £8k ?

I have spoken to the lose adjuster who says the entire property of fencing, path and drive makes the total of the the rebuild value as £161k ?

The property was valued in 2009 at £140k, not that valuations for sale are the same as a buildings rebuild, no contents.

I am at a loss as to how to work out their costings? I have asked for a full explanation as clearly I am going to be around £13k out of pocket, that is i they pay the full value of the claim less the 39% they say it it undervalued by.

Why have a calculator for rebuilds on the Association of British Insurers, when clearly the loss adjusters have their own ways of working? anyone had similar experience, I do not feel the property is under insured and the ABI on calculator backs this up.

FlameCloud

Are you sure the area is only 69m2? Is this taken from internal room dimensions or externally, along the brickwork?

Some insurance companies have instructed their own surveyors to provide rebuilding costs (on a per m2 basis). You need to allow something for driveways paths, walls etc as these can add up quickly. A single garage would be hard to come by for £5K, I would budget it as nearly £10K, maybe more depending on the foundations.

kingstreet

When the surveyor valued the property in 2009, did he not set the rebuild figure for your buildings insurance?

Happychappy

Hi

The property was valued in 2009 for probate, this was done through three estate agents. My query really is how a property can be "valued" as a rebuild on the association of British insurers own web site at £72k but yet all the ancillary costs, such as garage, conservatory, fences and paths make up a further £90k ? the conservatory would be £10k max, I put the fences up for around £300, which leaves the asphalt garden path, driveway and garage ? surely this could come from the £28k left out of the £100k. Not that the loss adjuster stepped out into the garden, saw or inspected the garage as it was January and he arrived at 6pm, but that's another matter

I shall wait to see what the loss adjuster who quite clearly works for the insurers, what they have to say, and then appeal through the insurance companies complaints procedure and then to the Ombudsman, and by then another couple of years will have passed, and my legal fee's for solicitors will have doubled the value of the claim.

dacouch

How much are you claiming for ?

moonrakerz

Get another opinion ?

"Rebuild costs are NOT the same as a property's market value or your council tax band's valuation. In fact, market value is often higher than the rebuild costs because the market value of your property includes the land on which it sits and land accounts for roughly one-third of the market value. Rebuild costs do not include the value of the land because often when a building is destroyed the land is unaffected and so can be rebuilt upon."