Landlord insurance

bjbyorkshire

I'm confused as have had a few different opinions expressed on how to arrive at a valuation for re-building a small 3 bedroom mid terrace house for Landlord insurance. Some say market value less the cost of the land and others say market value but add a bit on as you will have the land to clear if it was a major event like a gas explosion. If I undervalue and go with a lower figure then if there is a claim made for any other small thing the insurers can say that they won't pay out full replacement cost as the property is undervalued.

Its a real dilemma, any other ideas how to arrive at a valuation for Landlord insurance please?

Thanks

Fire_Fox

Market value has no direct relationship to the cost of rebuilding. In some parts of the country it will cost much more to rebuild, in others much less, also depends on the type and construction of the property. Have you Googled or run an advanced search on the Insurance board?
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/home-insurance
http://abi.bcis.co.uk/
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=21

bjbyorkshire

I looked at all the web advice I could find Firefox and phoned rather than just did Landlord insurance on the internet but they all asked me how much I would estimate the rebuild cost at. I had told them what the house walls were made from and what the roof was, the year it was built, the postcode etc. I asked a local builder what he would expect the re build costs to be as he had done a bit of work on the roof and I asked several other people who I knew were Landlords how they arrived at a re build figure and got different answers from them all so I just had to go with my gut feeling which ended up being approx market value as I didnt want to be under insured and yes, I probably am paying over the odds but I feel that I can at least sleep at night in the knowledge that I am not under insured. The actual cost of the insurance wasn't all that much different for a 30-40k price difference in re build valu so not too much to pay out really.

Thanks for the pointers where to look.

G_M

Market value is NO guide to re-build cost. Ignore it.

The fact that the property is let, and you seek landlord's insurance, is also irrelevant.#
The re-build cost depends on the materials required, the labour costs, the professional fees (architects/surveyors) and the part of the country (which can affect labour costs.

Check the links provided by Fire Fox above.

The best sources of re-build cost are:

* your mortgage lender, (if you have one) who will have instructed a surveyor who will have provided a re-build value
* the BCIS calculator
* or your own surveyor who will, for a fee, tell you the re-build cost.

Some insurers, however, do not require more than a VERY rough estimate, and will provide either unlimited cover, or cover up to, say, £500K.

bjbyorkshire

Thanks for the reply, I have now got Landlord insurance and hope that I have arrived at a sensible figure taking into account all the advice sought.

Many thanks to all who have helped with my recent questions re our daughters house. We have tennants installed for 6 months and sincerely hope that the hastle of the last 8 months are now behind us. They do say that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger but the death of our daughter and the subsequent dealings with tax/mortgages/sorting out all her affairs/clearing out her personal effects/letting the house/organising her funeral and all that this entails have given me no time to grieve and my dear hubby has had a breakdown in the midst of all of this. I am not sure if I am stronger from the experience but I do feel that I have learned a heck of a lot of stuff that I never expected to have to deal with and hope that I have done things as well as I possibly can.

This forum has been a great help to me so thanks again.
bjbyorkshire