BtL and Building insurance. How much to insure for?

Andrea15

Pathetic, I know but in all these years I have never really thought about it.

I have some flats that I rent out and this year I noticed that the amount they are insured for may (perhaps, who knows...) be too little.

How do I know what a reasonable figure for rebuilding purposes is? I went to this calculator

https://abi.bcis.co.uk/

And what comes out is huge. I have bog standard flats in very ordinary tenements and can hardly believe the rebuilding cost could be 3-400k (for ONE flat). A flat I have in a house that has been split up came at 700k!!

I went back to the insurer and to have these valuations would cost £££££, but it seems like money down the drain.

They all seem like figures plucked out this air, starting with the valuation when the flat was first bought.

My house (pretty normal) is insured for £1m, but that's standard with my insurer and I didn't ask for it. I would be surprised if my house cost £200 if you were to build it from scratch.

What do people do?

PS

I am in Scotland, so we only have freeholds.

Largs

I've just sold my 2 bed tenement in Glasgow.

The home report done March this year gave rebuilding costs of £350,000 versus valuation of £110,000.

I have noticed when doing home insurance quotes that although they ask rebuild cost the policy has always stated unlimited cover. I move my insurance every year and haven't come across an insurer who uses my figure.

MyRealNameToo

Does RICS quote for a single flat rather than the block?

Many peoples homes would cost far more to rebuild at commercial rates than they are worth so wouldnt instantly dismiss the value. You could target a "bedroom rated" policy which doesnt ask the rebuild value but instead gives a fixed high limit. Just make sure it's above whatever you were told because these policies do still have an averaging clause so claims can be reduced if you are underinsured.

user1977

Rebuilding a sandstone tenement on the same site (while also complying with current building regs) is going to cost much more than building a modern block on a vacant site.