Building Insurance Valuations
Why engage a professional consultant?
Why should you engage a professional consultant to prepare a replacement valuation rather than attempt the estimate yourself or use a figure based on free advice from an associate or friend, or rely on an online home insurance calculator?
You need to be confident that the cover you take out is correct. It is false economy to try to save a few hundred dollars on professional fees if in so doing you put at risk hundreds of thousands or possibly millions of dollars worth of property.
Statistically, fire is the main risk against which you need to insure. However, floods and cyclones may also be a major risk – depending on where your property is located. Earthquakes, although infrequent in cities and towns within Australia can cause widespread destruction, as the earthquake in Newcastle and more recently in Christchurch demonstrated.
What does an insurance valuation cover?
The cost of the building is not the only cost which should be included in an insurance valuation report. The buildings are usually the main cost component, but there are other costs involved. These include the cost of professional fees, inflationary factors, meeting current building regulations, demolition and removal of debris and the cost of all work external to the building (such as paving, fences, pools and signage). In most states the legislation makes it mandatory that these costs are included in the replacement value of a strata building.
A Leary & Partners replacement insurance valuation report provides you with a brief description of the building structure, external work and major equipment at the date of inspection. It also includes photographs, a measure of the overall building areas and external works, and a summary of the costs which make up the valuation.
Leary & Partners can also prepare complete contents replacement insurance valuation reports for loose assets, together with asset register reports, for any type of building.
Replacement insurance valuations (or real property insurance valuations) for buildings and their contents require a high level understanding of construction processes and costs.
Why choose a quantity surveyor for one of these reports?
Quantity Surveyors are universally recognised as the professionals best qualified to estimate construction costs. As quantity surveyors, we are better qualified and trained to prepare these reports than other non-quantity surveying professionals associated with the building or property industry.
We specialise in replacement valuation reports for schemes where there is a building management statement/strata management statement in place. Click here to learn more.
Frequently Asked Questions
We are qualified quantity surveyors who have been providing accurate construction cost estimates for over 45 years.
An accurate insurance valuation will save you money if your insured amount is currently too high. Conversely if your current insured amount is too low you will not be adequately insured.
It provides you with a brief description of the building structure, external work and major equipment at the date of inspection. It also includes photographs, a measure of the overall building areas and a summary of the costs which make up the valuation.
The cost varies depending on location and the type of building. click here for a free quote.