Replacement cost vs appraised value.
During construction of a single-family house, the home builder will carry insurance for builders’ risk and general liability. Historically, most homeowners don’t insure their properties for the amount needed to rebuild them, but rather the purchase price, or the appraised amount, or what the next door neighbor’s home sold for last month.
Insurance sources estimate 64% of all homes in the United States are under insured.
Good news since it was 73% not too long ago. However, determining that right replacement value of a home has always been tricky. It isn’t the market value, as that includes the land. Construction costs, are certainly part of the equation, but vary by location even within the same city. And most importantly, reconstruction is more expensive than new construction.
Reconstruction means at least part of a home is in ruins or ashes, and a builder has to work with both insurance adjusters and emotional homeowners. Add to this that in most cases, the determination of replacement value is left to the homeowner or sometimes the homeowner and insurance agent.
No one ever likes losing business, but at Rekerdres Insurance I would rather lose business to the agent on the corner who is more interested in meeting the “budget” than in protecting the customer against a future loss and for the full replacement value.
This state of under-insuring a home is largely due to lack of knowledge by homeowners coupled with the desire for many agents and companies to ignore proper coverage limits in favor of gaining the business at the potential expense of the homeowner. Besides you signed the application.
Another cause is the insurance industry’s reliance on two appraisal methods that lack precision. One, the square-foot method, considers the total area of the building, factors in the type and quality of the exterior walls, and comes up with an average national cost.
We believe in adequate insurance
At Rekerdres Insurance Agency we hope you never experience a devastating loss but for those of our clients which have – they were thankful that they were adequately insured when it came time to rebuild.
For our clients with high-valued properties, insuring to value is critical.
Additional factors to consider are fees charged by decorators, landscape designers, and lighting and sound consultants. Not to mention exotic woods, paint techniques, and specialized materials used in the construction. It is for this reason that Rekerdres Insurance Agency partnered with Chubb Insurance Group to be our preferred carrier. Chubb is one of only a few insurers to offer guaranteed replacement coverage with no cap. And with over 230 appraisers worldwide who will visit and appraise your home inside and out providing us with a written report detailing your full reconstruction costs. These appraisers have backgrounds in historic preservation, architecture, interior design, construction, art history and market valuations.
Older homes have higher insurance costs and are more expensive to rebuild, but done properly should include the cost to replace with historic era hardware, moldings, or glass, as well as the cost to upgrade electrical and plumbing systems to modern day codes. Companies such as Chubb automatically include these upgrades in coverage while with other companies it must be requested by the homeowner and endorsed onto your homeowner’s policy.
At Rekerdres Insurance Agency we strive to make this available to all clients in any home and certainly homes 20 years or older. Call us! 214-265-1221
Each year, homeowners spend some $200 billion on additions, remodeling and maintenance, but they usually don’t think about informing their insurance agents or companies. Several years ago Rekerdres Insurance Agency implemented a procedure of sending a renewal questionnaire 60-90 days prior to the renewal on each and every policy. This allows are clients to remember changes that have been made to their property allowing us to maintain the high level of customer satisfaction. Rekerdres Insurance Agency – Where customers come for the price but stay for the service.