The importance of ensuring that your property is insured for the correct amount should not be underestimated. Without a reinstatement survey being conducted by a chartered surveyor in the last 3 years, you run the risk of being under insured and the condition of ‘average’ being applied by insurers in the event of a claim.
This means that the percentage of under insurance would be deducted from your claims settlement by the insurer, resulting in the total cost of your claim being reduced by the percentage that was under insured. This potentially could run into hundreds of thousands of pounds. Would you be able to cover the deficit in such an incident? Conversely, you may also be over insuring and paying more in insurance costs than you need to.
A common misconception is that the purchase price of a building is the amount on which insurance should be calculated, however, it is the reinstatement cost of the building that represents the building sum insured on your insurance policy.
Buildings also include other permanent structures aside from the main building - pavements, paths, carparks, gates and fences - to name a few, which should all be contained within in the building sum insured figure. Additional costs of reinstating a building also need to be factored in such as surveyors, architects, legal fees, debris removal and site clearance.
For the majority of properties, reinstatement assessments can be carried out on a desktop survey basis meaning that no one has to attend your property. This is a quick turnaround with a full report usually being received within seven days. Your policy can then be adjusted accordingly to the correct sum insured recommended in the report. For ornate, historical, larger or certain grade listed properties we are also able to provide a chartered surveyor to carry out an onsite assessment.
QCG can arrange a desktop or onsite reinstatement assessments on your behalf. For more information or request a quote click here or email riskcontrol@qcaregroup.co.uk
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