Residential

What is the rebuild cost of my house?

18th January 202231st January 2022 Lorna Harrington

The cost to rebuild your house for insurance purposes is based on your house being rebuilt from scratch.

The rebuild cost of your house for insurance purposes is based on your house being rebuilt from scratch.

Your rebuild cost differs to the market value. It’s important to make sure this figure is accurate to avoid being over insured or worse, underinsured.

If you’ve recently bought your home, the rebuild cost should be on your mortgage valuation or deeds.

What’s included in the rebuild cost?

Your rebuild cost should include any professional fees associated with rebuilding, the cost of clearing the site, delivering new materials and if necessary storing them at the site.

As well as:

The structure of the home
Fixtures and fittings e.g., kitchens, bathrooms
Oil & gas tanks and cesspits
Permanent swimming pools
Tennis hard courts
Walls, gates, fences and hedges
Terraces and patios
Drives and paths
Car ports and garages
Sheds, greenhouses, summer houses and other buildings

How do I calculate the rebuild cost of my house?

If you own a standard, brick-built home, there are two ways to calculate your rebuild cost:

Use the Building Cost Information Service’s house rebuilding cost calculator
Hire a chartered surveyor from a RICS regulated firm to carry out a professional assessment

If your home is:

A listed building
Made of stone
Difficult to reach
Eco-friendly
Constructed before WWII
Altered
Used for a different purpose
Has extensive external features or outbuildings
Updated with expensive fixtures and fittings

Or, if 10 years have passed since your property has had a professional building insurance valuation, it’s important to arrange a Reinstatement Cost Assessment (a professional rebuild valuation) from a RICS regulated firm.

Is my building listed?

To find out if you live in a listed building, go to the relevant website for your country:

Historic England (England)
Historic Environment Scotland (Scotland)
Cadw (Wales)
Department for Communities (Northern Ireland)

Next steps

Contact us to discuss your property and whether you would require a Reinstatement Cost Assessment
Review the rebuild cost of your home each time you renew your insurance
Update your rebuild cost any time you make changes to your property or its use
Choose a Major Review on year 3 to keep your valuation accurate

Greenhouses & Property Insurance

22nd April 20214th February 2022 Anna Latham

Gardening and greenhouses have become second homes to many during this pandemic, getting our hands dirty and growing our own produce.

Just as you protect your home, protecting your outbuildings and greenhouses is also important – ensuring that your property insurance policy will react in the way you’d expect, and your property can be reinstated.

Outbuildings are usually included in the rebuild value of an insurance policy and can make quite a difference. If a claim was made, and outbuildings were not accounted for, this could affect the settlement of a valid claim.
The cost to build a greenhouse can vary drastically, and the cost to rebuild it could differ to that, therefore it is imperative that your greenhouse is valued correctly.

Considerations for calculating the property insurance rebuild cost of a greenhouse:

Is it built on foundations?
Is the structure listed or does it have historical relevance?
Where is the greenhouse situated?
Any boundary or property walls incorporated?
What materials have been used?

Commercial Outbuildings & Greenhouses

Commercial greenhouses are different to your contemporary garden greenhouse, prices are more drastically affected by the construction materials and environmental controls required but more the area they cover and the additions that would come with having to rebuild.

Greenhouse property insurance rebuild valuation rates

Valuations for greenhouses are based on the meterage of materials used, for example m2 of glass, metal structure and bricks.

Rates can range from £214 per m2 for a simple standard aluminium including the base, to upwards of £3,300 per m2 for a bespoke ornate timber brick-based structure.

Greenhouse rebuild valuation examples

We surveyed a commercial greenhouse which covered an area of 167m2 and with a rate of £1,650/m2, based on the factors mentioned above, a total of £363,094 before VAT was applied.

In comparison, the rate per m2 for a much smaller structure, can be significantly higher due to the fact there is no economy of scale.

Greenhouses & property insurance: Get a professional & reliable building insurance valuation

Here at BCH, we visit and value commercial and residential properties across the country and have the pleasure of visiting some of the most stunning properties with exquisite structures within the property’s boundaries. Valuing such structures, including greenhouses, is part of what our surveyors do.

Our expert team of surveyors follow the same methodology to ensure all valuations and Reinstatement Cost Assessments (RCAs) are comparable. We consider the types of materials, labour and additional fees that will be incurred, location factors and timings to ensure an accurate value is provided for insurance purposes.

This does not mean we have a one size fits all approach, each assessment is unique. All our property valuations are collated and can be used as references for future opportunities. Our tailored rates are established and continually reviewed.
From the more basic A frame to Victorian and bespoke greenhouses, from companies including Hartley Botanic and Alitex, BCH will have seen it and be able to provide an accurate valuation within our surveys.

For help with establishing the rebuild cost of your property including outbuildings and greenhouses, please contact us on 01455 293510 or email info@bch.uk.com.

Non-standard buildings insurance valuations

30th March 20214th February 2022 Lorna Harrington

Due to their unique nature, non-standard buildings insurance valuations can be much more complicated to establish – making it difficult to get the correct buildings insurance cover.

Non-standard buildings are typically older and constructed with more expensive or unique materials.
As well as the construction materials, skilled labour and the location play a big part in determining the correct rebuild value and adequate buildings insurance cover.

Examples of non-standard residential properties:

Thatched properties: These can be expensive to repair, and can suffer extensive fire damage
Listed buildings: Most are over 100 years old and can be expensive to repair using traditional materials and methods
Larger properties: Homes insured for a value over £1M, or with more than six bedrooms
Unusual construction properties: This includes steel or timber framed buildings, because they can be expensive to repair

Buildings insurance for residential property can be provided in different ways depending on the type of building:

Bedroom rated insurance: Some buildings insurance providers will base how much cover you need on the number of bedrooms you have. For example, if you have a two-bedroom house, they may give you up to £250,000 of buildings insurance cover, or £350,000 if you have a four-bedroom house.
Blanket cover: Some insurers set a standard claim limit for their policies, regardless of how much your house would cost to rebuild. This is usually a high amount, for example £1 million, or even unlimited, so you know you should be covered for any repairs you need.
Rebuild cost: Some policies set the cover level at the cost of rebuilding your home from scratch if it was destroyed.

Rebuild cost-based buildings insurance & non-standard buildings insurance valuations

With a non-standard residential property, it is more likely that your chosen insurer will not provide cover on a bedroom rated or blanket basis, but rather a rebuild cost.

If your insurance policy is based on a rebuild cost, it’s imperative that the rebuild cost you provide when you take out the policy, is accurate and includes everything that is referred to within the insurers definition of ‘buildings’.

Examples of property features which contribute to the ‘buildings’ and rebuild cost:

The structure of the home
All fixtures and fittings e.g., kitchens, bathrooms
Oil & gas tanks and cesspits
Permanent swimming pools
Tennis hard courts
Walls, gates, fences and hedges
Terraces and patios
Drives and paths
Car ports and garages
Sheds, greenhouses, summer houses and other buildings

The rebuild cost is not the same as the market value, it’s the amount it would cost to completely rebuild your home if it was destroyed beyond repair. It includes the price of labour and materials.

This cost is usually different to your home’s sale price or market value. Very large, older buildings in a remote location may have a higher rebuild cost than their market value, whereas a small building, in a highly sort after, location will have a rebuild cost lower than its market value. Basing your policy on your home’s rebuild cost will prevent you from over-insuring and paying higher premiums than necessary.

The importance of a correct rebuild cost

While you want to ensure that you are not over-paying on your premium and therefore overinsured, you most certainly don’t want to be underinsured.

You shouldn’t try to make savings on your premium without checking the rebuild cost with an experienced building insurance surveyor.

Reinstatement Cost Assessment

The RICS recommend that a Reinstatement Cost Assessment is undertaken every 3 to 5 years to establish an accurate rebuild cost.

This involves an experienced building insurance surveyor visiting and assessing all aspects of the property to create a detailed report. The report will include the specific rebuild cost of your property, which you can then provide to obtain the correct buildings insurance cover. This will ensure that in the event of a valid claim, you receive the appropriate cost to repair or reinstate your property.

To find out about a Reinstatement Cost Assessment for your property, please call 01455 293 510 or email info@bch.uk.com.