Any Charter Surveyors (RICS) out there?

D

DXX

I have no opinion other than yours
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It‘s Buildings and Contents Insurance renewal time.
With the buildings insurance I’ve previously taken a stab in the dark for the re-build value and it’s never been challenged, this year several insurers are challenging where I got the value from.
I’ve tried the online BCIS Calculator and that doesn‘t work as the building was built circa 1600 and the limit on the Calculator is 1720, plus it is not a ‘standard’ building.
So I realise that I need to hire the services of a RICS Chartered Surveyor to produce a professional Rebuilding Cost Assessment.
The questions are;
1. What’s the typical cost of a RICS Chartered Surveyor to produce a Rebuilding Cost Assessment?
2. Are there any pitfalls / clauses that I need to be aware of with these reports?
Thanks in advance
 
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Had this a few years ago , my working was market value of the property less the value of the plot . Obviously demo costs need factoring inalso.
 
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Dave Mac said:
Had this a few years ago , my working was market value of the property less the value of the plot . Obviously demo costs need factoring inalso.
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That’s what I used before but not acceptable according to insurance companies. I can see their point.
Demolition and disposal seems to left out of the RICS survey from what I have read so far, homeowners responsibility?!
 
The BCIS won’t go that far back, and given the age of the property, it’s probably outside the realms of a general practice Chartered Surveyor. It’s more like a specialist building surveyor really, although this will be quite expensive. Most of the corporate firms won’t do this so it’d be a local specialist firm.

Alternatively, many large insurance companies don’t now bother asking for reinstatement figures as they just put it on their block policy.
 
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Spaghetti said:
The BCIS won’t go that far back, and given the age of the property, it’s probably outside the realms of a general practice Chartered Surveyor. It’s more like a specialist building surveyor really, although this will be quite expensive. Most of the corporate firms won’t do this so it’d be a local specialist firm.

Alternatively, many large insurance companies don’t now bother asking for reinstatement figures as they just put it on their block policy.
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The company that was giving me the most grief was Churchill, the standard policy I was looking to buy was set at £1M so well within what I valued.
Interesting how insurance rules work though.
Example if you value your rebuild costs at say 300K, you might have a standard policy that covers up to 1M so you’d think that you’re well covered.
From what I read if your house was destroyed and the insurance company assessor valued it at say 600K rebuild you would only get 300K despite the 1M policy.
 
DXX said:
The company that was giving me the most grief was Churchill, the standard policy I was looking to buy was set at £1M so well within what I valued.
Interesting how insurance rules work though.
Example if you value your rebuild costs at say 300K, you might have a standard policy that covers up to 1M so you’d think that you’re well covered.
From what I read if your house was destroyed and the insurance company assessor valued it at say 600K rebuild you would only get 300K despite the 1M policy.
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Remember the days when providing a few builders’ estimates on rebuild cost was sufficient!
 
JOG said:
Remember the days when providing a few builders’ estimates on rebuild cost was sufficient!
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I was looking at this as well https://www.rics.org/uk/products/data-products/insurance/bcis-house-rebuilding-cost-index/
I don’t imagine there are many contractors looking at that document, well above inflation.
I’ve got a local RICS surveyor in mind, I just know it’s going to cost me £500 quid for him to take his tape measure out of the boot plus the rest.
I fail to see how a surveyor can closely estimate how much an independent contractor will decide to charge to rebuild a house.

But if there’s anybody out there who actually does it for a living……enlighten me.
 
In my pre-retirement days I was a Chartered Builder (not any more as I stopped paying the fees) I calculated the rebuild cost of my house and sent the workings to the insurance company and asked them to confirm that this was acceptable to them. I received no answer but made sure that I retained a record of my correspondence. The following year I decided to avoid any drama by choosing a company that did not require me to provide proof of rebuilding cost.
If this still isn't an acceptable course of action, calculations for rebuilding can be arrived at by using a square metre basic price of say £2,500 per metre squared which should be adequate for a reasonably high quality rebuild. Market value has no relevance to rebuilding cost. The thing to remember is that any rebuilding cost must also include all the consultants fees. (Architect, Structural Engineer and Quantity Surveyor.) It may also need to cover the cost of temporary accommodation for yourself but without a bit of research I can't be absolutely sure about this
Any RICS registered surveyor should be willing to provide a budget estimate for nominal fee. If you wish I can provide a recommendation of a surveyor who I suspect would be able to provide the figures without visiting the property if he had a plan of the building and a few photographs. But in my view it is easier to choose an insurance company that does not require you to put yourself at risk of undervaluing.
 
DXX said:
It‘s Buildings and Contents Insurance renewal time.
With the buildings insurance I’ve previously taken a stab in the dark for the re-build value and it’s never been challenged, this year several insurers are challenging where I got the value from.
I’ve tried the online BCIS Calculator and that doesn‘t work as the building was built circa 1600 and the limit on the Calculator is 1720, plus it is not a ‘standard’ building.
So I realise that I need to hire the services of a RICS Chartered Surveyor to produce a professional Rebuilding Cost Assessment.
The questions are;
1. What’s the typical cost of a RICS Chartered Surveyor to produce a Rebuilding Cost Assessment?
2. Are there any pitfalls / clauses that I need to be aware of with these reports?
Thanks in advance
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£1200 ish.
 
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McFlude said:
In my pre-retirement days I was a Chartered Builder (not any more as I stopped paying the fees) I calculated the rebuild cost of my house and sent the workings to the insurance company and asked them to confirm that this was acceptable to them. I received no answer but made sure that I retained a record of my correspondence. The following year I decided to avoid any drama by choosing a company that did not require me to provide proof of rebuilding cost.
If this still isn't an acceptable course of action, calculations for rebuilding can be arrived at by using a square metre basic price of say £2,500 per metre squared which should be adequate for a reasonably high quality rebuild. Market value has no relevance to rebuilding cost. The thing to remember is that any rebuilding cost must also include all the consultants fees. (Architect, Structural Engineer and Quantity Surveyor.) It may also need to cover the cost of temporary accommodation for yourself but without a bit of research I can't be absolutely sure about this
Any RICS registered surveyor should be willing to provide a budget estimate for nominal fee. If you wish I can provide a recommendation of a surveyor who I suspect would be able to provide the figures without visiting the property if he had a plan of the building and a few photographs. But in my view it is easier to choose an insurance company that does not require you to put yourself at risk of undervaluing.
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This isn’t really a straightforward building, it’s a water mill from circa 1600 with an adjoining converted stable making one single dwelling. Also in a conservation area. From what I’ve read today it’s always the owners responsibility regardless of insurer to accurately value the insured property. If it’s not accurate it’s not unknown for the insurer to void the policy in the event of a claim.
Thanks for the insight.
 
The result of the re-build cost survey was a bit of a shocker. The re-build cost is almost double the market value of the property.
This hiked up my insurance premium but at least I’m covered.
 
DXX said:
The result of the re-build cost survey was a bit of a shocker. The re-build cost is almost double the market value of the property.
This hiked up my insurance premium but at least I’m covered.
Click to expand...
Jeez wept
 
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