When applying for home insurance, (specifically the building insurance bit) you’ll be asked the total buildings value to be covered. Since most of us aren’t builders or surveyors how can we possibly know? In truth, many of us will hazard a guess, and probably state the value of the house when the property was purchased.
However, you don’t need to insure your home for the value which you bought it for. The purchase price included the plot of land underneath which your property is built. In the event of a catastrophic fire resulting in a full rebuild, you’ll only need to pay for the cost to rebuild the house, not buy the land again.
The BCIS Calculator
Help is at hand. The Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) have made an online calculator to work out the cost of a rebuild. You can use this calculator when you next renew your home insurance to accurately work out the rebuild cost of your property, and then use the calculated value for the insurance quote. You may find you’ve been PayingTooMuch.com for ages!
BREAKING NEWS
PayingTooMuch.com have incorporated the BCIS calculator into the Home Insurance quotation tool. Simply enter the standard details about your property, and the estimated rebuild cost will be calculated and automatically filled in for you. Of course, you can increase or decease the value if you wish.
An Example
We found a three bedroom end of terrace house in Coventry for sale for £289,950. Estimating a floor area of 120m2 and a build year of 1950, using the BCIS calculator the estimated rebuilding cost for a medium quality build is £155,000. That’s just over half the cost of the property to buy. A low quality rebuild cost was estimated at approximately £120k and a high quality one at approximately £190k.
So next time you come to renew your home insurance, run a quick calculation to see what the rebuild cost is, and use this amount for insurance. You may save yourself a few quid.
Buildings insurance covers the bricks and mortar of your home - the physical structure of the building only. To cover the possessions inside, you’ll need to add contents insurance.
If you have any questions, or wish to discuss home insurance further, give our team a call on 01243 219333.
