Reinstatement cost assessment for buildings insurance
A surveyor’s assessment of what it would cost to rebuild your home, or your whole block of flats, so the buildings insurance is set at the right figure and a claim is not cut short.
Who needs a reinstatement cost assessment?
Anyone who insures a building. The sum insured should be the cost of rebuilding it, which is often quite different from what it would sell for.
Homeowners
Your buildings insurance should cover the full cost of rebuilding, not the sale price. A figure that is too low can see a claim scaled down.
Landlords
One house or a portfolio. Each property is costed on its own size and construction, rather than on an online estimate.
Blocks of flats
Freeholders, residents’ management companies and managing agents insure the whole building, usually because the lease requires it. The assessment covers the block and its common parts.
Older, listed or unusual homes
Online calculators are not designed for listed buildings, non-standard construction or very large homes. A surveyor’s assessment is.
What goes into a rebuild figure
Clearing the site
Demolishing what is left and making the site safe before rebuilding can start.
Rebuilding like for like
The same size and standard of building, including garages, outbuildings and boundary walls, put back to meet the building regulations that apply now.
The fees a rebuild needs
Architects, surveyors, engineers, building control and planning, which a rebuild cannot happen without.
The figure leaves out the land, which is not destroyed, and your contents, which a contents policy covers.
Too low a figure can shrink every claim
Many buildings policies apply a rule called average. If the home is insured for less than it would cost to rebuild, a claim can be paid in the same proportion, even a small one that has nothing to do with a total loss.
Illustrative figures, not a real instruction. Whether average applies, and how, depends on your policy wording. Check it, or ask your broker.
How the figure is built up
The figure is the cost of putting the building back, not of buying it: the floor area, measured on site or from plans, times a current building cost for that type of construction, plus clearing the site and the fees a rebuild needs.
What is a reinstatement cost assessment?
A reinstatement cost assessment is a surveyor’s estimate of what it would cost to rebuild a property from scratch if it were destroyed, for buildings insurance. It covers demolition and site clearance, rebuilding to the same size and standard under current regulations, and the professional and statutory fees involved, following RICS guidance and current building cost data such as the RICS Building Cost Information Service (BCIS). It is not the property’s market value: it leaves out the land, and it can be higher or lower than the sale price.
- Who asks for one
- Homeowners and landlords, and for blocks of flats the freeholder, the residents’ management company or the managing agent.
- What you get
- A report with the rebuild figure, the floor areas and the basis it was worked out on.
- What it is not
- It is not a market valuation, and it is not a survey of the building’s condition.
- How often
- Commonly every three years, with the figure index-linked in between, and again after an extension or major alterations.
How much does a reinstatement cost assessment cost?
Your fixed price is confirmed in writing before you instruct us. For a block of flats, tell us the number of flats and storeys so it can be quoted.
What moves the price
- The size and type of building
- A single house is quicker to measure and cost than a block of flats, where every floor and the common parts are included.
- Site visit or desktop
- Most assessments are measured on site. For some standard houses a desktop assessment, from plans, records and photographs, is enough and costs less.
- How it is built
- Listed buildings, period features and non-standard construction need more research into what it would cost to put them back.
What the fee covers
- Measurement, on site or from plans and records
- The building cost research
- A report with the figure and its basis
- VAT
From enquiry to report, without the chasing.
Tell us the property
Address and type, or for a block of flats the number of flats and storeys.
Get a fixed price in writing
A firm figure within the hour in office hours. Not an estimate, not a range.
Confirm and sign
We send the terms of engagement to review and sign electronically.
Site visit or desktop
Most assessments are measured on site, and we arrange access. For some standard houses a desktop assessment is enough; we say which at the start.
The costing
The floor area is costed at current building rates for that construction, then demolition and fees are added.
Your report, and answers
You get the report, and anything in it you want explaining, we explain.
Questions we get asked.
How do I work out the rebuild cost of my house?
For many standard houses, the free online calculator from the RICS Building Cost Information Service gives a reasonable guide: you need the floor area, the type of house and roughly when it was built. It is not designed for listed buildings, non-standard construction, very large or unusual homes, or blocks of flats, and it relies on you measuring correctly. A surveyor’s assessment accounts for how the building is actually built.
Why is the rebuild cost different from the market value?
Market value includes the land and reflects demand in the area. The rebuild cost is only the building work and the fees, so it can be higher or lower than the sale price.
What happens if my sum insured is too low?
Many policies apply average: if you are insured for less than the rebuild cost, a claim can be reduced in the same proportion, even a small one. Check your policy wording.
How often should it be updated?
Commonly every three years, with the figure index-linked in between, and again after an extension, a conversion or major alterations.
Do you assess blocks of flats?
Yes. The assessment covers the building and its common parts and gives a figure for the whole block, for the freeholder, the residents’ management company or the managing agent.
Does it include my contents?
No. The figure is for the building only. Contents are covered by a contents policy.
Can I be over-insured?
Yes. Insuring for well over the rebuild cost means paying a higher premium for cover a claim could never use. The aim is the right figure, not the highest.
Can I use the rebuild figure in my mortgage valuation?
It is a guide, but it is usually a quick estimate made for the lender rather than a measured assessment, and it may be years old. It is a reasonable starting point, not a substitute.
Does the surveyor need to visit?
Usually, to measure the building and see how it is built. For some standard houses a desktop assessment from plans, records and photographs is enough, and no visit is needed. We tell you which when we quote.
Reinstatement cost assessment near you.
Every area below is staffed by RICS surveyors who work there. If we cannot cover you properly, this site will say so rather than take the booking.
Other valuations and surveys
RICS Home Survey — Level 2
A conventional house or flat, built this century or last, in reasonable order
RICS Home Survey — Level 3
Older, larger, altered or extended, or anything already showing signs of movement or damp
RICS Residential Valuation
You need a figure rather than a condition report, for probate, Help to Buy or shared ownership
Insured for the right figure?
A firm price in writing, a local RICS surveyor, and a rebuild figure your insurance can rely on.
Get your fixed quote →