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onebytemike: Anyone know which party is responsible to cover the inflationary costs of a rebuild when your insurance company takes years to act on a claim?
As many have seen, it's proving difficult to come up with an accurate value for today's market... And it would appear that we'll all need to allow for 3+ years of building cost increases on top of it all!/ We may as well get our heads around the fact there is no such thing as an accuarate figure. Don't stress it - getting reasonbaly close wil just have to do.
Also, if you've got an outstanding claim in the hundreds of thousands already, should you still be paying your full insurance premium?Thats me - and yes I am still paying my premiums. Saving my fight through the Ombusdsman for later though.
mattwnz:
There are some things, like rimu that would be expensive to replace, although rimu is now imported so not too hard to source. But there would be some things on your old house that would be far inferior to a new house, such as lack of EQ bracing to current standards, lack of insualtion up to current standards, double glazing etc. New wiring and plumbing, where old houses may be in need or replacement. Let alone all the deferred maintenance that is stored up in most homes.
Elpie: I hadn't realised how much insurance costs can vary around the country until going through this exercise. According to AMI, Palmerston North is one of the highest risks in the country and we have to pay accordingly. With 7 fault lines, being alongside the Wellington fault, being close enough to the central plateau to be affected by any major eruption, and the flow-on effects of the 2004 Manawatu floods, we are being stung hard.
Straw/camel's back. I'm finishing off the renovations then selling up and getting out.
StarBlazer: Okay, so it's time to face the financial music as my insurance renewal has just come through.
We have a 180m2 house in Lower Hutt and the premium has leapt up - like I guess for most people.
The question is the "valuation". AMI have proposed a rebuild cost of $454,000 - the online calculator comes out at $600,000 which is a big difference and will no doubt push up my premiums even further. I don't want to come up short on the valuation but then I don't want to seriously overpay on the premiums!
So I'd like to get a professional rebuild valuation.
Can anyone recommend someone in the Wellington/Lower Hutt region?
What are your thoughts?
mattwnz: Wasn't the whole reason for state owned insurance, to average out the risk across the entire country? It appears insurance companies have now changed the playing field, and people seem to be allowing them to do this.
mattwnz: Wasn't the whole reason for state owned insurance, to average out the risk across the entire country? It appears insurance companies have now changed the playing field, and people seem to be allowing them to do this.
minimoke: And I reckon it won’t be long before land won’t be insured by EQC.
mattwnz:minimoke: And I reckon it won’t be long before land won’t be insured by EQC.
I doubt we would see that happen, mainly because of banks high exposure to property in NZ. It would have the potential to cause property prices to plummet if people can't get insurance for their land. EQC is basically just the government, and the government are basically now fully funding it, as it has run out of money after the chch eqs's. The government relly has to protect the people , if the free market isn't doing it.
minimoke:
The only thing insurance companies have really changed is their desire to cap their risk exposure. Makes perfect sense to me. And we can expect to see larger gaps where we will be liable for the first part of the risk through larger excesses. And I reckon it won’t be long before land won’t be insured by EQC.
Procrastination eventually pays off.
StarBlazer: OK - So I went to see AMI to ask some questions - these are all based on the assumption of a total loss;
What happens if I insure at the lowest amount - which happens to be the estimate from AMI?
They send round they assessor, contact a building company and come back with a figure. If that figure is more than the sum insured then I have the option to either put my own money on the table or have the house built to budget - which could be either a smaller property or with less expensive materials/features. If I were to attempt to take insurance on an amount which is grossly under the estimate then they will refuse to issue a policy on the property.
What happens if I insure at the highest amount $600000 according to the online calculator?
The same as the previous answer, however they will only pay for what it actually costs to build the house to the same standard/specification but obviously at the current building regulations.
Why would I not get the full amount insured?
It's not that type of policy. What I am comparing with is an agreed amount insurance which currently is only offered on cars. Most content and vehicle policies are an insured maximum value where they will pay up to that value to replace or repair where it is economical to do so. If my $1000 camera got broken, they would replace it using their network of buyers/vendors which may cost them $700 but I would still end up with a replacement of what I had. The same applies to the house. If I have special features that I would like to keep - document them - but include what that might cost to replace in the sum insured.
What's the difference in the policy cost between the values?
$454k = $1116; $520k = $1207; $600k = $1307 - these are based on a $700 excess
Change that to a $1200 excess; the $520k = $1160 and $600k = $1254
How much to spread the costs?
An extra 10% whether quarterly or monthly.
She did suggest that getting a private valuation is an option, however she conceded when questioned that they will still only be a very educated guess.I must stress to each and every person reading this that the information above is specific to my insurance through AMI - if you have any questions or doubts you should contact your own insurance company to confirm their take on the matter. I will be putting the following summary in an email to AMI to validate what the advisor told me.
I hope this helps :)
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