I was wondering the other day ...re Buildings Insurance renewal ...how to work out what rebuilding costs are .I live in a red sandstone tenement ( block of flats ) property that is about 100 years old and consists of 8 flats...1 and 2 bedroom flats.... in each close/entrance . Is there any way of getting a rebuild cost . At present I think it is at £55000 for my flat but that figure is years old . The actual rebuild cost would,of course depend on what damage had been done to the rest of the property which extends to 40 flats in the entire block..Typical flats are selling for a round £100,000 at present..
Any help appreciated .Do Insurance companies keep such a way of working this out .
I think rebuild costs could be well in excess of £100k. Assuming you're in Scotland there is an obligation on the owner of a flat in a tenement to support the adjacent and above flats. The actaul claim could therefore be for the rebuilding of adjacent flats as well, which might include consequential loss of rent for affected landlords etc.
What would usually happen in the event of a claim affecting several properties is that the insurers would negotiate between themselves to appoint a lead insurer - often one insurer will find themselves covering several flats - to manage the claim. They then portion out how much each insurer pays between themselves. All this takes time and aggro in the event of a claim.
The rebuilding cost would probably therefore be arrived at by calculating the full costs of demolition and rebuild (in a suitable style - listing or conservation area status will increase costs) for the whole block, divided between the number of flats in the building (usually in the same close, but in some cases there is more than one close in the same legal tenement, and this might apply in your case).
Of course problems arise if some owners aren't fully insured against the risk that occurs.
I would strongly recommend that you speak to a specialist insurance broker about getting a *whole tenement* buildings policy, this prevents disputes between insurers and ensures there is full public liability cover for the whole building.
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