Ardonagh company Berkeley Alexander (BA) has inaugurated a new service for commercial property owners and mid & high net worth clients, in a move aimed at enabling addressing the issue of under- and over-insurance.
Developed in partnership with Rebuild Cost Assessment Ltd, the new donation is a rebuild cost valuation service worth £160 that will be available to BA’s broker partners free of tax until the end of next month.
The service covers commercial estate up to £10 million rebuild sum insured; residential, up to £5 million. It prohibits listed buildings bar Grade II listing.
“The issue of both over-and under-insurance has afflicted the industry for years, and the Insurance Act and recent FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) thematic reviews have highlighted how the insurance industry should be doing more to ensure policyholders purchase reasonable levels of cover,” said BA chair Geoff Hall.
According to the general insurance (GI) provider, 90% of buildings in the UK that are covered on a rebuild sum protected basis do not have the correct value, with 80% under-insured while the staying fifth are over-insured by nearly 160% on average.
“Until recently,” added Hall, “a professional building insurance valuation would have cost a significant amount of money and time.
“Independent desktop surveys are now widely available, but our new rebuild service is an innovative approach which makes assessments for additional affordable, quicker, accurate, and simple to access, in the same place and at the same time as arranging the GI cover.”
