By: Meredith Bridger – Program Coordinator – Academy of Real Estate
A real estate appraiser evaluates a home by what is happening in the market. I believe the best in the industry are the Appraisers at DS Murphy who will provide an unbiased estimate or opinion of the value of the property. An Insurance Broker, on the other hand, will have a biased opinion of the same property.
What this means to you is that the Agent representing the insurance company will review your property for liability issues that could cause a loss to your property. They want to rate the property, including all hazards. The premium is generated to determine how much is it going to take to build this home back in the event of a catastrophic total loss. A total loss could be an electrical fire or lightning that could destroy a home. This seems closest to the “cost approach” in an appraisal where one is determining replacement cost. It is easiest to do this with new construction for an appraiser but an insurance Agent must do this with all ages of homes.
It may hurt your feelings to hear things like; your railing is rusted, or there are too many leaves in your gutters and especially that the beautiful oak tree needs to be trimmed back as the limbs are touching the roof. Appraisals seem to rarely get this specific. Again, this points to the lack or presence of bias. As an Agent, we are in the business of loss-prevention – aka we DO have a dog in the fight. Too many home insurance policies are cookie cutter. I don’t agree with this approach. Every home is unique, and your neighbor’s home is going to be evaluated differently than your home, in the insurance world.
In my 32 years as a licensed insurance Agent in the state of Georgia, I have seen my share of total losses. This is a devasting time for any family, especially if the home is not evaluated properly at the date the policy is written. As an Agent, I take pride in knowing that my client’s home has been insured to value with extended replacement cost.
Is your home insured to value? ALL parts and pieces. Do you know the hazards that could cost you even more money down the road? There are Agents that only think about writing the policy and not the client’s largest asset, their home. A Broker having a biased opinion this protects you as the homeowner from future losses. In this crazy market your home may not have enough insurance. The market values are up and so are building costs. Now is the time to reevaluate your home insurance.
If you want more information or have questions you can always email me – mbridger@dsmurphy.com or send me your declarations page for a free evaluation. https://app.usecanopy.com/c/MeredithBridger