Insurance Valuations

If you are concerned that your property may not be insured for the correct figure, then pick up the phone and call us at Boyes James McKay. Do it now ... tomorrow might be too late!

Home Insurance Has Changed

Since the Christchurch earthquakes, insurance companies in New Zealand are requiring home owners to nominate a sum insured if they want full replacement insurance. Nowadays very few companies will agree to an unlimited liability when it comes to home insurance - particularly when providing cover for major natural disasters.

Determining The Sum Insured

The process of determining how much your home needs to be insured for can be daunting and complex. This is particularly true where properties include other structures such as sheds and garages, paths and fences, and swimming pools or tennis courts. It is expecially true if your property has extensive retaining walls.

The sum insured needs to allow for cost inflation over at least a 12 month period, because a disastrous event could occur on the last day of your policy. Your policy also also needs to allow for demolition and removal of the existing structures, to clear the land before a new home can be built.

Shared driveways and improvements that extend along property boundaries create additional headaches.

Widespread Under-Insurance

Recent surveys have indicated that between 75% - 90% of property owners are currently under-insured. This is often because most home owners have simply accepted the "Default" sum offered to them by their insurance companes - even though their company has never sent anyone to properly assess the property.