Services
Building Insurance
Building Insurance: Reinstatement Assessments & Claims Support
Ensuring your building is correctly insured and that any insurance claim is handled professionally can save you significant cost and stress. At Sutherland Surveyors, our building insurance services cover both Reinstatement Cost Assessments (to make sure you have the right insurance cover) and Professional Claims Support (to guide you through the repair and reinstatement process after damage).
Services
Reinstatement Cost Assessments (RCAs)
A Reinstatement Cost Assessment is a specialist report that estimates how much it would cost to rebuild your building from the ground up in the event of total loss (e.g. fire, flood, or other insured peril).
Why It Matters:
- If your building is under-insured, your insurer may pay only a proportion of the claim. For example, if you insure at 50% of the true rebuild cost, you may receive only 50% of your payout.
- If your sum insured is too high, you could be paying unnecessarily large premiums.
- RCAs align your policy with current building costs, labour, professional fees, and statutory fees.
What the Assessment Includes:
- Measured survey of the building (structure, finishes, outbuildings etc.)
- Calculations based on current costs of demolition, labour, materials, debris removal, and professional/statutory fees
- Consideration of site constraints and building type (residential, commercial, heritage, etc.)
- Use of the latest BCIS (Building Cost Information Service) cost data to ensure assessments are accurate and up to date
When to Get One Done:
- At policy inception or renewal
- After major extensions or refurbishment works
- Typically every 3–5 years, or sooner in times of rising construction costs
Services
Professional Claims Support
Professional Claims Support When damage occurs — whether from fire, flood, storm, or subsidence — the insurance process doesn’t end once a claim is approved. Properties still need to be reinstated, and that requires professional oversight.
At Sutherland Surveyors, we act as your professional team during an insurance claim, providing the same level of service we deliver on construction projects, but tailored to reinstatement works.
Our Role includes:
- Damage assessment — inspecting the property, identifying extent of loss, and confirming what needs reinstating.
- Design & drawings — preparing architectural-style drawings for reinstatement or reconstruction.
- Specifications & tendering — producing detailed specifications of work and running a fair tender process to appoint contractors.
- Contract administration — setting up and administering contracts to ensure contractors deliver on time and to the right quality.
- Project management — coordinating the reinstatement works, monitoring progress, resolving issues, and ensuring completion.
- Handover — final inspections, snagging lists, and providing all necessary documentation at completion.
Types of Claims We Commonly Support
- Fire and smoke damage
- Flood and escape of water
- Storm and wind damage
- Structural failure or subsidence
