Damage to property and buildings by fire and other disasters, natural or otherwise, costs Australians hundreds of millions of dollars every year. In the last year this has been even more defined by the recent floods in Queensland and Victoria.

Notwithstanding the substantial number of properties that suffered as a result of the recent floods, the most common building disaster in Australia is fire, so it is important to be prepared. Luckily we have only had one earthquake in recent history and although the chances of these occurrences are low, the devastation they can do has been clearly seen in Christchurch.Napier & Blakeley’s property reinstatement cost assessments determine the amount a property needs to be insured for to cover the possibility of damage or complete destruction from a disaster. This should include the demolition of the remaining component of the property followed by the reconstruction and all associated fees, such as design, management and permit fees.

In conjunction with recent meteorological events construction markets nationally have gone through significant changes in cost in recent years. A number of years ago costs increased significantly and in some markets in more recent times costs have gone backwards. So it is now more important than ever to accurately update insurable costs.

Fire or disaster can have a direct impact on business operations within a building and many building owners do not adequately factor items such as loss of profits or business interruption into the building insurance equation, leaving themselves under insured.

Over insurance can also be detrimental to business performance. Insuring a property for more than its true worth provides no tangible benefit and may increase the building’s outgoings unnecessarily.

Our reports ensure that you are insured for the right amount and the assessments we provide take many factors into account in determining the cost of reinstating property.  Our quantity surveyors are experts in determining the true demolition and reconstruction costs of a property.

Valuers value, architects design and builders build, but none are real cost experts.

A qualified quantity surveyor is the only qualified construction cost professional capable of determining construction costs of buildings.

Related Topic on Napier & Blakeley Blog  
Property Depreciation and Natural Disasters

 

Contact

If you want further information on Property Reinstatement Cost Assessments, or any other Napier & Blakeley services please contact any of our offices below:

Melbourne - Craig Smith                   
03 9915 6300                           
csmith@napierblakeley.com 

Sydney - Peter Hammond                
02 9299 1899                    
phammond@napierblakeley.com 

Brisbane - Paul Cosker                     
07 3221 8255                           
pcosker@napierblakeley.com

Napier & Blakeley services: 

• Technical Due Diligence
• Capital Expenditure Planning
• Quantity Surveying
• Strategic Asset Management
• Building & Sustainability Consulting
• Property Depreciation