Rebuilding after a fire.

cabledude

Hi All,

Bit of bad news in the last couple of days. MY cousin had a major fire in the home. House gutted completely. Roof caved in, doors and windows destroyed. The walls are still standing but thats about it.

He has insurance, luckily...

He was with me today asking if I knew what way the rebuild would work out. I told him that he would need to get a loss adjuster out to the house to do a survey and take it from there. He had already called the insurance company and a claim is being started for him.

It got me wondering. Will he have to build the exact same house again or can he change things around to suit his current needs? For example, he had originally built a dormer bungalow. But what if he wanted just a bungalow now. What if he didn't have a sun room and now wanted one?

I suppose the question is -

Do the insurance company allow you a figure up to the limit of the insurance policy to spend on whatever you wish or do they insist on an exact replica of the house before the fire? And, can you contract the builder yourself or do they do this?

Gumbo

cabledude wrote: »

Hi All,

Bit of bad news in the last couple of days. MY cousin had a major fire in the home. House gutted completely. Roof caved in, doors and windows destroyed. The walls are still standing but thats about it.

He has insurance, luckily...

He was with me today asking if I knew what way the rebuild would work out. I told him that he would need to get a loss adjuster out to the house to do a survey and take it from there. He had already called the insurance company and a claim is being started for him.

It got me wondering. Will he have to build the exact same house again or can he change things around to suit his current needs? For example, he had originally built a dormer bungalow. But what if he wanted just a bungalow now. What if he didn't have a sun room and now wanted one?

I suppose the question is -

Do the insurance company allow you a figure up to the limit of the insurance policy to spend on whatever you wish or do they insist on an exact replica of the house before the fire? And, can you contract the builder yourself or do they do this?

Insurance company will agree a set figure sum.
Planning restraints will dictate what he can build. He may have to go in for planning again now either way.

sky6

Sorry for his loss, hopefully nobody was hurt.

As said Insurance will agree a sum. He will require planning for whatever he decides to do. With current insulation improvements and requirements he's better to knock what's left and start again from the beginning.
It might also be wise to look at new options with his Architect to get ahead of the game so to speak.
Insurance companies move slow. you don't want to then find that they've finished, you've then to wait another 3 / 4 months for planning.

Chemical Byrne

He and the insurers will agree on a sum based on the market value of the house.

If the fire was as severe as you say, I'd suspect that the walls would be severely weakened.

Personally, if I was in this situation I'd be inclined to demolish what's left and rebuild from scratch especially if it was just a dormer bungalow - not in any way significant, architecturally or otherwise. If it was a fine big old farmhouse or whatever I'd consider salvaging what's left of the structure. There would be little difference in price.

He will need to apply for planning permission if the new house will be different. It's not a big cost in the scheme of things. He'd be mad to rebuild like for like.

sydthebeat

Chemical Byrne wrote: »

He will need to apply for planning permission if the new house will be different. It's not a big cost in the scheme of things. He'd be mad to rebuild like for like.

he will need permission regardless....

sky6

sydthebeat wrote: »

he will need permission regardless....

Agreed. Which is why he should start the process immediately.

antiskeptic

cabledude wrote: »

He has insurance, luckily...

That's not a bad first base. But that's only the very start of things. He will possibly find (depending on who he is insured with) that they take a combative and resistive stance to his claim.

Most certainly a loss adjuster needs to be employed by your cousin. And a lot of care needs to be taken in picking good one.

-

During the exhausting process of making a claim (following a small fire and worst, smoke damage) a few years ago I came across the term "insurance fatigue": the term used to describe a technique employed by insurance companies whereby the claim is drawn out so as to induce stress, fatigue, financial strain etc - with a view to getting you to settle for less. It explained the experience I was going through precisely.

Tell your cousin to gird himself for possible battle.

kkelliher

Chemical Byrne wrote: »

He and the insurers will agree on a sum based on the market value of the house.

this is incorrect. The insurers will agree a value on the basis of the cost of rebuilding to the same standard (subject to increased regs) as was there before. Market value of house has nothing to do with it.

Depending on the insurer, you can get your own builder to do the work or they can appoint. Most let you do it as it prevents any issues for them with tax and come back if the work is not up to scratch.

for clarity a loss adjuster works for the insurance company. Your cousin could appoint a loss assessor to act on his behalf but he will have to pay them out of the monies he received and it is usually based on a % plus VAT.

Planning may be required but more likely he will need to apply for an exception once it is rebuilt within a certain timeframe after the fire to the same property that existed before.

Hope this helps