The Marshall& Swift//Boeckh method of estimation of reconstuction costs for homeowners is a fraud. There program consistantly cause homeowners to OVER insure their home, making profits for Insurance Companies. They tried to tell me that my house would cost $125.00 per square foot to rebuild in the event of a total loss. No builder in my area could justify more than $75.00 per square foot.
I need to move to where you live. Here in California, we wouldn’t even consider writing a garage for under $150 a sq foot anymore. The avg out here is probably $225-250 with many in the SF area going for $300-350 sq ft per builders. I totally agree with your assessment that MS/B is out of whack. But we are experiencing just the opposite with them. When I know full well that a SF home is going to cost $300 sq ft to replace and their “estimate” is saying $160/sq ft. I don’t even use them as a guideline anymore.
In my office we have found that many of the figures are too high. It basically gives companies an increase in rate without actually having to get DOI approval.
As respect S.F at 300 to 350 a sq. ft. – any contractor in the NY area is no where near that figurr nor does most of our companies pay fees for restoration at that level.
We find taht this is a way for companies to get rate without DOI approval or even their review of the program.
Not that I am convinced the MS/B system is totally accurate, it is only as good as the information inputed. I have found that if you have detailed information on the risk, it tends to be more accurate. However, this information is not always available and the quess work begins. Thus the concern about the product being effective. As for building a home for $75 a square foot, I can only imagine that this is a manufactured home and MS/B has a program for this type of construction, but you have to pay for it. One more thing, the announcements from them that homes are underinsured by a large margin, remember that they are trying to sell a product!
“…the announcements from them that homes are underinsured by a large margin, remember that they are trying to sell a product!”
I would love to talk to all of you when and if you have a total loss and you get 1/2 way through the process and realize you can’t finish. Or, you end up replacing your 50 year old hard wood floors with concrete slab and paint a rug on it with left over paint just so you can move in. Or when you decrease the amount of square footage. Or when you use your personal property money to rebuild. Or when you have to take out a loan to rebuild. Or when you end up selling and buying a condo with your insurance proceeds. I haven’t met one wildfire victim (besides AAA insured) that didn’t have to do at least one of the above in order to rebuild their house.
None of these options “take you back to where you belong”… they only take the insurance company [laughing] all the way to the bank.
The Marshall& Swift//Boeckh method of estimation of reconstuction costs for homeowners is a fraud. There program consistantly cause homeowners to OVER insure their home, making profits for Insurance Companies. They tried to tell me that my house would cost $125.00 per square foot to rebuild in the event of a total loss. No builder in my area could justify more than $75.00 per square foot.
MSB system is a fraud
Wow Garry:
I need to move to where you live. Here in California, we wouldn’t even consider writing a garage for under $150 a sq foot anymore. The avg out here is probably $225-250 with many in the SF area going for $300-350 sq ft per builders. I totally agree with your assessment that MS/B is out of whack. But we are experiencing just the opposite with them. When I know full well that a SF home is going to cost $300 sq ft to replace and their “estimate” is saying $160/sq ft. I don’t even use them as a guideline anymore.
The biggest problem I find with MSB is that different carriers use different versions of the replacement cost programs. Why?
In my office we have found that many of the figures are too high. It basically gives companies an increase in rate without actually having to get DOI approval.
As respect S.F at 300 to 350 a sq. ft. – any contractor in the NY area is no where near that figurr nor does most of our companies pay fees for restoration at that level.
We find taht this is a way for companies to get rate without DOI approval or even their review of the program.
Not that I am convinced the MS/B system is totally accurate, it is only as good as the information inputed. I have found that if you have detailed information on the risk, it tends to be more accurate. However, this information is not always available and the quess work begins. Thus the concern about the product being effective. As for building a home for $75 a square foot, I can only imagine that this is a manufactured home and MS/B has a program for this type of construction, but you have to pay for it. One more thing, the announcements from them that homes are underinsured by a large margin, remember that they are trying to sell a product!
“…the announcements from them that homes are underinsured by a large margin, remember that they are trying to sell a product!”
I would love to talk to all of you when and if you have a total loss and you get 1/2 way through the process and realize you can’t finish. Or, you end up replacing your 50 year old hard wood floors with concrete slab and paint a rug on it with left over paint just so you can move in. Or when you decrease the amount of square footage. Or when you use your personal property money to rebuild. Or when you have to take out a loan to rebuild. Or when you end up selling and buying a condo with your insurance proceeds. I haven’t met one wildfire victim (besides AAA insured) that didn’t have to do at least one of the above in order to rebuild their house.
None of these options “take you back to where you belong”… they only take the insurance company [laughing] all the way to the bank.