Many homeowners under insured for re-building cost of property warns former underwriter

Malcolm Lambert says rising costs mean rebuilding a property isn't necessarily less than the market value

A retired insurance underwriter says he fears many homeowners in the Island may inadvertently be under-insured in respect of the potential cost of re-building their properties.

Malcolm Lambert says the long-held adage that re-building costs are lower than market value no longer applies, partly due to the soaring cost of raw materials and labour.

In his case he's calculated that his own property has a market value of around £460,000 to £500,000, while the cost of re-building it, based on 246 square metres, would be around £620,000.

Mr Lambert says there's something else that homeowners need to be aware of, particularly when insuring directly with an insurance company: