Why use Pacific Rim Appraisals for Your Insurance Appraisals on Vancouver Island ?

Pacific Rim Appraisals Ltd. has been:

1. Completing insurance appraisals for over 15 years on Vancouver Island.
2. Utilizing only qualified insurance appraisers.
3. Retains a high level of Errors and Omission Insurance.
4. Provides outstanding customer service coupled with a free online password protected area to order and store your appraisals electronically.

What is the Purpose of an Insurance Appraisal ?

The main purpose of an insurance appraisal is to ensure that the entire property; materials, labour, professional fees, overhead, contractor’s profit, taxes and insurance are adjusted to reflect the current costs for the area that the property is located.: e.g. different building costs in Victoria vs. the Gulf Island vs. Tofino etc. on Vancouver Island.

What is Included in an Insurance Appraisal ?

For a high end residential home the report is approximately 10 to 12 pages long and a commercial and/or multi-family project can be 20 to 30 pages long. The appraisals will include a complete description of the home and/or multi-family project etc. Its location including exterior and interior photos, building sketch and an itemized cost break down of the structures including the main home and any other improvements located on the property. The structures include adjustments for quality of interior and exterior finishes, built-in appliances, number of bathrooms, fireplaces etc. etc. An allowance for demolition and removal costs associated with clearing and preparing the site for the replacement building is taken into consideration. Allowances to bring the original structure up to the current British Columbia and Municipal Codes for fire protection, parking, handicap access and play areas are considered.

Why are Insurance Appraisals Needed ?

The costs for construction has sufficiently altered in the last couple of years and especially in areas where there is a current labour shortage thus many high end residential homes and multi-family/commercial properties are currently under insured. The insurance appraisal also gives a complete documentation of what is located on the property as of a specified date. E.g. The Kelowna fires several years ago created a great deal of argument of what was of the site after it was not documented in any sort of manner.

Legally speaking according to the Condominium Act:

Section – 34 (1) A strata corporation must do all of the following”

(a) obtain and maintain insurance on the buildings, the common facilities and any insurable improvements owned by the strata corporation to the full replacement values under section 54

Section – 54 (1) The strata corporation

(a) must obtain and maintain insurance for the buildings, common facilities and any insurable improvements owned by the strata corporation to their replacement value against fire and against other perils as are usually the subject of insurance in respect of similar properties.

(b) Review annually the adequacy of the insurance.

Common Sense:

Besides legislation, common sense is a large reason to have an insurance appraisal. All parties involved; the owners, strata council members, property managers, insurance brokers and underwriters should rely on the expertise if a qualified insurance appraiser to help determine a fair and justifiable replacement cost to help them discharge their fiduciary duty.