Earthquake Insurance replacement cost Southern CA
Hi Everyone,
I live in Los Angeles and my earthquake insurance is up for renewal. In the last few years my insurance company (GeoVera) has increased the amount my house is insured for from $360,000 to $866,000. Obviously the premium has gone up also (it’s almost doubled). I’m trying to determine what the replacement cost for my house would be if it was totaled.
The house is a Craftsman built in 1913. One story, 1600 square feet with a detached one car garage. There’s a small 200 square foot studio above the garage.
Deducting personal property and loss of use, I’m left with about $430 per square foot to replace the house. Is this high? On average, what are construction cost per square foot to build a new house?
Thanks for any input.
Matt
Replies
If you are geting replacement value, then you are paying to rebuild a 1913 Craftsman - not a general tract house or McMansion.
http://building-cost.net/CompMatrix.asp
Try this and see what you get. I would have guessed that figure was at least 2x the real cost but maybe not.
Is their number subtracting the value of the lot? Obviously it should, but it's to the insurance company's and agent's advantage to "forget" to do that.
The value of the lot isn't included in their number. It's the replacement value of the house and contents.
...AND contents...
It sounds less like a building question, and more like a question you need to ask a competing insurance company.
BID BABY, BID!
It's either Geovera or the California Earthquake Authority (and the CEA matches your homeowners policy - Geoveras coverage is almost twice my homeowners coverage).
330/ft is ow for a high end kitchen.
sq ft pricing means little tho. I have done work from 150 to six hunded
there would be costs to remove the existing and clean/repair the site as well after a devastating earthwuake.
and local regulations ( that can do nothing but get worse) would complicate costs of a rebuild
obviously the ins co is using cost figures they know are likely for your area. They have a better handle on this than someone in another part of the continent. If there is one thing they are good at, it is actuarials
I'm not saying $330 is high or low for a kitchen. I have no idea. I'm just trying to get a handle on what's a reasonable amount to insure my house for. From what very little I know it just seems like $425 - $475 a square foot to rebuild a modest 1600 sq ft (which is what would be left over after detucting living expences and contents from the insured amount) house on a flat lot is high.
BTW- here's the contractor that bid on my kitchen. Maybe he was bidding high for a low end kitchen ;-)
http://tinyurl.com/cxkehkl