Cost of rebuilding a Brownstone in Brooklyn by Sq feet

Hi, I am an independent insurance broker with Summit Coverages, Ltd. I think $325 for Downtown Brooklyn is not high at all, yet there are many factors that play a part. I can provide some items to think about when determining your cost per sq ft:
1) Is the policy valuation based on Replacement Cost (RC) , Functional Replacement Cost (FRC- replaces plaster with sheetrock), or Actual Cash Value (ACV- factors in depreciation)? Most standard homeowners policies are replacement cost, but if its FRC or ACV, the carrier will pay less per sq ft.
2) Who is the insurance carrier? Chubb, as mentioned above, offers extended replacement cost on most policies. Their City Home Product offers RESTORATION Coverage, which replaces the home as is with all original details. That gets expensive. In downtown BK, insuring $600-$1000 per square foot with Chubb is expected. Other insurance companies might not offer coverage as broad so it might not make sense to insure at the same coverage level.
3) Insurance company replacement cost Estimates – I work with dozens of insurance companies. Some agents rely on the estimators. I only use these tools as a guide. The Sq ft replacement costs vary greatly from one system to another and I wouldn’t say any are very accurate. If an in person inspection was done, the figure tends to be more accurate (but not always).
In short, $325 is not high. If you have a higher end home, talk to your agent about pros/cons of increasing it.

Ed- Kopel: Chubb’s replacement cost figures do not factor in lodging or relocation costs, that is a separate coverage.
Murph – Earthquake coverage may be available. It is usually an endorsement to your policy, not a separate policy. There are several companies that offer the coverage in NY.

seanslemon

in General Discussion 8 years and 11 months ago

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benoit | 9 years ago

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My Insurance come up with a number that i don’t agree with .
What would be the cost to rebuild a 3 floor and a basement. h
brownstone with original details in Brooklyn .
Thanks

EJR | 9 years ago

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My insurance company pegged the figure at $616/sq ft. for a total rebuild of my 3 floor + cellar 1905 Brooklyn row house. Seemed high to me, but labor costs are not what they were in 1905 and I’d rather be over-insured than under-insured.

benoit | 9 years ago

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The Insurance is coming up with pre 1930 rebuild to 782 000.00 $ for 3 floor 2400 Sq and a 800 Sq basement .

benoit | 9 years ago

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800 Sq by floor

EJR | 9 years ago

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So, $325/sq. ft for the livable space? That doesn’t seem high at all. That’s in line with the cost for a mid-end gut renovation.

neweco | 9 years ago

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Sounds about right .

lgwlcvqt | 9 years ago

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Your premium must going to be outrageous at a replacement value of $616/sq ft

lgwlcvqt | 9 years ago

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Your premium must going to be outrageous at a replacement value of $616/sq ft

EJR | 9 years ago

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> @Mozee Atupu
> Your premium must going to be outrageous at a replacement value of $616/sq ft

Yeah, it’s not cheap…

Guest User | 9 years ago

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We just had ours appraised by Chubb, and they came in at what works out as $694 sq/ft for the finished space ($560 sq/ft if you include the dirt floor cellar). We have quite a lot of original detail (8 fireplaces, some nice plaster moldings, shutters etc.), and we have just renovated, but it was a high(ish)-end restoration rather than a complete gut, so it’s not like it’s even as fancy as some of the brownstone renovations you see. We were surprised — had to increase our coverage by 25%.

EJR | 9 years ago

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> @gwrfgp
> We just had ours appraised by Chubb, and they came in at what works out as $694 sq/ft for the finished space

I used Chubb as well and was also surprised by the price per square foot. I’ve heard they are very good, however, if you actually need to file a claim, and therefore I suck it up and pay the high premium.

agdipierro

in General Discussion 9 years ago

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Chubb’s numbers often include lodging and relocation costs during the replacement. I recommend budgeting $500/ft for construction and fees.

murph | 9 years ago

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Does anyone know if you can get earthquake insurance?

BSDOD | 9 years ago

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  ["ID"]=>
  int(81246)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(2) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "subscriber"
    [1]=>
    string(15) "bbp_participant"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["read"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["level_0"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

You can, but it’s astronomical. My quote was double the current premium.