Why brokers need a review strategy for property portfolios
- RebuildCostASSESSMENT.com
- 53 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Every renewal brings the same important question for brokers: is the building sum insured still right?
For a client with one property, that can be difficult enough to answer at times. For clients with larger or more varied property portfolios, it can quickly become more complicated. Construction costs are likely to have moved, labour pressures change, and standard indexation may not always reflect the true cost of reinstating a specific building.
That is why having a clear review strategy matters.
RebuildCostASSESSMENT.com has introduced Desktop Refresh, a broker-only service designed to help active RCA account holders update existing rebuild reports without the need for a full reassessment.
It gives brokers another option at renewal, particularly where a reliable RCA baseline already exists and there have been no changes to the property.
There’s a gap that will just widen
Building insurance policies renew every year, but rebuild values are not always checked with the same level of detail.
Over time, that can create a gap between the declared sum insured and the actual cost of reinstatement. Put simply, the figure on the policy may no longer reflect what it would cost to put the building back if the worst happened.
That gap can be caused by several factors, including changes in construction costs, labour availability, compliance requirements, and regional pricing shifts.
For brokers, the challenge is knowing what level of review is appropriate, especially when managing multiple buildings across a portfolio.
When a full assessment is still needed
A full Rebuild Cost Assessment remains essential where a property has materially changed, where records are poor, or where a reliable baseline has not yet been established.
But where an RCA report already exists, the property remains within scope and there have been no property changes, a Desktop Refresh offers a more proportionate way to keep the renewal conversation moving.
Ewan Sandison, Broker and Networks Relationship Manager at RebuildCostASSESSMENT.com, said Desktop Refresh had been developed to give brokers a practical option between doing nothing and starting again from scratch.
“Brokers are often managing renewal conversations across large or varied property portfolios, so a blanket approach does not always give the clearest picture,” he said.
“Full assessments still have a vital role, particularly where something has changed. But once a reliable baseline is in place, Desktop Refresh gives brokers a practical way to keep sums insured under review and identify where further action may be needed.”
How Desktop Refresh works
Desktop Refresh allows brokers to update an existing RCA rebuild report without a full reassessment, provided there have been no property changes.
No site visit is needed, and orders can be accepted within three years of the original report.
The service is available exclusively to active RCA broker account holders. It is suitable for residential properties up to £5m and commercial properties up to £15m.
It is not suitable for Grade I, Grade II*, Category A or Grade A listed buildings.
A more targeted way to review portfolios
For clients with multiple properties, a structured review programme can help brokers decide where attention is needed most.
Rather than relying on blanket indexation or repeating full reassessments across every building by default, brokers can take a more targeted approach to reviewing their portfolios, using the information available to decide where further investigation may be appropriate.
Used in this way, Desktop Refresh is not a replacement for a full Rebuild Cost Assessment. It is a renewal support tool that can form part of a broker's wider rebuild cost review strategy, helping keep sums insured under regular review while making it easier to identify where a full reassessment may be appropriate.
Desktop Refresh was introduced during a live broker webinar with Amy and Ewan, covering the underinsurance challenge, why rebuild values change over time, the limitations of one-off assessments, and what brokers have been asking for at renewal. The session also included a live walkthrough and Q&A, and can be watched back in the resources section of the Desktop Refresh page.
