Why Your Home’s Rebuild Cost Matters More Than Market Value

Learn why your home’s rebuild cost—not market value—should guide your insurance coverage.

Protect your home with the right policy limits.

When you buy a home, your eyes are on the price. But when you insure it, your eyes need to be on something different--the rebuild cost.
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What’s the Difference Between Market Value and Rebuild Cost?

• Market value is what your home would sell for today, based on location, demand, and land.
• Rebuild cost is what it would cost to reconstruct your home from the ground up, using today’s materials, labor, and construction standards.

Why Rebuild Cost Is What Matters for InsuranceIf a fire, tornado, or other disaster destroys your home, your insurance won’t pay you what the house is worth to sell—it pays to rebuild it. That’s why your dwelling coverage should reflect current construction costs, not the real estate market.
Unfortunately, many homeowners don’t realize this and end up under or over insured.
Recent Trends in Texas & Missouri

• Labor shortages and material price spikes have driven up rebuild costs across DFW, Kansas City, and surrounding areas.

What Do Carriers Look At?Carriers like Safeco, Travelers, and Allstate etc use cost estimation tools that factor in square footage, roofing materials, custom features to calculate your home’s replacement cost.
Some companies also offer:

• Extended Replacement Cost (adds up to 25% extra coverage)
• Inflation Guard (automatically adjusts coverage to keep pace with rising costs)

How to Tell If You’re Adequately Insured

• Check your Coverage A (dwelling limit) on your declarations page.
• Ask your agent if inflation protection is included.
• Update your policy after any renovations or additions.
• If it’s been a few years since your last review, it’s time for a rebuild cost evaluation.

We Can HelpAt Corin, we’ll walk you through your current coverage and compare options across multiple top-rated carriers to ensure your home is properly protected—no guesswork.
Source: NAIC Guide to Understanding Rebuilding Costs