We have received several questions lately about how frequently House Corporations should update their insurance limits/values, so we thought it was a good time to address this and similar questions.

Contents: The contents limit is used to cover the property of the House Corporation. It covers the “stuff” the House Corporation owns either at their owned or rented facility. The House Corporation Inventory worksheet is a great place to start to determine your contents values. It also serves as a record of your inventory should a claim occur. 

Building: We typically look at this as a value per square foot of the chapter facility. We have learned from architects that specialize in Greek Housing that new facilities typically cost upwards of $300 to $400 per square foot to build. Current buildings may not quite rise to this cost, depending on finishes and costs in different locations, but should be at a minimum of $200 per square foot. It is not necessary to obtain an appraisal to determine value, but rather the best way to get an accurate ballpark value for the replacement cost of their building is to talk to a trusted local contractor and ask them to estimate what it would cost to build their facility in today’s dollars. Most contractors think this way and can easily give an estimate.

Loss of Income: Loss of Income covers loss of income suffered by a House Corporation when damage to its premises by a covered cause of loss causes a slowdown or suspension of its operations. According to our data, the average claim for Loss of Income is around $9,000 per occupant. That may vary, again, based on the costs in your area. We recommend that House Corporations consider their Loss of Income values at the greater of the $9,000 per occupant or the total income that they receive from members for room and board in an academic year.

Should you have questions regarding your locations’ Building, Contents, and Loss of Income limits, please do not hesitate to contact your organization’s Client Executive to discuss further.