Appraisals and Property Valuations

Appraisal Reports

Reasons for Appraisals and Property Recording Systems

PROOF OF LOSS - After a major fire or disaster loss, you will immediately be asked to provide a list of all lost or damaged property along with its value at the time of the loss. An attempt to compile a list during the frustrating times after a loss will result in an inaccurate listing. This is certain to seriously affect the settlement you receive. Time is also an important factor. The more time it takes to compile a proof of loss, the longer it takes to reach a settlement and rebuild. Records need to be readily available.

ACCURATE VALUES FOR INSURANCE - During loss negotiations, erroneous guesses at insurance values will be costly. The professionals who will be adjusting your loss will not be guessing. If they can show that you are under-insured, you stand to lose thousands of dollars. If you are over-insured, you have already lost in extra premium dollars spent.

INSURANCE RATING - To get the most economical policy rating and/or to put your insurance up for bids, you must provide accurate values organized by equipment and building type as a basis for your agents to use. Inconsistent value bases for each agent participating in the bidding only makes bid comparisons difficult.

ACCOUNTABILITY OF ASSETS - At times, you may be asked to show some proof of ownership of a few, or all, of your organization's assets. Serious auditors will request original costs and acquisition dates on major purchases. This information may be buried in your invoice files. Unless it is available and organized in a logical report, it has very little value. Valuations Northwest reports can vary the sorting order and values defined to fit a specific client's need.

DESIGNED TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF GASB #34 - The Government Accounting Standards Board's (GASB) Statements #34 and #35 require government agencies to inventory and depreciate major fixed assets (buildings and equipment), including certain infrastructure items (roads, bridges and underground piping).  Valuations Northwest reports are designed to meet these new reporting standards and to give you the tools you need to receive an unqualified audit with respect to your fixed asset accounting.

Reports

Buildings and Equipment are sorted into Policy Rating Codes for your agent to obtain the best insurance rates for each asset type. This report is a list of the POLICY CODES used in our reports and developed by Valuations Northwest.

A binary LOCATION CODING system is used to make a concise listing of all buildings by campus or area location. New buildings may be added for each area without destroying the sorting order of other locations.

The INSURANCE RECAPITULATION REPORT summarizes the values of Construction and Equipment values by location. Grand totals for all locations are printed at the end of the report. Your insurance representative will use this report to prepare a Statement of Values.

Building appraisals value each building according to type of structure and city-state location. Costs display all the necessary amounts for a complete insurance listing. The first page of the CONSTRUCTION REPORT contains a brief description of the building with the year of construction, total area and dollar values. Color photographs of major buildings also may be included with the description. The CONSTRUCTION DETAIL gives a computerized appraisal valuing numerous construction components. SITE MAPS of buildings, and/or campuses, may be included in the report to show location of major building sections and other minor structures.

The ROOM SUMMARY gives a summary of equipment items showing original cost and replacement cost totals sorted by policy, building location and room.

The INSURANCE & PROPERTY ACCOUNTING REPORT displays all major assets sorted by building location, policy rating and class code. Items are fully described, including model and serial numbers where applicable, and totaled by building location showing original cost, acquisition dates, new replacement cost and depreciated value.

The CLASS CODE SUMMARY REPORT summarizes equipment items by class code, showing original cost and replacement cost totals. This shows how assets in your organizations are distributed. It can be used for budget allocations and insurance purposes.

The CLASS CODE EQUIPMENT REPORT lists all items by equipment type for fast reference to any particular item or group of items. Locations of items are indicated, as well as totals for each class group. The Class Code Equipment Report is a valuable administrative tool, particularly useful when analyzing requests for additional equipment or the distribution of surplus items. Added features to this report are the Grouped Class Code Summary, which shows totals for each of the general class groups, and the Class Code Index, which shows all the class codes used in the report.

The ACCOUNTING REPORT - EQUIPMENT is a report of items sorted by policy rating and location, showing life, acquisition date, original cost, unrecovered value and annual depreciation.

The ACCOUNTING REPORT - CONSTRUCTION lists date the building was erected, building class, original cost, depreciation reserve, unrecovered cost and annual depreciation.