Suncorp Valuations is pleased to sponsor and present at this year’s Municipal Insurance Association of British Columbia (MIABC) 10th Annual Risk Management Conference from April 12 – 14, 2022 in Vancouver, BC!
The MIABC is a reciprocal insurance pool owned by its members—local governments from across B.C.
Devin Baker, Manager of Business Development, will present on Thursday, April 14th, the topic will be Mitigating Risks through Property Insurance Appraisals from 9 – 10AM.
If you cannot make it to the conference, MIABC will be hosting Mini Virtual Conferences on Thursday mornings starting at 10:00 a.m. PDT from April 28th to May 26th, 2022. Attendees at the in person conference will have the opportunity to vote for the sessions that they would like to see in the Mini Virtual Conferences.
We hope to see you at the conference or virtually at the mini conferences.
Suncorp Valuations is excited to be an exhibitor at this year’s RISKWORLD Conference & Exhibition from April 10 – 13 in San Francisco!
RISKWORLD delivers a diverse range of educational sessions facilitated by risk management innovators, disrupters and practitioners. Session tracks fall into categories ranging from Career Development and Claims Management to Cyber and Technology Risk and more.
Come visit Tom Gardiner, President & CEO; Chetan Thakore, Vice President, Business Development; and Rick Dettmann, Manager, Business Development at Booth #2101.
We will have an incredible draw prize – enter to win a $1,000 Gift Card to Costco! We will also be giving away Power Banks, while supplies last.
We very much look forward to seeing you all, in person, at this spectacular event.
The last few years have been far from normal due to the pandemic. Construction costs have been one item that has seen a dramatic increase. This is a result of a sharp increase in demand for building materials combined with supply chains struggling to keep up. In addition, a booming construction industry has resulted in higher labour costs due to a shortage of skilled workers. Together, these factors have had a significant impact on construction costs as illustrated below.
So what does this mean? The consensus is that costs are up across all industries. The extent of the increases are dependent on:
1) Construction Cost Source (Statistics Canada, R.S. Means, Marshall & Swift, etc.)
2) Industry Sector (Residential, Commercial, Industrial, etc.)
3) Construction Type (Wood Frame, Steel, Concrete, etc.)
4) Geographic Location
5) Asset Type (Buildings, Machinery and Equipment, Mobile Equipment, etc.)
To gain a better understanding of these increases and their impact on your insurable values contact us at https://suncorpvaluations.com/contact-us/
What do you specialize in and what are the best circumstances that clients/prospects should come to you for help?
I have been involved with marketing, project management and completion of engagements for purchase price allocation, asset based lending, insurance placement and proof of loss. Currently, I manage the Business Development activities for our US operations out of our US Head office in Milwaukee. I can be reached for any valuation needs to provide a no obligation proposal for service.
You have appraised buildings all over the North America? What buildings stand out?
I have worked on valuation engagements for 2 of the largest shopping malls in the world in Minnesota, USA and Alberta, Canada. As well as a retail/entertainment complex in New Jersey, USA that features an indoor ski hill. I have also appraised full racetrack/pari-mutuel operations in Ontario, Canada and high profile office towers in New York City, New York, USA. My most marquee assignment was appraisal of a major shipping channel in Central America.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?
Biking, hiking and kayaking.
How many years have you been in the Industry?
22 years
How many years have you been with Suncorp?
13 years!
Agricultural land value trends continue to rise.
We last provided a blog on agricultural land values in March 2019, and are pleased to provide an up-date to that blog. As the graph below illustrates the world population has increased dramatically since the Industrial Revolution, circa 1800. (1)
The world population growth coincides with access to energy, which led to innovation in creating and managing food supply.
As a full service appraisal firm with offices across North America and completing engagements worldwide, we are often called to assist firms with the valuation of facilities involved in food processing. As many of our clients have grown their facility footprint, we have seen dramatic jumps in the value of agricultural land that provide the inputs for their processing. As the graph below depicts, agricultural land is at premium in certain regions. (2)
Combine the population growth with the effects of climate change and it is easy to see the trend for agricultural land values across the globe has risen and we assert will continue to rise.
Europe continues to lead the pace of growth in agricultural land values.
The Netherlands is the country with the highest agricultural land prices in Europe, with an average price of €69,632/ha in 2019. Prices in Eastern European countries are lower: €3,395/ha in Croatia, €3,361/ha in Estonia, €3,922/ha in Latvia. Conversely, land is expensive in Italy, at an average of €34 156/ha, and in Ireland, at €28 068/ha. (3)
In 2019, the exchange rate for Euros to US Dollars was 1 to 1.12; accordingly, 70,000 Euros (the benchmark price per hectare in the Netherlands) converted to $78,400 US Dollars. Converting hectares to acres at 1 to 2.5 meant that the land agricultural land value in the Netherlands was $31,360 US Dollars per acre.
In the United States and Canada, we see the escalation in agricultural land values as well. For 2021, the United States Department of Agriculture shows the benchmark value across the country at $3,380 per acre, up from $3,160 per acre in 2020. (4)
In Canada, percentage growth rates for agricultural land continues to grow. The Prairie Provinces have exhibited rise in benchmark values for the last several years. (5)
Given the trend of rising agricultural values, it is interesting to measure the risk of land ownership; this graph illustrates the security of owning land in various countries as developed by Savills Research. They leveraged various reports and data sources to the lay the foundations of the matrix. Savills Research from 2002 to 2016 highlighted the strong and steady rise in the value of farmland globally. (6)
We assert that world agricultural land values will continue to rise in the next 3 to 5 years, in particular in those countries where an adequate risk/benefit score can be achieved, such as shown by the above graph.
REFERENCES:
What do you specialize in and what are the best circumstances that clients/prospects should come to you for help?
I specialize in insurance appraisals for private sector building construction including multifamily residential, commercial, industrial and bare land/ common element properties. Clients should come to me if they need to know how much it would cost to replace their building if anything was to happen to it in order to make sure they have adequate insurance coverage.
Please describe an interesting project you worked on recently.
I recently completed an insurance appraisal for a 1.2 million square foot shopping mall with 200 retailers and an 1100 seat food court in Tsawwassen.
You have appraised buildings all over the North America? What buildings stand out?
A marquee New York office tower, a brand name hotel in Las Vegas Nevada, and a marquee office building in midtown Montreal, QC.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?
I enjoy gardening, paddle boarding, hiking and going out quadding and snowmobiling with my family; really anything outdoors, and I love travelling.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Shoe Shopping
How many years have you been in the Industry?
I started with Suncorp in 2002, took a break at home to raise my kids while they were small and have been back for 7 years.
