We request the Current Insured Value or Cost Of Construction of all properties that are new to Normac prior to finalizing our appraisals as part of our due diligence. Like any appraiser, we must consider all information that is available to us.
One of the first things a market value appraiser will look for is what the building/unit sold for recently.  If they can find a recent sale on the subject property, that is the best possible information they can get.  Along with typical building information such as floor areas and quality of interior finish, insurance appraisers should also consider what a building is currently insured for, as well as what it cost to build.
While we conduct our own costing analysis, we have found that having the current insured value will alert us to when a property is under or over insured.  We will then double check our estimates to make sure we are confident in them, and when necessary, provide a letter to backup our calculations.