A statement of values is a spreadsheet of the property an insured wants covered, one row per building or location. A typical SOV has:
- Location number and full address
- Building value, contents (business personal property) value, and business income value
- Construction type, year built, square footage, number of stories
- Roof type and year updated; heating, wiring and plumbing updates
- Sprinklers, alarms and fire protection class
- Occupancy (what the building is used for)
Adding the value columns gives the total insured value (TIV), which IRMI defines as the sum of the full value of the insured’s covered property, business income values and other covered property interests. Underwriters use TIV to price the account and decide how much capacity to offer. For catastrophe-exposed property, they also run the SOV through catastrophe models, so missing construction details can raise the price.
How it shows up in an agency
A client owns nine strip-center buildings in three states. Before renewal, the account manager sends last year’s SOV back to the client to update values, adds a building bought mid-year, and marks the roofs replaced since. The updated SOV goes to the carriers with the ACORD 140 property section. If the client signs the SOV, an agreed value endorsement can waive coinsurance.
Common confusion
- Values must match the valuation basis. If the policy is replacement cost, the SOV should show replacement cost, not purchase price, market value or tax-assessed value. See replacement cost vs. ACV.
- Underreporting backfires. Low values cut premium now but can trigger a coinsurance penalty or exhaust a per-location limit on a blanket policy later.
- Not the GL schedule. Liability exposures by class go on the schedule of hazards.
Carriers’ appetites are on our commercial property page.