Valuation Outliers

Last updated: August 19, 2026

Overview

Valuations are a critical aspect of insurance and risk management, providing a basis for the replacement cost of properties. Given the rapidly increasing costs of materials and construction, many clients’ valuations are outdated, leading to potential underinsurance. Archipelago’s new Valuations Outlier Detection is designed to address this issue by notifying you of properties that lie outside the statistical norms for their area and building type.  

Challenges

Many clients have not updated their property values in years. This may lead to under-insuring a property, especially in this climate of rapidly increasing construction and material costs. 

  • Risk of Insufficient Coverage: Outdated valuations can result in properties being underinsured. This means that in the event of a loss, the insurance payout may not cover the full cost of replacement. 

  • Risk of Penalties: Insurance policies often include conditions that penalize underinsured properties. If the replacement cost coverage is not accurate, clients may face significant financial penalties during claims.

Benefits

  • Save Time and Cost: Archipelago’s Valuation Outlier detection utilizes the data of millions of valuations of our platform across all states and occupancies to determine if a given building is over- or undervalued compared to similar buildings in their area.  This reduces costs and saves time by pinpointing the group of buildings that may need a new appraisal instead of reappraising the full portfolio.  

  • Optimize Coverage: By continuously updating and verifying property values, Archipelago’s Recommendation ensures more accurate insurance coverage, protecting clients from potential underinsurance penalties.

  • Ensure Informed Decisions: Updated valuations provide brokers with the data needed to advise clients accurately, helping them decide whether to seek additional valuation information so that they can accurately adjust their insurance coverage to reflect current replacement costs.

  • Build Advisory Reputation: Equipped with accurate data, brokers can provide more informed advice to their clients, enhancing their advisory role and client trust.

How the Valuations Feature Works

  1. Uses data from millions of buildings: The feature queries millions of properties on the Archipelago platform to establish a replacement cost per square foot range, factoring in variables such as building location and occupancy.

  2. Statistical range: A valuation range is calculated as ½ standard deviation above and below the mean for each peer group, giving an upper and lower bound rather than a single point estimate.

  3. Reliability check: A statistical analysis is performed on the underlying dataset to confirm the sample size is adequate for a reliable, defensible valuation range. Where the coefficient of variance exceeds 1 — indicating too much variability at a 95% confidence interval — or the sample size is not statistically significant, a national-level dataset is used instead of state-level data.

  4. Geographic adjustment: When national-level data is used, a state-specific multiplier is applied to account for regional differences in building replacement costs, producing a state-adjusted replacement cost.

  5. Time adjustment: Where the valuation data on the platform is more than a year old, an inflation metric is applied to keep the range current with rising material and construction costs.

  6. Diagnostic tool with Recommendation: Brokers upload a Statement of Values (SOV), and Recommendation evaluates the replacement costs, highlighting under- or overinsured properties.

  7. Prioritized action: The tool prioritizes properties that need appraisals, guiding brokers to recommend the necessary adjustments to clients.

The feature is included within the Archipelago platform fee, making it a cost-effective solution without additional hidden charges.