The Canadian Claims Construction Bulletin is a monthly overview of recent pricing trends in the property insurance, construction, and restoration industries. 

You can download the PDF below. 

Defined Regions

CoreLogic® curates this monthly bulletin of regional construction cost insights, which are reflected in the CoreLogic Claims Construction Pricing Database.   We combine the current month’s pricing data with four common loss scenarios to create models illustrating market impacts that are applied across five regions and compared month over month and year over year.  

Our experts provide detailed analyses of changes and trends to provide additional insight into key drivers. View our Construction Database Pricing Methodology whitepaper to gain additional insight into how we populate cost values.  

2024 Updates from the CoreLogic Pricing Analysis and Delivery Team

Throughout 2023 and into 2024, the CoreLogic Pricing Analysis and Delivery Team has continued to research and survey labor costs and best industry practices for all construction categories within the Claims Construction Cost Database. Based on this research and analysis, CoreLogic will continue to implement incremental monthly changes throughout 2024 to each respective trade category to standardize labor trade assignments in the CoreLogic Pricing Database.

For the August 2024 Claims Construction Cost Database release, labor trades in the following categories were standardized: Tile, Mobile Homes, Awnings & Patio Covers, Landscaping, HVAC, Floor Covering, Permits & Fees. The next categories planned to undergo alignment to the labor trade assignments in the September Pricing Database will be Fireplaces, Concrete & Asphalt, Mitigation, Appliances, Doors, and additional updates to Floor Coverings.

In addition to standardizing labor trade assignments, the Claims Construction Cost Database will continue to increase subcontractor overhead and material markup allowances across all trades through most of 2024, resulting in single-digit upward movement of labor trade rates and material prices. These overhead and material markup allowances reflect escalating costs for subcontractors such as increased vehicle acquisition and maintenance, real estate expenses, increases in software and other general office expenses, and increased job-site material delivery charges. 

CoreLogic will be updating the Claims Construction Pricing Database Methodology Whitepaper in the September or October timeframe to reflect additional considerations not previously outlined. 

Line-Item Refresh 

The August 2024 Claims Construction Cost Database release will contain refreshes of the Windows and Window Screen categories. The September release is expected to refresh the Labor, Miscellaneous, and Light Fixtures categories. The realignment process will continue on a rolling monthly basis for all categories within the Claims Construction Cost Database, with all categories targeted for completion by December 2024 or early Q1 2025.

Additional adjustments have been completed for most paint-grade, MDF, polyurethane, and PVC trim items to now include filling/light sanding of nail holes and a caulking component for install. Most stain-grade trim items will also include filling/light sanding of nail holes for install. This change was requested by multiple customers in order to accommodate the most likely installation components needed on a claims restoration project. Caulking as a stand-alone item is still available as a database Action for situations that warrant additional caulking or for other Actions that may not include a caulking component. A full listing of Actions that include this new caulking component is available upon request, and these items are being provided to the Validate product for incorporation into existing rules, as needed and/or requested.

Looking forward to September and October, additional items will be added to the Claims Construction Cost Database to expand the selection of metal ribbed roofing panels, account for Fortified Roofing Systems and add additional quality grade selections for cabinetry items, amongst other ongoing additions.

Fire/Lightning (Large Loss) Insights: 12-Month Trend

In this category, large loss claims are modeled from a typical fire loss where all components of a home’s construction are affected, and losses typically exceed $100,000.

• Pricing for the Fire/Lightning scenario has edged upward 2.1% month over month.    During that period, finish carpentry costs moved upward 3.7% but those have been tempered by less than 1% average movement of other material costs.   Labor rates have not been a factor in the monthly change.   
• The loss scenario average pricing increase since August 2023 is 8%.  Most related labor categories gained on average 4.6% year over year.  The exception is HVAC technicians, which rose 4.8% over that same period.  
• Materials with the most movement since last year are recapped in the table.

Wind/Hail (Exterior/Roof) Insights: 12–Month Trend

This category represents losses due to weather activity consisting of wind and/or hail. Restoration from this damage requires roof replacement, partial siding replacement, and accompanying accessories.

• Since August 2023, the average increase for the Wind/Hail scenario is 4.3%.  Three regions surpassed the average the Atlantic (8.1%) Ontario (6%) and Quebec (5.4%).   Influencing these increases are larger changes in siding labor rates in these regions: Atlantic (12.6%), Ontario (9.3%) and Quebec (8.3%).
• Significant pricing changes since August 2023 are recapped below.   

Interior Reconstruction (Water) Insights: 12–Month Trend

Moderately complex losses are modeled in the interior water loss scenario using the bathroom as 

the origin of loss, and a combination of replacement and repair of common household finishes is required.

• The Interior Reconstruction scenario continues to be the loss scenario with the most development (10.3%) since August 2023.  
• Contributing to this increase year over year, is the uptick in average associated labor rates (4.6%) and increases in some notable material costs listed below.  

Water Mitigation (Drying) Insights: 12-Month Trend

Typical drying costs for a residential structure include those related to water extraction, removal of wet material and use of drying equipment.

• Across all regions, the average month over month increase for the Water Mitigation scenario is 1% as there has been little movement in the water mitigation technician rates during this period.  
• Since August 2023, the average, pricing for this scenario has increased 5.1% with larger gains in the Ontario (6%) and Quebec (5.5%) regions.   
• Water mitigation technician rates grew by 4.6% across the country year over year. 

CoreLogic develops this report using up-to-date materials and labor costs. CoreLogic’s team of analysts continuously researches hard costs such as labor, material, and equipment – including mark-ups. CoreLogic updates its database every month accordingly. 

Our research also covers soft costs such as taxes and fringe benefits for reconstruction work performed as part of the insurance industry. CoreLogic monitors demographics and econometric statistics, government indicators, and localization requirements, including market trends from thousands of unique economies throughout Canada.

Other factors in our process include the following:

• Wage rates for more than 85 union and non-union trades.
• More than 100,000 construction data points.
• Productivity rates and crew sizes.
• Building code requirements and localized cost variables.

Additionally, we validate cost data by analyzing field inspection records, contractor estimates, phone surveys, and both partial and complete loss claim information.

Please complete the online form to provide feedback or request information on any items in our construction database. Please contact your sales executive or account manager for additional explanations or questions.  A more detailed methodology explanation can be found in our Construction Database Pricing Methodology Whitepaper.

About CoreLogic

CoreLogic is a leading global property information, analytics, and data-enabled solutions provider. The company’s combined data from public, contributory, and proprietary sources include over 4.5 billion records spanning more than 50 years, providing detailed coverage of property, mortgages and other encumbrances, consumer credit, tenancy, location, hazard risk and related performance information. The markets served by CoreLogic include real estate and mortgage finance, insurance, capital markets, and the public sector. CoreLogic delivers value to clients through unique data, analytics, workflow technology, advisory and managed services. Clients rely on CoreLogic to help identify and manage growth opportunities, improve performance, and mitigate risk. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., CoreLogic operates in North America, Western Europe, and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www.corelogic.com.

NOTE: The building material, labor, and other cost information in this bulletin is generated using research, sources and methods current as of the date of this bulletin and is intended only to provide an estimated average of reconstruction cost trends in the specified general geographic regions of the United States. This cost information may vary further when adjusting claim values for specific property locations or specific business conditions.