Other Considerations
OSHA Requirements
OSHA requirements can affect the cost of the component being directly installed. For example, within the labor productivity rates, Cotality recognizes fall protection requirements. These requirements include the extra time required to install safety equipment and/or harness systems and restrictions on the workers' movement. The Cotality Claims Construction Cost Database also accounts for the costs of required safety equipment. These hard costs are considered part of the “Jobsite Overhead” outlined in the formula above.
Line Items
Line items generally include material, labor and equipment (as applicable). Details of each applicable component can be found within Item Properties in Cotality Estimate™.
- These details are designed to identify the materials used, waste amounts, labor rates, labor productivity and equipment included.
- When necessary, these components are editable, allowing estimators to customize pricing details based on unique job requirements.
Material details show the material description, the material cost priced per typical unit purchased, the gross coverage, the typical waste, the net coverage after waste has been subtracted, and the resulting materials price based on unit of measure. Labor costs are displayed as fully burdened billing rates, excluding any costs related to material markup.
These rates include the base worker wage plus all related costs. Labor productivity descriptions include an explanation of the work as well as specifying the laborer or crew expected to perform the work. These descriptions also state the average cost per hour, define the expected productivity, and display the resulting cost per unit of measure. Equipment details show the cost to rent equipment, the amount of work that can be performed with the equipment in a defined period, and the resulting cost.
Regional Differences
Construction techniques vary from region to region. Different climates and varying local customs provide a variety of unique regional methodologies. For example, in Southern Florida, it is common to build the first floor of a home from concrete block capped with a grade beam. On the other hand, in the Northeast it is common to see a full basement foundation.
Many other regional differences are found throughout the US and Canada and should be considered when structuring an estimate repair scope. It should be understood that estimating and planning for projects in different areas may require customization of pricing items, especially if the construction methods being utilized are not common to the region.
Inflation/Recession Cost Accountability
Cotality collects data and compiles costs monthly. Most, if not all, inflationary costs are inherently included in the material costs gathered. Similarly, labor costs are collected and compiled monthly and therefore any inflationary changes are reflected in Cotality pricing data as they occur.
Cotality pricing accounts for localized jobsite overhead and profit rates, factoring in economic conditions, supply and demand trends, and regional validation of subcontractor quotes.
Cotality pricing presents a well-informed and data-driven reflection of the estimated expected retail construction costs for a given region, based on current market trends and economic conditions.
Cotality pricing does not consider temporary sale prices, contractor discounts or other individual source anomalies that may not be available to all construction material consumers.
Historically, Cotality construction material pricing align closely with Producer Price Indices (PPI) with an expected one- to three-month lag for producer cost changes to be reflected at the retail level. Cotality price estimates are not intended to reflect temporary material or labor price surges or declines, but instead strive to reflect the impact of price surges over a three- to six-month period. If these additional pricing factors exist within a given market, estimators may consider including additional considerations for material, labor, or Overhead & Profit within an estimate. The inclusion, omission or amount of General Overhead & Profit is defined by the estimator based on the specific circumstances of the job under estimation and are not defined by Cotality.
Fuel Costs
The Cotality Construction Database includes consideration for fuel costs to account for scenarios that, for example, require transport vehicles to collect or deliver materials to jobsites, or that involve equipment requiring fuel such as generators, commercial air compressors, forklifts, etc. Additionally, Cotality monitors and updates IRS changes to the mileage rate annually. Mileage allowance is an all-inclusive item for fuel and regular maintenance on a vehicle and is the most widely used method for companies and carriers.
Cotality recognizes that fuel prices can be volatile. In this vein, additional or adequate compensation may be required for mileage line items such as ‘FEE - Permits & Fees’ and/or ‘FEE - Mileage Charge, Per Mile.’ To enable compensation for higher fuel costs, Cotality Estimate™ provides a ‘FEE - Fuel Surcharge, (ea.)’ line item, which allows estimators to input additional cost considerations.
Pricing Database Identification
For every Cotality estimate that is created in Cotality Estimate™, several pricing database parameters are specified by the company originating the claim. Examples of some parameters include: the applicable version of the database, General Contractor Overhead and Profit values, and other variables. Typically, estimates in Cotality Estimate™ that originate from an insurance carrier will continue to reflect the carrier settings even when that estimate is reassigned to another entity like a service provider or independent adjuster.
Data points such as Item Actions from the applicable Cotality Construction Cost Database will typically populate with the original assignment based on the property address and will not need to be updated. If any updates are needed, any of these components may be adjusted by the estimator and all changes will be recorded and available for review within Cotality Estimate™.
Claims Pricing Feedback
Cotality is committed to continually improving the content of our pricing data- bases. Feedback may be submitted as a new item request, price review of existing items, clarification on existing items, suggested changes, or other suggestions relevant to the pricing database. Our team of experts will review and respond to the request when feedback is submitted. They may ask for further clarification as needed. Updates will be provided to the requestor as the feedback is reviewed and processed for update into a future release of the pricing database, if applicable.
To submit Claims Pricing Feedback, please visit our online portal at Pricing Analysis Inquiry
Claims Construction Pricing Database Methodology
For a detailed explanation of the holistic methodology used in the Cotality Claims Construction Database, please refer to the Cotality Construction Pricing Database Methodology Whitepaper.
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