If you bought your North Atlanta home before 2021 and have not updated your dwelling coverage since, there is a reasonable chance you are underinsured. Not slightly underinsured. Meaningfully underinsured, in a way that would matter a great deal if you had to file a major claim.

What happened to rebuild costs

Between 2020 and 2024, residential construction costs in Georgia increased 35 to 45 percent depending on the submarket. Labor costs rose sharply after the pandemic. Lumber, copper, roofing materials, and concrete all saw sustained price increases that have not fully reversed. A home that cost $180 per square foot to rebuild in 2019 now costs $240 to $260 per square foot in North Atlanta.

On a 2,500 square foot home, that difference represents $150,000 to $200,000 of additional rebuild exposure that your original policy did not anticipate.

How this shows up at claim time

When you file a claim, your insurer pays up to your dwelling limit, minus your deductible. If your limit is $480,000 and the actual rebuild cost is $620,000, you pay the $140,000 gap out of pocket. This is called being underinsured, and it happens more often than most homeowners expect.

Some carriers have automatic inflation guard endorsements that increase your dwelling limit by 2 to 4 percent annually. But 3 percent annual increases have not kept pace with 40 percent construction cost increases over four years. If you have inflation guard, check the math anyway.

What to do

Request a replacement cost estimator review from your agent. This uses current construction cost data for your ZIP code and your home's characteristics to estimate what a full rebuild would actually cost today. It takes about 15 minutes of information gathering and gives you a number you can compare against your current limit.

If there is a significant gap, you have options: increase your dwelling limit, add an extended replacement cost endorsement (which pays a percentage above your limit), or in some cases, add guaranteed replacement cost coverage (which pays actual rebuild cost regardless of limit, available from select carriers for qualifying homes).

We do this review as part of every coverage review at no charge. Start with your current declarations page.