By Melvin Ngayan, Regional Director - AssetWorks LLC
As a value added service and at no additional cost, PREFERRED continues to provide property appraisal services to all of its Property Program Members. PREFERRED has contracted with AssetWorks, a professional appraisal firm, to conduct appraisals on behalf of the Members.
Who is AssetWorks?
AssetWorks is an industry leading provider of technology and consulting solutions for asset and infrastructure intensive organizations in government, education and utilities. AssetWorks has served over 50 risk pools and conducted appraisals on over 150,000 public entity buildings for insurance purposes.
Why appraise property?
An on-site appraisal will assure an accurate schedule of values and property underwriting data. This results in equitable allocation of premiums and competitive rates in the marketplace. It will provide members with an accurate insurance replacement cost and act as a benchmark for proof-of-loss substantiation in the event of a loss.
How does the program work?
The Project Manager from AssetWorks will contact the Member for scheduling of fieldwork, briefly review the existing property schedule, and outline the process. There will also be an on-site meeting prior to the fieldwork to clarify information and address any additional questions.
A general description of the steps of the process are as follows:
• PREFERRED notifies Members that they will be contacted by AssetWorks to schedule a mutually agreeable date and time to conduct the appraisal.
• After appraisals are completed, AssetWorks provides the Members and agents with preliminary appraisals via email to review. Members make inquiries and/or report any discrepancies back to AssetWorks for revision prior to issuance of final reports. The review of preliminary reports should be completed within a 20 day timeframe, however if more time is needed the member and agent should communicate this to AssetWorks in order to work out an agreeable timetable for review.
• AssetWorks provides final reports/data to PREFERRED and the Members via email in a .pdf report and an excel file.
• PREFERRED will work with the agents to update property schedules with the appraisal data and values in order to continue the members blanket coverage.
What property will be appraised?
• Onsite appraisals will be scheduled for all buildings at each site with the exclusion of swimming pools.
• Property in the open will be appraised as it relates to a scheduled building and includes items such as signs, flagpoles, fences, light poles, play structures, etc.
• Contents at each scheduled location will be included based on a modeling technique. AssetWorks utilizes computer models of more than 100 building types to arrive at a representative contents value.
What should the Members do to assist with the appraisal process?
• Meet with the appraiser on the agreed upon date/time to review the property schedule for consistency and to ensure accuracy. Additionally, this is a good point for Q&As regarding any aspect of the appraisal.
• Make Member personnel/staff aware of the project and that an appraiser will be coming onsite.
• Assist the appraiser with gaining access to all buildings. They’ll need to look in each structure, not every room, but more general areas to identify components and systems.
• Identify any leasing situations where the Member does not own either the building or the contents.
• As needed, provide construction cost information to the appraiser for any buildings built in 2012 or later.
• Upon distribution of the preliminary reports, please review, and contact AssetWorks Project Manager with any questions and issues. Approve preliminary reports for issuance of the final reports.
Preferred Appraisal Coordinator: Michael Stephens, Senior Loss Control Specialist – 321.832.1658 – [email protected]
The AssetWorks Team: Melvin Ngayan, Project Director & Andrew Ross, Project Manager
Mr. Ngayan is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and holds a BS in Environmental Engineering. Mr. Ngayan is a Regional Director with AssetWorks LLC and has been serving clients with onsite appraisal services since 1997. His tenure at AssetWorks LLC has included the planning, management, and execution of numerous capital asset cost accounting studies and property appraisal projects for municipalities, county governments, and other public sector entities. As a lead valuation consultant, Mr. Ngayan’s responsibilities included the training and management of appraisal staff in the Eastern Region as well as the task of managing large and complex projects.
Mr. Ngayan is Marshall & Swift Commercial Building Appraiser Certified. Mr. Ngayan possesses significant technical expertise in the procedures and methodologies used to value machinery & equipment, buildings & building services, infrastructure, land improvements, and land parcels. He possesses a practical knowledge and understanding of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP); Government Accounting, Auditing, and Financial Reporting (GAAFR); Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement 34 (GASB 34); and various other audit concerns related to capital asset reporting. Mr. Ngayan is also experienced in providing insurance replacement and proof-of-loss information to our clients to assist in addressing their insurance reporting needs. Mr. Ngayan also has significant experience appraising architecturally unique and historical buildings.
