Is your dwelling limit a ceiling or a floor?
Everyone checks the number on the declarations page. Almost nobody asks what happens when the actual rebuild costs more than that — and on a custom property, in a year when a storm has every contractor in the county booked, it very well might. That single question separates three kinds of policy that look identical until the day you need one.
The short answer
Three valuation tiers behave very differently when a rebuild runs past the limit. Replacement cost treats the dwelling limit as a ceiling — anything above it is yours. Extended replacement cost adds a defined cushion above it. Guaranteed replacement cost undertakes to rebuild to specification without that ceiling, subject to policy conditions. Separately, some high-value forms offer a cash settlement option — an agreed payment instead of rebuilding. Ask which of these applies to the policy you're being offered, because the names don't explain themselves.
Identical on paper. Very different at a total loss.
These are market mechanics rather than one carrier's terms — but they're the mechanics that decide what a high-value policy is actually worth.
Replacement cost
Pays to repair or replace with comparable new materials, up to the dwelling limit. If the rebuild costs more than that number, the difference is yours. This is the standard arrangement and it's fine right up until the moment it isn't.
Extended replacement cost
Adds a defined cushion above the stated limit — a set amount of headroom before your exposure starts. Better than a hard ceiling, and still a ceiling. Worth knowing exactly how much headroom you have rather than that you have some.
Guaranteed replacement cost
Undertakes to rebuild to the same specification without a ceiling on the dwelling figure, subject to the policy's conditions. Here the limit functions as a floor rather than a cap. Conditions attach — reporting renovations is commonly one of them.
Chubb is associated with the stronger end of this range, and we're not going to state which tier applies to your Arkansas policy from a webpage. Forms vary, and the difference matters far too much to guess at. What we will do is tell you exactly which of the three you're being offered, in writing, before you bind — and tell you the same thing about whatever you're carrying now. Ask us in these words: is this replacement cost, extended, or guaranteed, and what conditions attach?
A limit set once, against a cost that moves.
The dwelling limit was set at a point in time. Rebuild cost isn't fixed — construction labor and materials pricing moves, and it can move sharply, which is why a limit can fall behind in a year when the housing market itself is flat.
Renovations do the same thing quietly. A limit that reflected the house as bought doesn't reflect the house as finished.
And the worst version happens at the worst moment. After a widespread regional storm, demand for contractors and materials in one area spikes at exactly the point when a lot of houses need rebuilding at once. That's precisely when a hard ceiling on the dwelling limit gets tested — not on a quiet Tuesday with one house and a full contractor market, but in the month when every roofer in the county is booked out. A valuation that looked adequate in normal conditions is being asked to perform in abnormal ones.
Tell us about renovation work that was never reported. It's the most common reason a dwelling limit has drifted, and on the stronger valuation tiers reporting renovations is frequently a condition of the coverage itself — which makes an unreported addition a coverage question and not just a limit question. It's a two-minute conversation and an awkward one to have after a loss instead of before.
What if you don't want to rebuild?
Some high-value forms offer a cash settlement option: an agreed payment rather than a rebuild. It sounds like a technicality and it isn't.
After a total loss, a good many households don't want to rebuild on the same lot. A policy that will only pay to reconstruct leaves them making a decision they never wanted to make, at the worst possible time.
Whether the option exists, what it pays relative to the rebuild figure, and what conditions attach all vary by form and by carrier. That makes it a question for the specific policy in front of you rather than something to assume from a brochure — including ours. We'll confirm it in writing as part of the quote. It's a strange thing to think about while nothing has happened, and it's the only time you can actually choose.
Rebuild cost, not market value.
On an unusual or custom property the gap between those figures can be very large — in either direction.
Four different numbers
What you paid, what it would sell for, what the county assesses, and what it would cost to rebuild. Only the last one is the insurance question, and on a custom home it's frequently the highest of the four.
Why a desktop estimate isn't enough
A square-footage calculation can't see plaster, millwork, stonework, a slate roof, or structural work that isn't standard. High-value carriers commonly want an appraisal or an on-site evaluation instead.
It takes longer, on purpose
The valuation step is slower than a standard quote, and that's the point. A limit built from an actual look at the property tends to hold up when it's tested, which is the only moment it matters.
This page is about the structure. Your contents are a completely separate mechanism — including the internal category caps that apply to jewelry, firearms, cash, and collectibles no matter how large the overall contents limit is. A household can have the dwelling side handled correctly and the contents side capped, or the reverse. The sublimit question, on the main Chubb page.
What else sits on a Chubb personal account.
Condo, co-op & renters
The same high-value logic applied where you own the inside rather than the structure, or where the building isn't yours at all.
Auto & collector vehicles
Including vehicles valued on an agreed basis rather than a depreciating one, which is the whole point for anything collectible.
Personal umbrella
Liability capacity beyond what standard markets will stack. It still attaches at a required underlying limit — how umbrella attachment works.
Boat, yacht & private flood
Watercraft on a personal account, and private flood as an alternative route to a peril excluded from every standard homeowners form.
No published range would apply to you.
Our published homeowners band reflects a five-year-old standard-market home, and putting it on this page would be actively misleading — nothing about the underwriting, the valuation basis, or the schedule is comparable. What actually drives your premium: rebuild cost rather than market value, construction type and finishes, roof, protection class and distance to a fire department, which valuation tier the policy carries, what's scheduled and at what appraised values, the liability limit selected, deductibles, and claims history. This is a description of how the coverage is rated, not a quote and not a guarantee. Send the declarations page, any appraisals, and a note of unreported renovation work, and we'll build the real figure with you.
Where the rest of this sits.
Chubb high-value insurance questions.
What happens if it costs more to rebuild my house than my policy limit?
That depends entirely on which valuation your policy carries, and it is the question most homeowners have never been asked. On a plain replacement cost policy the dwelling limit is a ceiling, and if the rebuild runs past it the difference is yours. Extended replacement cost adds a defined cushion above the stated limit, so there is some room before you are exposed.
Guaranteed replacement cost undertakes to rebuild to the same specification without that ceiling, subject to the policy conditions. Those three behave very differently in exactly the situation you buy insurance for, and the names do not explain themselves. Ask which one is on your declarations page.
Why would a rebuild cost more than the limit I was quoted?
Because the limit was set at a point in time and the cost of rebuilding is not fixed. Construction labor and materials pricing moves, and it can move sharply.
After a widespread event such as a regional storm, demand for contractors and materials in one area spikes at the very moment a lot of houses need rebuilding at once, which is precisely when many claims land together. Renovations that were never reported also matter, because a limit that reflected the house as bought does not reflect the house as finished. A dwelling limit is worth revisiting rather than inheriting from the original policy.
Can I take cash instead of rebuilding?
Some high-value policy forms offer a cash settlement option, which lets an owner take an agreed payment rather than rebuild the property. It matters more than it sounds. After a total loss some households do not want to rebuild on the same lot at all, and a policy that will only pay to reconstruct leaves them with a choice they did not want.
Whether the option exists, what it pays relative to the rebuild figure, and what conditions attach vary by form and by carrier, so this is something to confirm on the specific policy being offered rather than assume from a brochure.
How is the dwelling limit worked out on a high-value home?
On rebuild cost, not on market value and not on the county assessment. On an unusual or custom property the gap between those numbers can be very large in either direction, which is why high-value carriers commonly want more than a desktop estimate.
An appraisal or an on-site evaluation looks at the finishes, the materials, the structural work, and the features that a square-footage calculation cannot see. That process is slower than a standard quote and it is the reason the resulting limit tends to hold up better when it is actually tested.
Does this replace the conversation about jewelry and collections?
No, those are separate questions and both matter. This page is about the dwelling limit and how the structure is valued and settled. Your contents are governed by a different mechanism entirely, including the internal category caps that apply to jewelry, firearms, cash, and collectibles regardless of how large your overall contents limit is.
We have written that up on the main Chubb page. A household can have the dwelling side handled correctly and still find the contents side capped, or the reverse, so it is worth checking both rather than assuming one implies the other.
What else is in the Chubb personal book?
Alongside high-value homeowners on the Masterpiece policy there is condo and co-op, renters, personal auto including collector vehicles, valuable articles covering jewelry, fine art and collections, personal umbrella, boat and yacht, and private flood. Chubb is also a major commercial insurer.
Which pieces belong on your account depends on the property, what is in it, and what your liability exposure actually looks like, and eligibility is decided by the carrier on the facts rather than by a webpage.
How do I get a Chubb high-value quote in Bentonville or Rogers?
Start at our personal lines quote form or call (479) 286-1066. Send the declarations page, any appraisals you hold, and a note of any renovation work that was never reported, because that last one is a common reason a dwelling limit has drifted.
Expect the valuation step to take longer than a standard quote, since a custom property usually needs more than a desktop estimate. If a standard carrier serves your household better we will place it there and say so plainly.
If our coverage explainers are useful, mark Cribb Insurance as a preferred source so more Northwest Arkansas homeowners can find our local, plain-English guides.
Ask us which of the three you're carrying.
Replacement cost, extended, or guaranteed — and whether a cash settlement option exists on the form. We'll tell you in writing, for what you have now and for anything we'd offer. Send the declarations page, any appraisals, and a note of renovation work that never got reported.
Cribb Insurance Group Inc. is an independent insurance agency licensed in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Texas. We are not Chubb, and this page is not endorsed, sponsored, reviewed, or approved by Chubb. "Chubb" and "Masterpiece" are trademarks or service marks of Chubb Limited and its affiliates, used here nominatively to identify products we are appointed to place. Policies are issued by Chubb-affiliated underwriting companies.
This page describes high-value homeowners and related personal coverage in general, industry-standard terms for informational purposes only. It is not a policy, not an offer of insurance, and not a guarantee of coverage, availability, eligibility, or price. Dwelling coverage, replacement cost, extended replacement cost, guaranteed replacement cost, cash settlement options, scheduled personal property, umbrella, watercraft, private flood, limits, deductibles, endorsements, and exclusions are set by the carrier, vary by state and by policy and over time, are subject to the carrier's underwriting approval and eligibility, and apply only as written in the policy actually issued to you.
Descriptions of the three valuation tiers and of cash settlement options are general industry explanations of how these mechanisms commonly operate. They are not a statement that any particular valuation tier or settlement option is available on any Chubb policy or in Arkansas, and nothing here should be read as a representation about what any carrier will offer you. Which valuation applies, what conditions attach to it — including any requirement to report renovations or changes to the property — and whether a cash settlement option exists depend on the form actually issued. Confirm before binding.
Eligibility for any property is determined by the carrier on the facts of that property; this page makes no representation that any particular home qualifies. Nothing here is a recommendation as to the limits appropriate for your household. Flood and earthquake are excluded from standard homeowners forms and require separate coverage. Statements about construction costs and contractor availability are general observations, not predictions, and are not construction, repair, or valuation advice.
Last reviewed August 2026.