Five useful checks before sending a property SOV

A Statement of Values (SOV) contains location and value information used in commercial property insurance workflows. Inconsistent spreadsheets create avoidable back-and-forth. These five checks are helpful starting points, not a substitute for verification or an underwriting review.

1. Check locations have usable identifiers

Every building row should have a sensible identifier or street address, plus city and appropriate jurisdiction details. Missing or inconsistent location keys can prevent a meaningful renewal comparison.

2. Investigate blanks, not just zeros

A blank building value, construction field or occupancy isn't automatically equivalent to zero or 'not applicable.' Resolve whether the omission was deliberate before using the file.

3. Recalculate totals against the stated basis

Where Building, Contents and Business Income amounts are provided and intended to sum to Total Insured Value, confirm the arithmetic. Be aware that policy-specific schedules may use a different basis; a mismatch is a prompt for review, not proof of an error.

4. Look for possible repeated locations

Matching addresses can represent copied entries, but also legitimate multibuilding sites. Flag exact or near-repeated keys and confirm with the source instead of deleting rows automatically.

5. Compare renewal movement with context

Material year-over-year value movements may reflect inflation, additions, removals, upgrades, corrections or changes in methodology. Identify locations with large movements and request supporting explanations when appropriate. Matching by ID is useful; duplicated IDs or uncertain matches need human review.

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