Establishing the value that the insurance policy is required to pay is something a policyholder must prove at trial. The insurance company has the same obligation under good faith adjustment duties, but a value is needed for proof at trial.
Continue Reading Establish the Value Required Under the Policy
Stemming from the McCarran-Ferguson Act of 1945, insurance is regulated by the states. Knowing variations of the law and regulations is a necessity for insurance professionals crossing state lines. These state-by-state variations in law include the basics, such as determining replacement cost and actual cash value.
Continue Reading Calculating Actual Cash Value and Depreciation in California
California has a code requirement that insurance companies must pay the actual cash value of a loss under a replacement cost policy if the replacement cost benefit payment is dependent on the policyholder first repairing, rebuilding, or replacing the damaged structure. Here is the Code provision:
Continue Reading California Requires Actual Cash Value Payment By Code
Brothers, sisters, elders, and pastors better think twice before getting insurance with Church Mutual Insurance Company. Church Mutual claims managers will read the insurance policy looking for the most ingenious way not to pay a church following a disaster. Proof of this is found in a recent Hurricane Michael case where Church Mutual successfully argued that it had no obligation to pay any monies unless the policyholder church made a formal election to get paid on an actual cash value basis.
Continue Reading The Devil Is in the Details When Making a Claim with Church Mutual Insurance Company
A routine roof claim has significant results for Missouri property insurance adjustment. Some insurance companies try to chisel away at amounts owed by making up new arguments and pressing them in court. A Missouri appellate court had none of that, holding insurers should not deprecate labor when calculating actual cash value.1
Continue Reading Do Not Depreciate Labor When Calculating Actual Cash Value—Missouri Appellate Court Upholds Policyholder Win
In a paper worthy of law review publication, Michael Cassel has written an excellent review of Florida’s changing law regarding replacement cost and actual cash value. Exploring The Application of Actual Cash Value Versus Replacement Cost Value in Florida Property Insurance Claims, is a must read for anybody wanting to have a full understanding of Florida’s somewhat complex and changing treatment of replacement cost recovery versus actual cash value.
Continue Reading Florida Replacement Cost and Actual Cash Value: A Study by Michael Cassel
Significant losses make it difficult to quantify the amount of damage recoverable for personal property. Property insurance adjusters will sometimes find all the personal property was consumed in the fire. There is very little left over to view. Refreshing the policyholder’s mind with the types, amounts, and condition of personal property consumed in a major fire takes patience, time, and a great deal of expertise for the property insurance adjuster to evaluate the amount owed under the policy.
Continue Reading Personal Property Valuation In Georgia Following A Fire
Florida is becoming much stricter regarding actual cash value proof. I recently warned about this in Actual Cash Value Proof Is Important Under Most Replacement Cost Policy Disputes. My assumption is that insurance defense lawyers are teaching their insurance company adjusters that some less savvy policyholders, restoration contractors, lawyers, and public adjusters are missing this basic requirement. A good example where a policyholder needlessly lost a case is from a common Hurricane Sally lawsuit involving a Presbyterian church versus Church Mutual Insurance Company.1
Continue Reading Actual Cash Value Estimates Need To Be Made In Florida—How A Church Lost To Church Mutual
The law firm that defended Scottsdale Insurance Company in the bad faith verdict I wrote about in Hurricane Laura Bad Faith Verdict Against Scottsdale Insurance, has a blog that noted the rules for payment of replacement cost value and actual cash value. This seemed to be a major theme throughout the lawsuit since Scottsdale claimed it was properly paying actual cash value payments in a timely manner.
Continue Reading Louisiana Insurance Company Law Firm Posts About Replacement Cost Value and Actual Cash Value
Public adjuster Stephen Sarasohn wrote a comment to my recent post, Actual Cash Value Proof Is Important Under Most Replacement Cost Policy Disputes. The comment section sometimes gets lost because it is so far underneath the blog post. But his comment raises an important Florida Supreme Court case1 everyone should study and consider when dealing with partial losses where actual cash value is not defined and for policies not defining the value to be insured when considering coinsurance issues. The one caveat is that this is an older form policy.
Continue Reading An Important Florida Case Regarding Actual Cash Value of a Partial Repair and Coinsurance Sound Value That Public Adjusters Should Study