Property insurance policies typically require that the insured repair or replace damaged property before recovering on a replacement cost value (RCV) basis. Until then, the insured is entitled only to the actual cash value (ACV) of the damaged property. The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey recently decided a case involving the proper method of calculating the insureds’ loss under a homeowners’ insurance policy following damage to the insureds’ property from Superstorm Sandy. In Giacobbe v. QBE Speciality Ins. Co., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 77076 (D.N.J. May 8, 2018), the plaintiff insureds contended that they were entitled to the RCV of the damaged property despite the fact that they had not repaired or replaced the property. The insurer moved for summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiffs were entitled only to ACV and that the Plaintiffs failed to offer sufficient proof of damages, i.e., that the ACV exceeded what the insurer paid.
Continue Reading Scope of Recoverable Damages: District of New Jersey Finds Insureds Not Entitled to Replacement Cost Value Until Damaged Property is Repaired or Replaced
Replacement Cost
General Contractor Overhead and Profit Ruling Issued by Florida Supreme Court
By Gene Murphy on
The Florida Supreme Court recently joined numerous other jurisdictions holding that general contractor overhead and profit should be included in an estimate on a property insurance claim when, based on the unique facts of the claim, it is reasonably likely that the insured will need to use a general contractor in completing the repairs.
In…
Enforceability of 180-Day Requirement for Recovering Replacement Cost Holdback Addressed By Southern District of New York
By J. Tyler Butts on
A federal court in New York recently cast light on the permissibility of property insurance policy provisions that require an insured to repair or replace damaged property within a certain period of time in order to be compensated for the full cost of the repair or replacement, instead of just the actual cash value of…
Potential Conflict Between Suit Limitation Period And Replacement Cost Holdback Under New York Law: Second Circuit Certifies Question
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Posted in Replacement Cost, Suit Limitation
The Second Circuit recently certified an important question to the New York State Court of Appeals, which, while presented in a remarkably straightforward manner, will likely have anything but a straightforward answer:
If a fire insurance policy contains
(1) a provision allowing reimbursement of replacement costs only after the property was replaced and requiring the…