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