how do you determine replacement cost for insurance claim?

Question

i lost a number of clothing items and other items with basement flood. i understand appliance replacement, but what about items with such a range of price options

i have coverage for replacement costs. i do not take photos of all my clothing and underwear, nor have all the reciepts. the big things are easy, it is the other items i am not sure of

for those who insist on determining if i have coverage, I HAVE COVERAGE FOR THIS LOSS. the question is how to determine a fair price for an item. a bra can cost from $8 to $50. i only want fair reimbursement but do not want to under value my loss. the formula for value of a goodwill donation is the garage sale price in the area. is there a blue book or other reference to be sure i do not under value the items as they are covered for replacement.

Answer 1

Replacement is "like kind & quality". In other words, a Bali bra runs $14 - $18, so I'd put it at $16. You can't, however, replace the $3.99 Target special with the $40 Victoria Secret model. How do you prove it? You don't, but a claims adjuster has seen tons of lists, and they know that you DON'T have $10,000 of bras unless you are a porn star.

So price out that 20" RCA tv with another like kind & quality 20" RCA tv, etc.

Keep in mind, they're going to actually pay you the "actual cash value" until you've REPLACED the items and submitted the new receipts - and clothing depreciates to nothing in three years, according to the charts I've seen. After you've actually replaced the items, they'll write the check for the difference, up to the policy limit.

Because you're dealing with flood damage here, I'd be very, very sure if you're being paid under a flood policy (highly unlikely, as flood doesn't cover contents stored in a basement), or under "backup of sewers & drains" which probably has a policy limit of $5,000 or $10,000. Otherwise, you'll be spending $30,000 to replace stuff, and only get reimbursed for the $5K limit.

Answer 2

First off what do you mean by flood? A broken water pipe is usually covered. Water that backs up from sewers or drains or seeps through walls is usually not covered. And a real flood defined as as a general inundation of two or more acres is definitely not covered under a homeowner's policy. Assuming coverage is there look at catalogs, the Internet net for pricing on like items and use those figures. If you still have the damaged items keep them for the adjuster to see or take pictures.

Answer 3

Clothing, shoes, personal items are always difficult to value. If the loss was a "total loss" the policy will just pay you a total dollar amount up to the limits of the policy less deductible if appropriate. Generally speaking with clothing you need to let them know the "type" of clothing you have lost. For example are all your clothing and shoes high end designer clothing? Are they mid line large department store clothing, or a mix of both. A simple sweater can range from $25 to $500 and higher. Most claims adjusters can give you guidance " a loss worksheet" to assist you in creating an accurate figure. Looking on the internet and creating your own excell worksheet with current cost of things ranging from jeans to socks anything that was totally distroyed. The more you give the adjuster to work with the better off you will be. At least that has been the case with my clients.

Answer 4

I don`t believe you can get replacement cost becuse of the age of an item and how much it has lost in value just because of time,
even if the condition is perfect. Also do you have the receipts and maybe a video recording of everything. That helps as well as serial numbers. You can generally only get what the insurance company has as a limit.

Answer 5

I'll assume your insurance covers replacement cost, not just current value. Replacement cost is the price to replace the item with the same item or a similar item. The easiest way to find this information is to go shopping. (I said shopping not buying.)

Answer 6

Take the value of the items when they were new, And subtract a percentage depending on condition and age. This can be done in much the same as the bluebook uses for used car sales in determining their worh. All items are devalued by how old they are and in what condition.

Answer 7

How do you determine the value of old family photos?