Legal Question in Insurance Law in Indiana

We lost our house to a fire January 2011. We had replacement value insurance on our house and they paid us the full amount of our policy but it was not close to meeting the cost of rebuilding our new house, which is still under construction.

We were paid for actual cash value of our contents and the house and never have been paid for the replacement of our things and house because we have receive the "limit" of our policy. They claim the limit is the limit and we aren't getting more money but our policy states there is another 25% to meet the extra cost for rebuilding a house to meet current codes, etc. How do we get them pay the additional 25%?

The term "replacement value" is not as it seems. We didn't replace anything....we have a smaller house and still didn't have enough funds to pay for the new house.

We had 3,300 sq. ft. and now have 2,100 sq. ft. and still don't have enough money to pay for it. We were so under insured!! What should we do? We still are not in our new house and we have had to do a lot of the work ourselves to try and save money. What should we do?

Would the agent be liable for not insuring us for the correct amount? He didn't even know we had 33oo sq. ft. He thought we only had 1.500 sq. ft. We paid extra to have the replacement coverage and yet it wasn't enough.

With all of the tornado damage that recently happened in Indiana, I just feel so sorry for those folks, knowing that they are facing the same problems we are dealing with now.


Asked on 3/08/12, 12:12 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Kenneth Wilk Rubino Ruman Crosmer & Polen

The definitions of actual cash value and replacement value under insurance policies is not the same as you might use in common everyday language. The only way to determine whether you received maximum and proper payment under your policy AND whether your agent placed the correct insurance for you is to have your paperwork reviewed by an attorney who is knowledgeable in insurance law. It would be worth the investment to put your mind at ease.

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Answered on 3/10/12, 5:08 pm


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