Disputed personal property evaluation

undefinedWhat is the name of your state? Florida
I have received checks in payment for some of my personal property that was destroyed by Hurricane Charley. The appraisal, and depreciation amounts they came up with differ substantially in many cases from the amounts that they requested I supply. I have not deposited their checks which were accompanied with a list of the items that the checks referred too. As I need the funds for the rebuilding and living expenses I would like to deposit the checks, but do not want to imply that I agree with their evaluations or am accepting the checks without protest or revision to an agreeable amount. They know I am dissatisfied and am disputing their appraisals,as I have emailed their customer representative assigned to me. She has told me that these are partial payments and my depositing them will not affect my future dissent.
My question is, "How should I endorse the checks for deposit and protect myself for future negotiations" as I also have many more items to list for reimbursment, and since I naturally have a limited maximum coverage for which they are liable, I would only want to claim those items with the LOWEST depreciation once my insured limit is reached. I hope I have made myself clear?? Thanks Monroe

You need to read "Settlement Provisions" or "How we settle a loss" in Section 1 of your policy. You need to find out if the company has an option for repair/replacement and at whose cost.

The checks are ok for cashing unless they are "drop-drafts" or settlement drafts. Both would include full and final settlement language and/or a seperate signed settlement agreement. However, I would not deposit them for another reason. They diminish your ability to effectively negotiate the balance of your claim. Meaning: They give you a b.s. advance payment so as to give the appearance of good will. They know that once you accept those funds as the "undisputed" portion of the loss that they are in a better position to play hardball with the balance. It is purely psychological and may mean nothing to you. Either way, if you have a question on the checks you should consult an attorney that does insurance defense work, be sure to ask about conflicts with your insurer first.

Depreciation is very subjective. There is very little definitive case law on this issue. In general, there is no "stock" depreciation schedule referenced in your insuring agreement. As such, you and I may have a completely different useful life for an identical VCR that we both purchased at the same store, same date, same cost. Our use of that item is what determines the useful life. Most insurers will use 6-8 years as the useful life of a consumer electronic item like a VCR. However, I have one in my basement that I have owned for 20 years and it works perfectly. Thus, if I were to make a claim on that item and others like it, I could reasonably use 15-20 years as the useful life.

The insurer will depreciate a 3 year old VCR like this:

VCR 3 yrs/6 yr. life RCV $100 ACV $50 Dep. $50 or 50%

You would depreciate the same VCR in this manner:

VCR 2.85 yrs/20 yr. life RCV $100.00 ACV $85.00 Dep. $15.00 or 15%

Re: your policy limits. Generally contents are covered at about 70% of coverage A. If your contents limits were $100K and your contents RVC is $105K you will not likely reach the policy limits since insurers know that very little recovereable deprication is actually recoverable. That is why there really is no such thing as Replacement Cost Coverage. If you claimed $170K in contents with depreciation at 40% you would be left with an ACV of $102K which exceeds the policy limits by $2K thus you would get an ACV payment of $100K less deductible.

Having written all of this, I may have erred. I am assuming this is a HO Policy we are discussing not NFIP[National Flood Insurance].

Claimlaw