Home Improvement Contractor - Licensed Contractors

My contractor's insurance is trying settle for ACV (depreciated) rather than RCV. Aren't I entitled to RCV?

Bathroom work resulted in water damage to my hardwood flooring throughout condo due to leaking pipes. Contractor admits full responsibility and their insurance company estimates damage at $10,500 (RCV) but they want to settle for $8400 by including depreciation (ACV). Estimate received by flooring company to repair is $10,200. If I accept insurance company settlement I will have to pay the additional out of pocket. Since this was the contractor's fault and it goes through their insurance, shouldn't I be entitled to full replacement settlement rather than accepting the depreciated selttlement? Since I have no blame in the matter, I believe I should not have to pay anything out of my pocket. I need to know if I can legally tell the insurance company to settle for the RCV.

Public Comments

1. Tell the insurance co. you'll sue em in small claims court for the diff. if they dont pay you for full replacement cost. They are weasels anyway. Or you could sue the DDD plumbing contractor for the diff as well.
2. Its the contractor's insurance... let him deal with it. He can either go round and round with his insurance provider or pay the difference himself. I own a warranty service contract business (Im retired now), but in order to make sure my customer was happy, and there were no bad feelings over a mistake I, or my crew, made, I would take care of it myself. Just good business to leave the homeowner with as little inconvenience as possible. You can also talk to your own insurance company - they might actually be willing to go after the other insurance company themselves, hehehe. I'd talk to the contractor first tho, then check with my insurance agent, then a lawyer if necessary. By the time the lawyer is done, the insurance company will not only be paying the full amount, they will also be paying court costs, your lawyers cost, and "stress" value for your inconvenience. Have Fun
3. I would start by telling the insurance company you don't want their money, just want your floors back to the condition prior to the event. You might suggest that you would accept new flooring that matched the depreciated condition. Also that it is up to them to make that happen. It doesn't matter whether they do it themselves, pay a contractor direct, or pay you the amount of a contractor's price. It may be that the contractor's policy limits reimbursement only to depreciated value, in which case you will have to go after the contractor. You might be gutsy and ask them also, for housing expense while the work is being done. Depending on the laws in your state, the amount may be too large for small claims court. I would hold off on contacting an attorney until all other attempts have failed.