As the title says, neighbors kid threw a rock through my window and I submitted a claim to their insurance. The insurance offer was only on the depreciated value of the window, leaving me with a bill for about $250 to get it repaired. Is that normal? I thought insurance was supposed to cover it and if there was a gap in the coverage vs the repair they would get the rest from the policy holder?
Neighbors kid threw a rock through my window and their insurance only covers a portion?
byu/Bulevine inInsurance
Posted by Bulevine
5 Comments
Take the payout, then go to the neighbor to get the $250. If they won’t pay, file a case in small claims court.
Yes, they only owe you the depreciated value of the window not replacement cost.
The law only requires third party claims to pay the actual cash value (depreciated value) of the damaged item.
Most homeowners policies include coverage for replacement cost value coverage.
So, if you filed a claim on your own policy, it would most likely cover the full RCV amount. Filing a claim against someone else’s policy, will only get ACV.
It’s a liability claim. In general principle, your neighbor’s insurer will pay the least they think they can get away with. Your neighbor’s insurer doesn’t have an agreement with you to pay this or that amount, they will pay (on behalf of your neighbor) the least they feel they can unless you compel or force them to pay more.
That said I am not certain which law others are citing here, since I don’t see what jurisdiction you are in (US, state, another country?).
If you have already made a written demand to your neighbor and insurer and received this response, then your next step is to determine the small claims process in your area and begin pursuing that claim against your neighbor, if you feel it’s worth your time and effort.
In most cases, when another party’s insurer is nickel and diming you on obvious liability, the motion to bring the matter to any type of litigation, including small claims will motivate them to pay the rest.
An alternate strategy is that you can tell your neighbor that you will get the rest from your own insurer, but you will need to file a police report against their kid to do so. That should motivate them to pony up the rest or get on the phone with their insurer and get them to.
As others said, obvious flaws with either strategy are whether you want to have a contentious relationship with this neighbor going forward for the amount of money you’ll recover, as well as your personal inconvenience.
How do you tell your insurance you dont want to be renewed without actually saying it? …. file a $250 claim!