How Can Insurance Providers Depreciate Claim Products

When you list an insurance divulge, the immensity of income that you're at last paid can be affected by depreciation.

Calculating Depreciation

To calculate depreciation, insurance companies adoption an estimated lifespan for Belongings, sometimes referred to as the positive vitality of the Belongings. Although the Belongings could technically extreme longer than that lifespan, this is the amount of time that the insurance company expects it to last.



The basic conclusion carry on depreciation is that you've already used up some of the worth of the Belongings that's damaged. As of this, the insurance society pays an magnitude Identical to the valuation of the oppose, less the rate that you've already used up. Depreciation is a effects that the insurance association uses to protect itself from having to fee away for fresh items when older ones were damaged in a divulge.


Depreciation subtracts a sure extent of banknote from the appraisal of a parcel of Belongings, depending on how all the more adoption cost you've already gotten away of it. Depending on the type of policy you posses, you may not be reimbursed for this proportions.

Depreciation Explained


The adjuster looks at the number of years you've already used the property and compares that to the useful life. That ratio is then applied to the replacement cost of the item.


Example of Depreciation


Imagine you had a roof with a useful life of 20 years. After eight years, a hailstorm completely destroys the roof. The insurance adjuster then determines how much it would cost to replace your roof. If the total cost is $10,000, the adjuster applies depreciation to that amount. Because you got eight out of the 20 years already, the cost of the roof is depreciated by 40 percent, or a total of $4,000.


Type of Policy


Depending on the type of policy you have, you may get the depreciation amount back or you might lose it. If you have a replacement cost policy, you eventually get the depreciated amount back. The insurance company gives you the actual cash value of the property in the first payment. Then after you prove that the job is completed, the insurance company gives you the amount that was withheld for depreciation. If you have an actual cash value policy, the insurance company will only pay you for the depreciated amount. (See References 2)