In the

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...

and casualty

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

industry, actual cash value (ACV) is a method of valuing insured property, or the value computed by that method. Actual cash value (ACV) is not equal to replacement cost value (RCV). Actual cash value is computed by subtracting depreciation from replacement cost. The depreciation is usually calculated by establishing a useful life of the item determining what percentage of that life remains. This percentage multiplied by the replacement cost equals the actual cash value. For instance, imagine a man bought a television set for $2,000 five years ago, which was unfortunately destroyed in a hurricane. His insurance provider estimates that televisions typically have a useful life of 10 years. Today, a similar television would cost $2,500. The damaged television had 50% (5 years) of its life remaining. According to insurance calculations, the Actual Cash Value (ACV) is determined by multiplying the current replacement cost of $2,500 by the remaining useful life percentage of 50%, resulting in an ACV of $1,250. This concept is different from the

book value In accounting, book value (or carrying value) is the value of an asset according to its balance sheet account balance. For assets, the value is based on the original cost of the asset less any depreciation, amortization or impairment costs made ...

used by accountants in financial statements or for tax purposes. Accountants use the purchase price and subtract the accumulated depreciation in order to value the item on a balance sheet. Actual cash value uses the current replacement cost of a new item.

Other methods of insurance valuation

Insurance policies may be purchased capitalizing several different valuation methods. These include: Replacement cost value (RCV), fixed value (guaranteed replacement cost) and actual cash value (ACV). Some policies will use different calculating methods depending upon the item. For example, the building may be insured at replacement cost value, most of the contents insured at actual cash value and a few specific items at a fixed value (antiques). Policies may also include

co-insurance In insurance, co-insurance or coinsurance is the splitting or spreading of risk among multiple parties. In the United States In the U.S. insurance market, co-insurance is the joint assumption of risk between the insurer and the insured. In title ...

clause or

deductible In an insurance policy, the deductible (in British English, the excess) is the amount paid Out-of-pocket expenses, out of pocket by the policy holder before an insurance provider will pay any expenses. In general usage, the term ''deductible'' m ...

s provisions which will impact the actual cash paid out by the insurance company. Friday, 19 May 2023

References

Property insurance Insurance case law {{Econ-term-stub

Other methods of insurance valuation

See also

References