Homeowners Insurance: Replacement Cost vs. Actual Cash Value

You might be surprised to learn that even if your homeowners insurance policy covers the cost to replace or repair the damage, the amount you can get depends on some technicalities. What you get depends on whether your home insurance uses replacement cost or actual cash value for that specific thing. Replacement cost insurance works by paying you enough to replace the thing damaged, whether it's a roof or a washing machine. Homeowners insurance actual cash value will only pay you the value of the item — that means the cost to replace the item minus the depreciation.

UPDATED: Mar 13, 2024Fact Checked

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Merriya Valleri

Insurance and Finance Writer

Merriya Valleri is a skilled insurance writer with over a decade of professional writing experience. Merriya has a strong desire to make understanding insurance an easy task while providing readers with accurate and up-to-date information. Merriya has written articles focusing on health, life, and auto insurance. She enjoys working in the insurance field, and is constantly learning in order to ...

Insurance and Finance Writer

Brad Larson

Licensed Insurance Agent

Brad Larson has been in the insurance industry for over 16 years. He specializes in helping clients navigate the claims process, with a particular emphasis on coverage analysis. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah in Political Science. He also holds an Associate in Claims (AIC) and Associate in General Insurance (AINS) designations, as well as a Utah Property and Casual...

Licensed Insurance Agent

UPDATED: Mar 13, 2024

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Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We partner with top insurance providers. This doesn’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own.

Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about auto insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything auto insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by auto insurance experts.

UPDATED: Mar 13, 2024

Advertiser Disclosure

It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right coverage choices.

Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We partner with top insurance providers. This doesn’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own.

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