Homeowners Insurance - Common Terms
Actual cash value (ACV) - The value of your property based on the current cost to replace it minus depreciation.
Additional living expenses (ALE) – What you receive for the cost of temporary housing, food, and other essential living expenses, if your home is temporarily unlivable due to a covered peril, such as fire or flood.
Appraisal - An evaluation of a home insurance property claim by an authorized person to determine property value or damaged property value.
Deductible - The amount the insured must pay in a loss before any payment is due from the company.
Depreciation - Decrease in the value of property over time due to use or wear and tear.
Inflation protection - Automatically adjusts your home insurance policy limits to account for increases in the costs to repair or rebuild a property.
Liability coverage - Protects you against financial loss if you are sued and found legally responsible for someone else’s injury or property damage.
Loss of use - A provision in homeowners and renters insurance policies that reimburses policyholders for the additional essential costs of having to live elsewhere while the home is being restored following a disaster.
Market value - The current value of your home, including the price of land.
Peril - A specific risk or cause of loss covered by an insurance policy, such as a fire, flood, windstorm or theft. An all-risk policy covers all causes of loss except those specifically excluded.
Personal property - All tangible property – excluding land – that is either temporary or movable in some way, such as furniture, jewelry, electronics, etc.
Property damage - Physical damage to property.
Renters insurance - Covers a policyholder’s belongings against perils. It also provides personal liability coverage and additional living expenses. Possessions can be covered for their replacement cost or the actual cash value, which includes depreciation.
Replacement cost - Pays the dollar amount needed to replace the structure or damaged personal property without deducting for depreciation but limited by the policy’s maximum dollar amount.
