Florida 2-20 General Lines Agent (Property, Casualty, Commercial Lines and Florida Law)Property InsuranceMedium

A business owner has a Commercial Property Policy with a Building and Personal Property (BPP) coverage form. Their building sustains $150,000 in damage from a covered peril. The building's actual cash value (ACV) is $800,000, and its replacement cost (RC) is $1,000,000. The policy has an 80% coinsurance clause and the limit of insurance is $700,000. How much will the insurer pay for this loss, assuming no deductible?

  1. A$131,250
  2. B$150,000
  3. C$105,000
  4. D$175,000
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: A. $131,250

The required insurance is 80% of the replacement cost, which is $1,000,000 * 0.80 = $800,000. The client carried $700,000. The coinsurance penalty is (Amount Carried / Amount Required) * Loss = ($700,000 / $800,000) * $150,000 = $0.875 * $150,000 = $131,250.

Why the other options are wrong

  • B. This would be the payment if the coinsurance clause was met or did not apply, which is not the case here.
  • C. This calculation is incorrect and does not follow the coinsurance formula.
  • D. This calculation is incorrect and overestimates the payment due to the coinsurance penalty.

Coinsurance Penalty

A clause in property insurance requiring the policyholder to maintain a certain percentage of coverage relative to the property's value, or face a penalty in the event of a partial loss.

  • Encourages adequate coverage amounts
  • Calculated: (Amount Carried / Amount Required) x Loss
  • Applies to partial losses when coverage is insufficient

Memory trick: Coinsurance: Carried vs. Required, then multiply by the Loss.

More Property Insurance questions