Originally Posted by
agent pombero
Wtf. So I pay $3000 for my steed in 2013...and in 2019 I get creamed by some punk driver...and they cut me a $500 check because that is all my steed is worth? They need to replace full value IMO for all bicycles under $8k.
So if you cream my '02 truck today, you have to buy me a brand new one?
When it comes to liability (and it matters not whether an insurance company is paying, or the person responsible) you are only responsible for the market value of what you damage/destroy. There has been enough legal precedent over the past 100 years to easily prove that.
Fair? Doesn't seem so when it's your stuff that's destroyed.....but seems reasonable if your destroyer, doesn't it?
The one exception: If it is a rare item, the liable party/ins. co. can be responsible for the full cost of repair...even if that repair is very expensive- that is usually the best way to fight for a claim- not buy proving what something cost new; not by proving what something is worth today...but by getting estimates of what it would cost to fix it. Then it is often possible to settle for the cost of a modern new replacement- which is why sometimes, on lower value items, like bikes, insurance companies will pay for a new replacement.