Had my HVAC stolen but I have insurance. Advice needed.

[Jordan Dooley]

So I closed on my first rehab 3 days ago. YAY! But now someone has stolen my AC unit haha. We have insurance and our deductible is $1k. I heard Acs can cost $3k-$5k? is that accurate? I'm in Atlanta, GA.

Also, my partner is saying maybe we shouldn't make a claim because too many claims will make it harder to get a payout? That's what it sounded like. But also an insurance agent told me the insurances are temporary and don't carry on to new projects. Can someone shed some light for me? Yes, this sucks but we have a $10k fluff margin in our budget so we expected things. I'm just excited to be able to learn from this experience.

[Michael Norris]

@Jordan Dooley couple things:

First - make sure you have the proper type of policy for the risk such as a vacant, builders risk or course of construction policy.

If you have a “landlord “ policy chances are they will deny any claim bc the property should have been on a different policy contract.

Second - read the exclusions on your policy.

Many policies for vacant property exclude theft with the exception that some (builders risk and COC) may cover theft of "building materials" - since the AC was already installed it would be a stretch to call it building materials.

Last - I bet you have ACV coverage for this type of loss which means they will depreciate for the age of the AC before paying out on a claim.

If the cost of the unit is $3000 and it’s 5 to 7+ years old it would be adjusted heavily for age - maybe 50%?

$3000 repair - 50% depreciation = $1500 payout.

$1500 pay out minus your deductible = probably not worth claiming it.

Also - someone mentioned above...your place has a target on it and thieves will be back so you need to extra secure the property and make friends with the neighbors so they hopefully watch out for you.

Good luck!