Non-Fault property claim question

[Brian Richard]

Recently, my neighbor drove her car into the deck in my back yard. Long story short, her insurance company sent an adjuster and he determined the deck needs to be demolished and replaced. It is what it is.

However, the adjuster mentioned some things that I didn't quite understand. He stated that he would create a claim for the cost of replacing the deck and then subtract 20% for depreciation and that is what I would get. It would then be my responsibility to find someone to replace the deck for that price unless I was willing to pay out of pocket. He stated if I didn't want to pay out of pocket I would most likely have to come to terms with have a deck put in that was slightly smaller than my current deck.

While I understand depreciation, I feel in a situation like this it is unacceptable to place the burden on the "victim" (me) to have my deck replaced for less than the market price. Essentially, I will most likely have to pay out of pocket to have my deck rebuilt the way it currently is.

Am I being given the run around or is this the way things really are?