I'm curious what other institutions out there do. Even if you don't know the answer to the below question, but have had an experience with an insurer on the related subject....I'd welcome your feedback.

Historically, in Florida, we have accepted whatever replacement cost documented on the declarations page to be the official insurable replacement cost. A request has surfaced that if the appraisal shows a higher "Cost Approach" than the dec page, to request additional coverage. We've had several FL insurance agents say this violates a FL law in that they (the insurer) have determiend the RCV and we cannot request a higher amount.

My questions to the group:

1) I've tried to find this in the FL statutes but to no avail. Does anyone know of its existence?

2) Any other FL lenders out ther willing to share their experiences, if any, around this? In your eyes, does the appraisal "cost" trump the inurance RCV?

Thank you,

Sorry, I am not in Florida and really have no idea, but anytime someone tells me that I am violating a law, I make them show me the citation and don't bother going out on wild goose chases. If you have gotten that answer from several agents, ask them to provide you chapter and verse. Since they apparently know the law so well, it should not take them more than five minutes.

We ask the agent to send us a copy of what they used to determine the replacement cost value (often a Marshall Swift report). We compare that to the appraisal and try and determine the discrepancy. If the insurance agent states that is the replacement cost and that is all they will pay in the event of a flood, then we keep that in the file.