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I am not in the insurance business, but the sources I checked by googling "co-insurance clause" (here, here, and here) all match the above explanation.

Dan

Yes - we are all understanding it correctly - now that the numbers have been added
It was the discussion of whether the slab & cistern was worth more than 20%/less than 20% that didn't connect with me
But.. that seems to be a red herring in the picture

Keep in mind that the purpose of coinsurance is to encourage policyholders to adequately insure their property. Most losses are partial losses. Without coinsurance policyholders may intentionality under insure gambling that they will only sustain a partial loss and still recover their full loss. This defeats the basic insurance principal of spreading the risk over a pool of policyholders.
A good broker will assist their client with determining adequate limits to satisfy the coinsurance requirement. If the broker fails to adequately advise the client about coinsurance and the need to insure to full value they could be on the hook for the shortfall. I suspect a lot of brokers in the Caribbean are sweating about this right now.

Errors & Omissions - Google it. Might help the cause.

It's not a red herring its a fact as proved by the formula I presented. Perhaps you just don't get it.

Also, keep in mind that the cistern may not be covered property under a lot policies. In that case it should not even be considered on either side of the coinsurance formula.

However you dress this up...we got hosed and still dont have the " hosed" check that we were supposed to get in " 5 to 10 working days" three weeks ago.

Mal - well... you've certainly had your share of stress and challenges this past calendar
...... in both places...... as if either one wasn't enough....
So - here's hoping the winds change... and change in your favour in this New Year

And the same good wishes to all others that have been struggling through this past year
Boat(s), house, cars and business'... it has been painful to watch and be able to help so little

To a peaceful year....

Jan 3 rd. I have tried to call the BVI government about a couple of issues. No phones are being answered. I have fried to call my mortgage bank (first Bank) with several different numbers. No one is answering. Same thing with Nagico. No one is answering phones. Complete breakdown in communications. Not sure what I can do.

ditto, tpcook, ditto.

We are about the same. This recovery is going to be on island time no matter how you slice it.

So today I received an answer from the insurance company on my claim. They are trying to tell me that the villa was under insured and are deducting because of that. I asked about how the under insurance worked and was told in an E-Mail from the director of Nagico that as long as it was within 80% it would not be invoked. Now they are saying that the E-Mail that I received was an explanation only and not part of the policy. I think they induced me to buy the policy by the statements that they made and this is a fraud against me. They also said that if I wanted to have the 80% under insurance that I could have bought the policy with that in effect, however in the E-Mail back to me they did not mention any cost to purchase the 80% under insurance, so that again is a fraud as the broker failed to ask me whether I wanted the 80% or not.
I am VERY angry on the way I am being treated by this company.

Co-insurance clauses only come into effect if the loss is partial. From the pictures I saw it is hard to believe that the villa was not a total loss.

Glenn I agree with you, but they claim it is not a total loss. (so they can use under insurance clause)
All of this is VERY disturbing to me and my son. We will be drafting a letter to the adjuster that we consider this a fraud in many ways

Have you consulted an attorney? Might be best, at this point.. And I would do it BEFORE I sent any letters..

Thnaks Carol

Are they saying that you have 100% coinsurance?

HI Thorsten - sympathies on this trying time - we are still awaiting our insurance company's offer.

I woud love to see the numbers they ome up with. I have explained some true partial losses to some people on Facebook that workedout about right. Mostly recent additions without updating the policy.

tpcook, I am sorry, this is indeed frustrating. They are invoking the same on our villa on Jost. We were lucky to be a partial loss but at the same time, this sucks!

In my case they made a math mistake and the under insurance factor is 87.6% This has become so DIFFICULT for me that my son is entering the picture to deal with all the cast of characters involved. So far no work permits from the government even though they promised a quick decision for skilled workers, the Bank is being very difficult to reach about my mortgage, the insurance company is shoddy. Dealing with companies in the BVI is VERY difficult

I'm sorry to hear about all of the difficulties with your insurance company. I'm not sure if anyone has spoken about the idea of hiring a Public Adjuster to navigate the settlement for you. We had a fire at our house two years ago, and based on the advice of the firemen, we hired a Public Adjuster to deal on our behalf with the insurance company. His fee was 7% of all settlements, however, we got back far more than expected, even factoring in his fee. What the Public Adjuster does is calculate everything that was lost, come up with a replacement cost, and tell that to the insurance company. They negotiate the final number, but they are negotiating more as equals, as opposed to the insurance company simply dictating their terms. The final settlement number, with a Public Adjuster, is always MUCH more than what we would have been simply offered by the insurance company. So rather than sit back and let the insurance company mandate a low settlement number to you, I would urge you to hire someone to advocate on your behalf. Not only will you have someone getting you a better settlement, but you'll also have someone dealing directly with the insurance company, saving you the stress and anxiety of doing this yourself. I hope this advice is helpful, and I apologize if this has been covered in a previous post. Best wishes on a fair resolution.

I just received the first proposal from the insurance company, but it is so ridiculous that we (My son and I) are responding that we are preparing or arbitration in the matter. I may need some one to act as an arbitrator in the matter. As an example, they are saying we are under insured by 87.6% and then in another paragraph they are saying the estimate that we submitted was too high even though it was at a per sqft rebuild of $237 The villa is heavily damaged and nothing can be reused except for the cistern. I estimated a 40 week rebuild and they think 30 weeks. A villa cannot be built in the BVI in 30 weeks.

Basically the insurance company is abusing their clients.

Sent you a PM

The BVI government is giving my builder the work permits he needs, So the rebuild will start Feb 10. The insurance company seems to be interested in finishing the claim but so far I have not seen a final proposal. The bank also is trying to help with the mortgage. So maybe the stars are aligning.

tpcook - stay on them even if you agree to a settlement amount. I made a settlement with my adjustor in person with the promise of a payment within a 2-3 weeks. It's been 18 days and so far only a "recommendation for payment" has been made to Lloyds. I suspect I'm still 3 weeks out from a check to my bank.

Jason ..see my post..if you re on island go to the office and pick it up!

Well, we received our Proof of Loss for De Life on November 30, 2017. The wire transfer arrived January 25, 2018. Our hold up was slow pay by one of two LLoyds's syndicates. We had to push to get to settlement this quickly. It worked out okay for us in the end.

Cheers, RickG

We’ve been very pleased with the service we’ve received from CIL. They’ve gone out of their way in difficult circumstances. No complaints at all.

The insurance company is still asking for more information on what my rental income was for the last 3 years. I have provided my uSA income tax forms, my computer spreadsheets showing the name, date and amount of all income. I also offered to send them every contract and the cashed checks from my guests. All of this shows without anyu doubt what my yearly income from the villa was. Now they have to think about it. BVI government is still working on the work permits. meanwhile I have bought flight tickets and accommodation on VG to meet the builder and the architect on site to discuss the project. Frustratingly slow. meanwhile the clock ticks

Unless you are making a claim for lost business revenue what does rental income have to do with a settlement? It has nothing to do with reproduction cost.

Not to mention disclosing private individuals' Credit Card and Bank account numbers.
That seems to be on the wrong side of privacy rules... curious if the insurance companies can "demand" that info

Mt policy covers me for lost rent. to a max of 10% of the sum insured.

The insurance company has the right to review and copy the insured's books and records. This is a grey area but typically it's limited to the documents necessary to validate the claim presented. Credit card and bank account numbers are not needed to prove the claim. What is more important is proof of the revenue received. That can be documented by the insured's bank account statements and other accounting records.