Assignment of Insurance Claim

[Wes Waggoner]

I have a potential seller that has an open insurance claim due to a house fire. He's ready to move on to live with family elsewhere. Any experience or advice about getting the insurance claim assigned to me? My thoughts are he'd assign the claim to me, I'd pay him $X amount for the lot and maybe a percentage of the claim, and then rebuild. State Farm is the insurance company (which I hear can be a pain) FYI. Thanks! -Wes

[John Mocker]

Wes,

Generally, the insurance company will pay the ACV (actual cash value =  Replacement Cost less the depreciation).  The the policy covers RC (replacement cost), the balance would be paid to the insured after proof of the rebuilding/completed repairs is provided to the Insurance company.  I'm not sure how this could be structured around the purchase.  Your agent should be able to get you general info but you may need to discuss it with state farm or the State Insurance dept to find out if the payments could be made to you or to your contractor.