Actual Cash Value vs Replacement Cost Calculator

ANA›Life Services Authority›National Calculator Authority›Actual Cash Value vs Replacement Cost Calculator

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Actual Cash Value vs Replacement Cost Calculator

Compare what your insurance pays under Actual Cash Value (ACV) versus Replacement Cost Value (RCV) policies. ACV deducts depreciation from the replacement cost, while RCV pays the full cost to replace the item new.

Replacement Cost (Current New Price) ($)

Cost to buy the same or equivalent item brand new today.

Total Useful Life (Years)

Expected lifespan of the item (e.g. roof: 20 yrs, appliance: 10 yrs).

Current Age of Item (Years)

How old the item is at the time of the loss.

Policy Deductible ($)

Amount you pay out-of-pocket before insurance pays.

Depreciation Method

Straight-Line (Linear) Double Declining Balance

Straight-line depreciates evenly each year; declining balance front-loads depreciation.

Salvage / Residual Value ($)

Estimated value at end of useful life (often $0 for most personal property).

Calculate

### Results Summary

Metric Value

function actCalc() { const errEl = document.getElementById('act-error'); const resEl = document.getElementById('act-result'); errEl.style.display = 'none'; resEl.style.display = 'none';

/ ── Inputs ── / const rc = parseFloat(document.getElementById('act-replacement-cost').value); const life = parseFloat(document.getElementById('act-useful-life').value); const age = parseFloat(document.getElementById('act-age').value); const ded = parseFloat(document.getElementById('act-deductible').value) || 0; const method = document.getElementById('act-depreciation-method').value; const salvage = parseFloat(document.getElementById('act-salvage-value').value) || 0;

/ ── Validation ── / const errors = []; if (isNaN(rc) || rc life) errors.push("Age cannot exceed total useful life."); if (!isNaN(salvage) && salvage > rc) errors.push("Salvage value cannot exceed replacement cost."); if (!isNaN(ded) && ded `⚠️ ${e}

`).join(''); errEl.style.display = 'block'; return; }

/ ── Depreciation Calculation ── / let depreciatedValue = 0; // total accumulated depreciation let bookValue = rc; // current book value (= ACV before floor)

if (method === 'straight-line') { / Annual Depreciation = (RC - Salvage) / Useful Life Accumulated Depreciation = Annual Depreciation × Age Book Value = RC - Accumulated Depreciation / const annualDep = (rc - salvage) / life; const accumDep = annualDep * age; depreciatedValue = accumDep; bookValue = rc - accumDep; } else { / Double Declining Balance: Rate = 2 / Useful Life Each year: Depreciation = Book Value × Rate (stops depreciating below salvage value) Iterating year-by-year for fractional ages too. / const rate = 2 / life; let bv = rc; const fullYears = Math.floor(age); const fraction = age - fullYears;

for (let y = 0; y 0) { const dep = Math.max(bv * rate * fraction, 0); bv = Math.max(bv - dep, salvage); } bookValue = bv; depreciatedValue = rc - bv; }

/ ACV floor: cannot be less than salvage value / const acv = Math.max(bookValue, salvage);

/ Depreciation percentage / const depPct = (depreciatedValue / rc) * 100;

/ Payout after deductible (floor at 0) / const acvPayout = Math.max(acv - ded, 0); const rcvPayout = Math.max(rc - ded, 0);

/ Out-of-pocket difference if you have ACV policy / const outOfPocketDiff = rc - acvPayout; // what you'd still need to replace item const savings = rcvPayout - acvPayout; // extra $ an RCV policy pays

/ ── Render Table ── / const fmt = v => '$' + v.toFixed(2).replace(/\B(?=(\d{3})+(?!\d))/g, ','); const pct = v => v.toFixed(2) + '%';

const rows = [ ['Replacement Cost (New)', fmt(rc)], ['Item Age', age + ' yr' + (age !== 1 ? 's' : '')], ['Total Useful Life', life + ' yr' + (life !== 1 ? 's' : '')], ['Depreciation Method', method === 'straight-line' ? 'Straight-Line' : 'Double Declining Balance'], ['Salvage Value', fmt(salvage)], ['Total Depreciation', fmt(depreciatedValue) + ' (' + pct(depPct) + ')'], ['─────────────────────', '─────────────'], ['Actual Cash Value (ACV)', fmt(acv)], ['Replacement Cost Value (RCV)', fmt(rc)], ['─────────────────────', '─────────────'], ['Policy Deductible', fmt(ded)], ['ACV Payout (after deductible)', fmt(acvPayout)], ['RCV Payout (after deductible)', fmt(rcvPayout)], ['─────────────────────', '─────────────'], ['Extra Paid by RCV Policy', fmt(savings)], ['Your Gap if ACV Policy', fmt(outOfPocketDiff)], ];

const tbody = document.getElementById('act-tbody'); tbody.innerHTML = rows.map(([label, val]) => label.startsWith('─') ? ${label} : ${label}**${val}** ).join('');

/ ── Comparison Box ── / const box = document.getElementById('act-comparison-box'); let advice = ''; if (savings

#### Formulas Used

Straight-Line Depreciation (ACV):

Annual Depreciation = (Replacement Cost − Salvage Value) ÷ Useful Life Accumulated Depr. = Annual Depreciation × Age ACV = Replacement Cost − Accumulated Depreciation (floored at Salvage Value)

Double Declining Balance Depreciation (ACV):

Rate = 2 ÷ Useful Life Each Year: Depreciation = Book Value × Rate Book Value = max(Book Value − Depreciation, Salvage Value) ACV = Book Value after Age years

Payout Calculations:

ACV Payout = max(ACV − Deductible, 0) RCV Payout = max(Replacement Cost − Deductible, 0) Gap = RCV Payout − ACV Payout

#### Assumptions & References

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References

Related Authorities

Life Services Authority › Professional Services Authority › Trade Services Authority › United States Authority ›