The value of the property on the day of loss, equal to replacement cost less depreciation, the default settlement basis of all property insurance.
Actual cash value is the default settlement basis of property insurance: it is what replacing the item as new would cost, less depreciation. It differs from two neighbors with which it is often confused. Market value is a resale price, what the item would fetch as it stands, which can be far below actual cash value for a specialized asset with no secondhand market. Agreed value is a figure settled in advance between the parties, no longer open to argument at the time of loss, a solution reserved for assets on which contradictory valuation would be impractical. The choice of settlement basis is the first thing to read in a policy and the last thing policyholders check, although it alone sets the order of magnitude of the indemnity on an older asset. The problem solved is giving quantifiable content to the indemnity principle, which forbids enrichment but does not say how to measure what was lost.
France's total loss vehicle procedure, created by the act of January 18, 1985, compares the cost of repairs against the replacement value set by an expert: above it, the vehicle is withdrawn from the road and the owner settled at actual cash value rather than purchase price. That is the mechanism explaining how a seven year old car repairable for 6,000 euros can be written off and settled for less.
valeur de remplacement vétusté déduite, valeur au jour du sinistre