This past Friday (Aug. 4, 2017), Mississippi’s Insurance Commissioner, Mike Chaney, issued a bulletin that alerts insurers that they should not be depreciating labor in Mississippi unless policy language clearly allows it, and even then, estimates must clearly delineate that labor was depreciated. I’ve quoted the bulletin below:
It is the purpose of this Bulletin to provide the position of the Mississippi Insurance Department regarding the depreciation of labor expenses by an insurer in the adjustment of property loss claims.
There is no statutory law in Mississippi prohibiting the practice of labor depreciation in the adjustment of property loss claims. If such a practice is used, the insurer should clearly provide for the depreciation of of labor in the insurance policy. Likewise, if material and/or labor depreciation is applied, the insurer should clearly set any such depreciation on the claim estimate furnished by the insurer.
This bulletin shall not apply to automobile physical damage claims
The bulletin can be found here.