I had my 152 insured for $26,000 dollars. When it was totalled, I sort of wished that I had insured it for more than that.... Not at all unlike when you hit triple 7's in Vegas...you wish you had bet more. However, I thought I could replace it for 26 thousand. I didn't think mine was worth that, but in insuring the plane, I was thinking about replacement value.
With my current 150/150 TD...it's insured for $35,000 hull value. For that much, I'm sure a new set of wings could be found, or another engine could be had. Heck...you could buy a nice 150D, and have the conversions transferred. I figured that I'd do the work (providing I'm able after the reason the claim is filed). I also figured in the fact that there are lots of nice 150/150's out there in the low 20's...and one particularly sweet 150/150 (N150WW) out there for sale in the low 40's. I'd bet I could swing the additional 5 grand to acquire such a nice steed.
So...am I over-insured? Perhaps I am in somebody's book. But, in my book, and within my own budget, I'm not looking at recouping my initial cost, I'm looking at replacing what I've got.