Insurance folks... got a question

[missouridawg]

My wife was hit by a driver a few weeks (no injuries, no kids in the car) and we're in the process of getting the vehicle repaired. We bought our car brand new and it only had like 4000 miles on it when it got hit. We plan to ask the insurance company who is covering the repairs to also cut us a check for the "value that is lost during resell because the car has been in a wreck".

Do any of you have any experience on this? How much should I ask for? How should I phrase the request? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Madison Swinger]

and people wonder why insurance rates are going up

 

[missouridawg]

and people wonder why insurance rates are going up

Yes. They're going up because some moron turned left across 3 lanes and hit my wife because he wanted to get his Hartz Chicken bucket about 15 seconds quicker than what traffic was allowing him. Sorry I'm not interested in owning the cost of his stupid mistake.

 

[squintdawg]

Not an insurance expert - but you have every right to not ask, but demand a diminished value payment.

 

[patdog]

Because I was curious, I Googled it. This could be helpful:

https://time.com/nextadvisor/insurance/car/diminished-value-claim/

 

[GloryDawg]

My wife was hit by a driver a few weeks (no injuries, no kids in the car) and we're in the process of getting the vehicle repaired. We bought our car brand new and it only had like 4000 miles on it when it got hit. We plan to ask the insurance company who is covering the repairs to also cut us a check for the "value that is lost during resell because the car has been in a wreck".

Do any of you have any experience on this? How much should I ask for? How should I phrase the request? Any advice would be appreciated.

It's called diminished value. There is no state law for it and they only pay if you ask for it. It is consider case law. Someone sued and now companies pay it if asked. There is a formula they use and the age of the car is a major component of it. Tell the adjuster and he will tell you what you are going to get. It's not a random number.

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

I know an attorney in East Texas. Might be the perfect guy for you. My sister in law got hit with no injuries. 6 months later she showed up with a brand new Buick and some new tits.

With those twins hanging from the wife's love utters... Well in a few years you won't care if you got the Buick or not, but the other part will be mighty nice. Don't want them things clogging the drain when she's in the shower.

 

[Xenomorph]

Don't let mouth breathers here bust your balls. You'll take a bath on this if you stay quiet. My wife's 2013 GMC Acadia was hit in the rear and required ~$7K in repairs several years back.

The at-fault insurance company paid. I traded the vehicle 6 months ago and the carfax returned a "SEVERE" damage report so the trade in value dropped from $10K to $7.5

I was a dope back then and never considred what it did to the value of the vehicle... I was just glad she was ok and insurance "fixed" the car.

 

[Go Budaw]

Based on some quick reading, it looks like the diminished value claim comes from your insurance company filing an additional small claims suit against the at-fault driver’s policy. They’ll probably inflate the claim to cover their administrative costs as well. It seems like something that goes more smoothly when both drivers in the accident are in their state of residence when the accident occurs, because laws vary from state to state.

Good luck.

 

[rynodawg]

Don’t know why that’s downvoted. As long as other driver is at-fault and the claim is on their policy, get everything you can. A wreck definitely hurts the value of a brand new car, even if repaired. Just tell the claim representative you want to add in ‘loss of value’, they will offer a fair amount, more than likely.

 

[SwampDawg]

Sounds reasonable to me. That's loss of value. These days there is a website, I forget the name, where you pay a little and can check on the repair history by VIN number.

 

[Col. Forbin]

Rates are going up because we have become such a litigious society. Just look at Louisiana. Take that into account and all the bells and whistles on new cars make a fender bender much more expensive to fix.

 

[ll Martain ll]

I’ve been through this too.

You can ask, but you need proof of some kind. I took my car to CarMax the day I picked it up to get a sale quote. I sent the other guys insurance that quote plus what KBB said the value was and asked them to pay the difference. They lowballed me, but when I asked what they were basing their offer on, I got their “final offer” of about 60% of what my number was. I took it because the only next step was lawyer and it wasn’t worth fighting more to me. I was happy to get something out of it since the car was never the same after—ended up taking the CarMax offer like a week later.

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

My wife got rearended a few years back and it was totally deemed the other drivers fault. The perpetrator was a company vehicle and fully covered. Our car was considered totaled and all we got for the car was the blue book value. I absolutely could not understand why the value of the car to the person is not considered. In my case the car was purchased as a used car for about $11,000. We still owed like $3,500 on it. We got like $5,000 for the vehicle. so we end up with $1500. So I had a vehicle that allowed my wife to go to work to earn money. I was paying about $250 a month on a loan that was now mostly paid for so maybe 1.25 years left. After the accident I only now have $1500 to put to a new car and I am looking at another 5 or so years of financing. I wasn't totally prepared at that moment to add a bunch of money towards a new vehicle purchase, plus I was also of the opinion why should I be hurt on this deal in any way. I should be made whole immediately as if it never happened.

She was injured a bit and we had to make up these values against money that was suppose to cover medical costs.

I explained this to absolutely no avail during my process. Even my lawyer tried to explain this non logical system to me. I explained to him why he was wrong in that a car has more value to a person than just the hard value of the car at that time. But the law does not seem to think that.

 

[Irondawg]

Wow, I had never considered this before and didn't know this was even possible with the insurance companies.

 

[missouridawg]

I’ve been through this too.

You can ask, but you need proof of some kind. I took my car to CarMax the day I picked it up to get a sale quote. I sent the other guys insurance that quote plus what KBB said the value was and asked them to pay the difference. They lowballed me, but when I asked what they were basing their offer on, I got their “final offer” of about 60% of what my number was. I took it because the only next step was lawyer and it wasn’t worth fighting more to me. I was happy to get something out of it since the car was never the same after—ended up taking the CarMax offer like a week later.

I have actually already requested a pre-wreck and post-wreck appraisal from the dealership that is conducting the repairs.

Considering that I'll be shuttling around 4 kids (two infants) in this car for the next 4 years, I'm not going to settle easily at all with shoddy repairs.

 

[thatsbaseball]

Missouri, check your PM. I'm in the middle of the exact same situation as we speak. I'm sending you the name and phone number of an appraisal service I was referred to as being the best at this. I talked to the guy and he told me to let things play out a little farther then contact him if I wasn't satisfied with what I was offered. I'm trying not to get a lawyer involved.

 

[GloryDawg]

Wow, I had never considered this before and didn't know this was even possible with the insurance companies.

No insurance company is going to offer it up. You have to know about it and ask for it. It's the insurance company at fault that is responsible for it. Not yours.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

My wife got rearended a few years back and it was totally deemed the other drivers fault. The perpetrator was a company vehicle and fully covered. Our car was considered totaled and all we got for the car was the blue book value. I absolutely could not understand why the value of the car to the person is not considered. In my case the car was purchased as a used car for about $11,000. We still owed like $3,500 on it. We got like $5,000 for the vehicle. so we end up with $1500. So I had a vehicle that allowed my wife to go to work to earn money. I was paying about $250 a month on a loan that was now mostly paid for so maybe 1.25 years left. After the accident I only now have $1500 to put to a new car and I am looking at another 5 or so years of financing. I wasn't totally prepared at that moment to add a bunch of money towards a new vehicle purchase, plus I was also of the opinion why should I be hurt on this deal in any way. I should be made whole immediately as if it never happened.

She was injured a bit and we had to make up these values against money that was suppose to cover medical costs.

I explained this to absolutely no avail during my process. Even my lawyer tried to explain this non logical system to me. I explained to him why he was wrong in that a car has more value to a person than just the hard value of the car at that time. But the law does not seem to think that.

My wife was t-boned from a car over 60 mph that ran a red light Rolled her and she has some long term effects she is still trying to fix with a lawyer's help. It happened a year ago tomorrow and we are still working on it.

 

[thatsbaseball]

Unless the driver who caused the accident has minimum coverage (25k) for "property damage" and the total damage to all vehicles involved was more like 45K.

 

[thatsbaseball]

Exactly, Allstate lost a class action suit about this several years ago.

 

[thekimmer]

Just keep in mind that the insurance company and especially one you are not paying premiums to are not on your side in this no matter what the ad jingle says. Their goal is to get out of this by paying out the least amount they possibly can and they couldn't care less what it does to you or your family outside of how it opens them up to possible company liability.

You must fight for what you believe you are owed and do not get intimidated or discouraged with an initial denial. My son t-boned someone who darted in front of him while tryng to cross the middle part of a street from one business to another through a small gap in backed up traffic. That driver got a ticket for failure to yield. My son did not. Her sleazy insurance company wrote me a letter and said they were only paying 60% of the claim because they determined that my son was 40% at fault. When I finally got someone on the phone and asked how someone who was minding his own business driving down the street was 40% at fault for an accident caused by their driver's negligent violation he said its because every driver has a responsibility to be aware of everything around them. I laughed and told him no dice. He said well you HAVE to negotiate with us and hung up the phone. Got a lawyer friend to write a letter. They paid 100% of the claim.

 

[Dawgzilla]

In Georgia it is automatic, but you don't get nearly as much money as you deserve. The Courts ordered diminished value to be paid, but gave no guidance on how to calculate the value. The insurance companies got together and came up with a formula. No one has had the balls to challenge the formula.

I've had to get really tough with a couple companies after my car was hit. The other driver's insurance company wants to treat me like their customer instead of their adversary...

"I had a 5 series BMW. You need to supply me a comparable rental."

"I'm sorry, we only pay $25 per day for rentals.'

"That doesn't make me whole. I reject your offer and I'm suing your customer."

It can be difficult, but they would rather pay you than get sued. Both times I was dealing with a driver from out of state and had to demand diminished value. But they just used the Georgia formula and I couldn't really argue with them.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

There are freelance adjusters who will work with you and the insurance company to come up with a dollar amount for the diminished value.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

Same thing happened to us when we traded my wife’s Acadia. She got rear ended and the CarFax came back with severe damage wreck.

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

My wife was t-boned from a car over 60 mph that ran a red light Rolled her and she has some long term effects she is still trying to fix with a lawyer's help. It happened a year ago tomorrow and we are still working on it.

Make sure she continues to seek medical assistance. My wife was a barrel racer and she is fairly tough. She doesn't exactly love going to the doctor for every little thing. We kinda stopped going to the doctor for a bit and it just got to where it wasn't getting better and started to go again. The insurance company tried to infer she was faking since she "stopped" seeking help for a period of time.

 

[LittleBigDog]

You should unapologetically require/demand diminished value!

Diminished value is a real cost you will incur when you go to sell or trade your vehicle.

 

[Rezdog]

As others have said, diminished value is the correct term. I would also get your wife to go to the chiropractor at least once. Ask the insurance carrier for emotional distress and loss of consortium.

 

[rynodawg]

Yep there is hidden extra value in a $5K car that you have personally maintained for years, and know the history of. Trying to replace with another $5K vehicle is a crapshoot. Unfortunately insurance companies can’t and won’t quantify that though.

 

[615dawg]

I have filed for diminished value twice. Both times came around 10%-15% of the repair cost. Its a little bit of a headache.

 

[PineGroveBully]

Pics or it didn’t happen****


Someone was going to say it

 

[missouridawg]

Thanks to all those with constructive comments.

For those interested in this kind of thing, State Farm (at fault party insurance company) offered us an $1800 check for waiving our right to future lawsuits involving injuries. We obviously took it because she didn’t have injuries… but I’m curious as to how this affects my negotiation for diminished value. Have a feeling it’s not good that we’ve already accepted that $1800.

 

[TNT.sixpack]

Man, you’re getting all kinds of input on your question. Some of it is accurate. Some of it isn’t. No one is 100% correct. DM me.

 

[Temple of the Dawg]

It should not have an impact

Thanks to all those with constructive comments.

For those interested in this kind of thing, State Farm (at fault party insurance company) offered us an $1800 check for waiving our right to future lawsuits involving injuries. We obviously took it because she didn’t have injuries… but I’m curious as to how this affects my negotiation for diminished value. Have a feeling it’s not good that we’ve already accepted that $1800.

Back in 2017, my wife totaled our 2000 Honda Accord (pissed me off b/c was going to be a perfect 1st car for my son that just turned 16) when a driver turned left in front of her on a red arrow and she T-boned him. My wife and 10 yr old daughter were not hurt at all. The guy's insurance within a day or so offered us $2000 for the same thing as you got and we took it right away.

My situation was a little different since our car was totaled, but I fought with them for several weeks on the value of that car. I did a LOT of research on the value of that car (17 yrs old, 170K miles) and came up with a list of a dozen comparable cars priced anywhere from $3200 up to $5500. So, when they offered me $1500 for the car, I started fighting. I went back and forth with them several times and they continued to lowball, offering $1750, then $1950, and then $2200 which is the amount they said was the best they could do. After I got the email with their "best" offer of $2200, I responded with $4000 would be the lowest amount I would take and that it was fair based on current comp vehicles for sale in my area and based on the condition of the vehicle prior to the wreck. The one other thing I told them at this point was that this would be my final offer. They would either accept it and send me a check, or I would be contacting the Texas Dept of Insurance Commissioner. I had an email stating they would accept in less than 10 minutes and they overnighted the check to me.

Find comparable vehicles for sale w/ wreck damage & w/out wreck damage if you can (may be tough since the car is so new, but possibly you can use same make & model a year or two old just to calculate the value impact). I would use that as my basis for loss of value. Do your homework and throw data at them. Then, if/when they won't agree to your bottom number, the threat of calling your states Insurance Dept/Commissioner will usually make them buckle as they do not want to deal with those repercussions. I have had several friends do what I did after I told them about it and it has worked for every one of them. Also, using the threat of that call saves you having to get a lawyer involved.

 

[missouridawg]

Thanks for this advice. It will be used.