Diminished value claims, how should I proceed/tips?

[The_Observer]

Hey all,

So I am about to get my car back from the body shop, and I am looking into submitting a Diminished Value Claim to the opposing insurance company, which they already paid for my repairs and my current rental.

But it seems that Diminished Value Claims in California heavily puts the burden on the plaintiff/victim on proving the reduction of value. What kind of proof should I be getting, and how do I get the maximum value out of it?

 

[sewing1]

What I did earlier this year was generate 2 trade in offers from Tesla.com. One with an accident and one without. I then asked for and received the difference as a diminished value claim from GEICO for a claim where their insured hit my car. Unfortunately I don’t think Tesla is currently offering trade in value on their website.

 

[derkan]

I am not a lawyer.

This burden of proof, plaintiff etc thing sounds like lawsuit talk. However, you're not in court. You're making a claim with the insurance company. It's really more of a negotiation at this stage, even though you can pretend to be in court or use some legalese if you want to veil a threat of lawsuit. However, I wouldn't openly threaten an insurance company as they can simply stop talking to you if they think it's escalated to a legal matter already.

I say negotiation, because nothing stops them from giving you whatever they want. They can say a number of things at this stage, I've heard them all said by one insurance company to me on a single case:
- what is diminished value? never heard of it
- we never pay diminished value
- we advise you file a claim through your own insurance and check your own policy if it covers diminished value
- we have our own calculations for determining diminished value
- we have hired our own expert who has estimated a diminished value

There are some other great threads on this topic, please look at those.

From my personal experience, I chose to hire a company to create a professional DV report, and used that in my claim to the insurance company. I used The St Lucie Appraisal Company. Worked out great for me, worth every penny. Really.

Also, I am no longer nice/patient when I speak with insurance companies and they BS me. I tell them straight when they say something that has no legal basis and I demand to speak with their supervisor at the first sign of BS.

 

[The_Observer]

I am not a lawyer.

This burden of proof, plaintiff etc thing sounds like lawsuit talk. However, you're not in court. You're making a claim with the insurance company. It's really more of a negotiation at this stage, even though you can pretend to be in court or use some legalese if you want to veil a threat of lawsuit. However, I wouldn't openly threaten an insurance company as they can simply stop talking to you if they think it's escalated to a legal matter already.

I say negotiation, because nothing stops them from giving you whatever they want. They can say a number of things at this stage, I've heard them all said by one insurance company to me on a single case:
- what is diminished value? never heard of it
- we never pay diminished value
- we advise you file a claim through your own insurance and check your own policy if it covers diminished value
- we have our own calculations for determining diminished value
- we have hired our own expert who has estimated a diminished value

There are some other great threads on this topic, please look at those.

From my personal experience, I chose to hire a company to create a professional DV report, and used that in my claim to the insurance company. I used The St Lucie Appraisal Company. Worked out great for me, worth every penny. Really.

Also, I am no longer nice/patient when I speak with insurance companies and they BS me. I tell them straight when they say something that has no legal basis and I demand to speak with their supervisor at the first sign of BS.

$275 isn't too bad for a appraisal. If you don't mind me asking, were you able to get alot more from the diminish value claim from your car? When did it happen, and what year was your Tesla and the mileage?

 

[derkan]

$275 isn't too bad for a appraisal. If you don't mind me asking, were you able to get alot more from the diminish value claim from your car? When did it happen, and what year was your Tesla and the mileage?

Mine was an extreme situation because my 2018 model 3 only had 396 miles on it. But yes, the DV was huge, and the cost of obtaining the appraisal was added on to that. In my case, the insurance company agreed to declare the car a total loss, when the cost of repair and diminished value were added together.

 

[vegtrip]

Mine was an extreme situation because my 2018 model 3 only had 396 miles on it. But yes, the DV was huge, and the cost of obtaining the appraisal was added on to that. In my case, the insurance company agreed to declare the car a total loss, when the cost of repair and diminished value were added together.

@derkan In your case, were you the responsible party ? your insurance company agreed to pay the diminished value and they declared it a total loss after adding up the cost of repairs and diminished value ?