GET YOUR FREE ESTIMATED DIMINISHED VALUE: bit.ly/3oHzwnR (affiliate) Thanks for watching! Why did it take all of this to get my full ask for diminished value? What made the difference? Not sure how much you're owed for diminished value? Get a free estimate from a nationwide provider!!! - bit.ly/3oHzwnR (affiliate)
good man. it took all this because state farm is unethical and they are not like a fucking good neighbor. they do it because few people are willing to go thru what you did and when they don't it directly adds to their bottom line.
Wow! For all that, they should have given you even more! That’s what I’m starting to think about mine. Mine happened on October 2nd, and I have had to deal with not only a report that is now on my carfax, but many phone calls during working hours to deal with this, multiple trips to the repair shop, multiple trips to the police station, trips to the post office, trips TO geico (missing even more work and costing me vacation time), mailing fees, and notary fees! Ugh. What a pain! Good for you for buckling down and making them see it you way as you were an innocent victim... like me.
@@longyoa2070 I'm not an expert, but my guess is no you can't. I don't believe vandalism shows up on a collision claim which would then be reported on a carfax like report and thus diminish the value of your car. But again, I'm no expert and can easily be wrong here.
Insurance companies are hoping people are busy with their three jobs, kids and lack of money to be able to do anything. Great video and way to stick up for yourself.
Great story. I'm going to Small Claims Court in 2 hours against a State Farm insured. I asked for $2975. They offered $1472 (almost exactly 50% of the ask). I sued in Small Claims court for $3500 to cover my appraisal fee and court costs. So we'll see how it goes. If I have success, I might just make a video myself.
So how’d it go you ask? I went in there super prepared. In St Louis, they give the plaintiff only 5 minutes and the defendant 7, and finally the plaintiff 2 more minutes. So I had to shift on the fly. State Farm sent an attorney. He didn’t really dispute anything I said. Even told me good job. I won the judgment of 2700 bux. A couple hundred more to my favor than theirs. But here’s what I didn’t tell you. My appraiser baked their $425 feet into the $2975 appraisal. And when I went to court, I added a specific line item for $425. So really, i came out nicely. The judge, I believe, is inclined to come up with a judgement in the middle. And I think that’s State Farm’s strategy….to low ball ya into accepting their offer. In this case it cost ‘em though because if they didn’t FORCE me to hire an appraiser, I would have taken their offer.
Brother,thank you for posting this video. It really helped in my case against State Farm. I used all the steps that you explained here and won my case. I was given more money than what the appraiser had appraised for. Thank you for serving us. You Rock!👌🏿🙌🏿
Thank you for sharing. My car was not at fault in a 3 car collision. You’ve laid out well mapped instructions in the event that my car is undervalued. Your due diligence and persistence paid off. Congratulations to you. Very smart and good looking too!🌸
I have been handling liability claims including property damage and diminished value for Over 20 years and have worked on both sides of the fence. This was absolutely superior. Great jobThe reason they pay that claim is basicallyBecause of everything you listed. 2 things you did that were different than most. Instead of yelling at the adjuster in anger, you took action. Real action. This is very different than merely complaining to the adjusters manager, although that can help a little. 2nd, you not only took action but you kept Moving things along to the next step. And then the next step. And then the next step again. Basically, you call their bluff. Most people don't do that. Probably the adjuster in the adjusters manager knew that they were both going to be busted for poore total cost management in a file review and they didn't want that to happen so they paid the claim. They know that likely you would have prevailed, and then they would have to pay defence costs also..... They would also have to cover the expenses of their insured travelling and staying overnight and then travelling back to their home state. Again, good job on all of that.
Hi Sonny. Thank you for your kind words and insight. I can imagine why most people don't go to the lengths I did...the system is designed to make it difficult. Hopefully others will prevail at recovering their own loss in value due to an accident that wasn't their fault (diminished value) by watching this video.
I have questions about a diminish vaul claim. My car was parked a insured driver hit two of my cars parked in front of my house my total vaule for both cars was 15000 the insurance company telling me that she only have 10,000 damage claim what's the best thing you think I should do and can I file another claim for diminish vaule after I fix my car
@Kayak Fishing Addict: Settled my claim with Farmers, almost 3 years to the day of the accident. Small claims court date was scheduled for the 14th of December and Farmers overnighted a check yesterday. I do plan on making a video of how I handled the DV claim to help others.
All insurers will push you to limit to pay your dv claim. They know that most damaged parties do not know the procedure to collect all of your loss without an attorney's assistance. You are smarter than most and perseverance is your nature. Others believe it may be owed but lack your tenacity to see it through. As a collision business owner and dv consultant, I have come to realize you can't produce a back bone in a damaged party that has no spine. You are an exception, I salute you.
This video is extremely helpful and is still relevant even into today. Thanks so much for detailing step by step what an ordinary person like you had to do to get what was owed to you. I think it is important for everyone to become educated in matters like diminished value, or total loss settlements BEFORE something bad happens to them!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! We are going through a similar situation right now with State Farm. This info is extremely helpful. I didn't know about diminished value until yesterday. Our parked truck was hit over a month ago by a State Farm customer. There are several parties involved which has created a potential limits issue. As a result, I filed with my insurance and have already exhausted my rental coverage. The truck is still in the repair shop. So we're now paying out of pocket and being told we may end up not being reimbursed. Thanks to your video we'll be making our demands and asking for our DV on top of other expenses. God Bless you "David"!!!
I'm glad the video helped although I'm sorry that you have to go through this. It's unfortunate that the insurance company doesn't share this information with everyone! Be sure to get your free estimate for diminished value - bit.ly/3oHzwnR and I hope you're able to get every dollar you're owed!
They knew you were NOT going away and you were 100% in the right. This was a matter of principle for justice more than the money in my view. The biggest and tallest buildings in just about every down town I have been to are insurance buildings and banks. They have so much money they can bully the average person in winning their case because of all their experience and lawyers. You my friend are a hero to me and you're very well spoken. You should have added additional expenses for loss of wages and your time and effort IMO.
Great video. I am in the process of negotiating my diminished value claim with Farmers and your video was the first one I watched in preparing for this journey. I had to file suit in small claims and getting ready for pre-trial conference. With your advice, I called John at Diminished Value of Tampa for his DV opinion and found out he (John) literally wrote the "book" on DV claims. Unfortunately, John passed in August after a long fight with cystic fibrosis. John was a Marine and served in Vietnam for 5 tours as a helicopter pilot (rescue).
I’m sorry to hear that, he was a nice man! Try the link in the description or first comment above. They give a free estimate and some assistance with the process. I hope you get your claim paid in full! Please comment once you’re through it and let all of us know how it went!
@@KayakFishingAddict John was able to provide a superior estimate before passing. Like you, John and I spent hours one the phone and he explained the nuance of DV claims and how to proceed. John also went into 17c (DV formula insurance companies use) and a history of DV. This man was a legend! After John passed, his longtime girlfriend called as she was clearing all of his accounts. John primarily did work for attorneys but took my "case" as I am in the military. She said I was the last personal case he took. I will definitely make a video about the process as I have dash-cam footage of the accident and copious correspondence. I will also include John's bio in the video. Also, there is some nuance for DV claims in Washington state. When I create my video, I will link your video as out of all of the DV videos on this platform ( and I have watched all of them), yours is clear, concise and straight to the point!
Someone crashed into my brand new car tonight. It only has 500 miles on it. I’m so glad you posted this video! Very helpful. Will likely turn a bad situation into a better one.
Sorry to hear that Alex. Please come back and let us know how it works out for you! And don't forget to get your free estimate from the link in the description.
Love your video! StateFarm wants to give me $3 as a diminished value of my car! I am going to fight them. Thanks for the video and I love how calm you talk.
Glad it was helpful! Now that is the lowest offer I've ever heard. They'd probably pay more in postage to get the check and paperwork to you than that.
@@davidbyrd5164 Yes, I hired an appraiser who walked me through the process. It turned out really well. They paid me what I asked for without going to the court. No negotiations. I had a brand new car (< 5000 mi).
Superb video. Your video helped a ton with me initiating the same claim against SF in January. Sadly, I'm still in the progress of fighting against them after 6 months. It is now on the stage where their attorney requested a bunch of motions and jury trial, and lowballed me with 3.5k less than the actual DV. The law in my state says that each party has to pay their own expert witness for deposition, which means that if there will be a deposition, I have to pay even more out of pocket to hire my own expert to depose. Hope this case eventually resolves before trial... Even if it ends up being to trial, I think my chances of winning is high (I've a brand new Audi, dash-cam recorded the person hitting it, and 20k repair cost). Again, excellent and inspiring video. Thanks a lot!
Wow Dossie. I'm sorry to see you go through this ordeal but I'm happy the video has helped in some small way. Sounds like SF knows you're going to win too as their offer is likely enticingly close. That said, keep your receipts on the expert witness (I imagine they're the one that wrote your report) and ask them what their record is in court against SF! Perhaps they'll agree to only charge you if you win the case. And if you win the case, you should be able to get those costs as part of the settlement...remember all expenses usually can be passed on to the loser if you ask for those in your filings in court. Please drop back by and tell us how the story ends!
Thanks for all the detailed info! I was in a motorcycle accident on a new Ducati when there were waiting list to purchase a Ducati. Statefarm tried to lowball my payout. The comps were actually higher than what I paid but they still tried to lowball. All insurance companies are crooks.
@@KayakFishingAddict After a long fight they paid out $500 less than what I paid. Rather than their original offer which was Thousands less. The rep tried the classic line… It Lost value once it was drove off the lot. But then you see Bikes(Ducati’s) holding value and even selling above MSRP due to high demand and low stock.
Very informative, thank you for posting! I am dealing with this right now. I think your tenacity made the difference here. I think the insurance company counts on people not being fully aware of what their rights are. It's a shame they put people and particularly their insured through this process.
Very informative! Thank you, I am in Colorado and I want struck by a motorcycle and caused $19k damages. State Farm is my insurance and State Farm was the other drivers insurance. State Farm told me I needed to go get a quote from a dealer about how much it would be worth without the accident, and then a quote knowing the damage from the accident after it had been completely fixed. The quote is for $32k without accident and $24k after accident and car being fixed. I have just sent the quote off to State Farm and have contacted an attorney firm that handles diminished value. We shall see how this goes! The difference of $8k diminished value is quite motivating!
Sorry to hear you were in an accident, I hope you're ok. Yes, that's a decent sum of money. It will be interesting to see how they respond since both you and the other driver are both insured by them! Please let us know how it works out.
Once I bought an amazing Volvo top of the line car that was with a salvage title, because the car was in a flood and had some undercarriage mechanical work done. I offered on the car telling the mechanic that it's a good price because of the title; then, he took my offer a few weeks later and it was an amazing car I had for several years. When I junked the car, the battery had lasted for almost the entire life of the car, so they don't make batteries like that anymore, too. Dark Blue Volve 760 - amazing!!!
Every time the lawyers had to open their mouths it was costing S.F. more money , lawyers fees are usually around 300 to 400 dollars an hour , so some manager finally actually looked at the bottom line and said PAY HIM NOW BEFORE THE AMOUNT GETS ANY HIGHER !!! CUT OUR LOSSES AND BE RID OF HIM . . . NOW! So now I must say BRAVO MAN , WELL PLAYED !
Man, I love your voice!!! You sound like stage actor. Great job. Your voice brought me in. The reason you got paid was the attorney saw that you were serious and smart. Most people just give up. Cheers
Very well organized presentation, with easy to understand Bullet points, well documented real life examples and practical advice. I have learnt a lot. God bless.
Very useful video. I’m going through the exact same thing except State Farm has rejected everything including a professional appraiser report. I’m heading to the state insurance commissioner and then small claims court if necessary. I’ll also be looking for a new insurance company as not only was State Farm the company for the woman who hit me, but my insurer as well - for over 40 years. They still treated me like trash so they are losing all my families business.
I'm sorry to hear that Doug. I hope things turn out well for you. Be sure to post back on how it goes. You have a unique situation where you're insured by the same company as the other driver. It shouldn't matter though as unfortunately DV claims you need to file and fight on your own. I'd likely follow the same path you're on. Let us know how it goes.
Hello, interested to hear how things worked out? I am going through this as well. What was State Farm's reason for rejecting the professional appraiser report if you don't mind sharing?
@@sun_free They didn’t ever offer a reason. They were very unhelpful. I had to wait for the courts to reopen after covid and now I’m preparing to submit a complaint to the state insurance board on this issue.
Wow, I thought if you submit a claim they owe you a reply in writing with a reason by law. Also, please check the statute of limitations on DV claims in your state…they may just be running out the clock hoping you miss the designated timetable.
I just received 1400.00 for a diminished value claim on my 2023 Mazda CX5. I thought it was a little low but accepted it. Didn't want to deal with the headache or waste time fighting the insurance company. I googled and used the 10% cap formula, severity of damaged, current value before the accident and current mileage and 1400.00 was within ballpark
That's awesome , congrats ! How long was that process for you after repairs completed ? What sources did you use to get your information to support your claim ? 😊
Thanks for sharing! Great info to keep in mind. I went through sth similar with Progressive. I challenged their “comps” and called each dealer on their “sold” list and uncovered one vehicle that had actually SOLD FOR THOUSANDS MORE THAN STATED IN REPORT. To their credit Progressive increased their “total loss” settlement by OVER TWO GRAND (after some back-and-forth negotiations of course)
They settled because they knew you were correct in all dealing. They expect the person they are fighting to just give up. Most do and I admire your professionalism which indicated we better fold. I went thru a similar situation and because they underestimated a 75 year old woman to be so knowledgeable. Congratulations!
Doesn't matter how "super nice" the person who damaged your vehicle is and how bad you'd feel to get them in trouble, ALWAYS involve the police in a car accident. Their report is your best back up when insurance companies are stubborn about admitting responsibility if there's no proof their policy holder was at fault.
I am a public adjuster in Florida. You are correct in your steps. Most will give up long before they pay in full. You also noticed they do not tell full truth about much of what they do. And they keep a claim with someone that does not have the full authority to settle the claim. This is against ethics of insurance adjusting. Keeping records of expenses. Notes etc. All good stuff. Let me know if you would like to pursue a career in public adjusting. Helping people like yourself get this done.
All insurance company should have 'Diminished Value' clause added in each insurance claim and should offer that value at the time of car repair itself....the way they offer rental car, they should also give 'diminished value' after their repair estimate.... Person who is at no fault, should not have to bare the 'diminished value' of their car, its unfair....and do not even have to struggle so much to get this amount....not everyone can go through this long fight....insurance companies are taking advantage here by not even discussing with the person who is at no fault also by not accepting the 'diminished claim' or not giving the fair amount.... It's universally known that if car gets hit, its resale value goes down...how come insurance companies donot believe in 'diminished value' when they are in this business, its totally insane...Society have created insurance company as not everyone is professional and aware of all the details, hence we give premium to them to know all this stuff....
Agreed. They don't "believe" in diminished value because they believe in maximizing profit and they likely feel they aren't in the business of repairing your car so that you can then sell it to someone else...thus you should be willing to eat the diminished value. But again, all of this is bogus and they will pay if you do the work.
Thank you for this informative info. Everyone I know that has spoken on car claims, accepts the first offer. TH-cam is my resource and I found out that it is indeed an offer. Your video taught me even more and how I will need to go a step further once my claim is paid out for loss or repairs. I’m guessing I should do my research and inquire about my diminished value before they pay my claim.
I'm glad it has helped you understand the process. I hope you're able to get your diminished value! The two claims are separate, so no worries there. In fact, in most states you have a year or two to make the diminished value claim....but I feel it's best to pursue it right away.
My 2022 S5 was just hit by someone 2 months ago and I was thinking I wouldn’t get much money. Now that I’ve seen this video I know to expect a lot more. Thank you.
I am currently going through this nightmare against State Farm. Just waiting on a trial date. They refuse to offer because the damages were way more serious. Looking for over $10K in my case (it was a brand new car). I'm glad you got your situation worked out in your favor. It's unfortunate they can make us jump through hoops to get what we're entitled to.
Fascinating and informative look into the belly of the beast. Thank you for taking the time and effort to make this. They are not looking out for the insured's best interest, which violates the principle you stated: "make the insured whole" for damages they suffered in the incident.
I am glad I found this video. Very informative. I am going through this with Auto-Owners. When a guy back into my Porsche at the golf course. They told me they can only give me 10% of the amount of the repair amount, not even the diminished value amount. Looks like I am going to be going down this rabbit hole.
@@KayakFishingAddict Oh, on my Porsche I ended up getting 90% of the appraisal of DV, but it came at the point where I told them I was going to sue their client. I am actually now having to do this with state farm on my wife's car that got backed into the week we were going to trade in. Sadly, it repair is 68% of TV and going to be a month and half til it can get into a shop before they determine total loss or fix.
@@frostshock13 Congrats on the DV claim on your porche. You're the only one I know who's gone through this a second time.... at least you've got the experience :).
This is an incredible story. I know it didn’t take a few weeks to settle this entire thing! I’m getting up to speed with this diminished value for my 2018 BMW X5 that was hit from behind. It was a chain reaction and I was the last car hit. I was aware enough to get out of the way of the car in front of me! My insurance co paid the amount minus my deductible. My insurance went up $100/month! Crazy huh? I know damn well my vehicle was spotless before the accident and it looks perfect now. HOWEVER, there is diminished value I need to recover! I’m in this for the long haul. Thanks again for the thorough video & steps. BTW, I live near Tampa so I’ll try to reach out to your appraiser! Thanks
Hi Robert. I'm sorry that you have to go through this. Come back and let us know how things work out for you! Oh, and the appraiser I discussed in the video has passed away. You can use the one I've linked to in the description and in the first comment though. They give you a free estimate so that you can see if it's worth your time to collect that amount of DV. If you want to you can then decide to purchase the official appraisal from them.
Hi @kayak fishing addict First of all i wanted like to thank you and appreciate for helping so many of us here with our diminished value claims and the process to apply for it in the small claims court. I was Involved in an auto accident on May 27, 2022 around 9:25am at Newark International Airport in New Jersey. I parked my car at the terminal with parking lights on waiting to pick up my family from the airport. while my car was parked, there was this 2015 Ford van came from behind and hit my car while it was trying to park infront of my car. there was damage to the fender and bumper area near the headlight on the drivers side of my vehicle. I called the police right away and notified them about the accident, the cops made a police report and i also took the pictures of the at fault drivers registration, insurance and Driver license in case i might need them in the future. The driver for 2015 ford van who hit my vehicle belongs to a corporate company. so i called this Corporate company and told them about the situation, they routed me to their insurance company and they took care of all the repairs happened to my vehicle which was around $1500 (including the labor fees for the repair and taxes). Now i wanted to file a diminished value claim with the at fault drivers and corporate companies insurance carries. i got the official Diminished value appraiser report from the Tiger DV and the report says that i lost $3750 in value for my vehicle because of this accident. i sent the Diminished value report and demand letter to insurance company asking them to pay the money that they owe to me. The insurance company also got the diminished value report from their appraiser and the value was around $462. after exchanging so many email and lots of review insurance company has got back to me saying they will offer me $1000 as a good faith and this will be their final offer. so i quickly escalated this matter to the Supervisor of the insurance company and the Corporate Company saying if i dont get paid what they owe me, i will be filing a case against them in the small claims court. earlier toady evening i got a response from the corporate company stating that they agree with the insurance companies offer for $1000 and they will not increase their offer. Im deciding to file a case in small claims court and i have below questions for you 1. Whom should i file the case against? the at fault driver? insurance company? corporate company? 2. do i need any witness to attend in the court on my behalf? 4. What other documents do i need as evidence? would police report be sufficient? 5. I did not take photos when the accident happened. but i have some pics later after the accident which still shows the damage.
I’m glad you found the video helpful. The guys at TDV may be in the best position to answer your questions, especially as the answers likely depend on the laws in NJ. I am not a lawyer nor am I able to provide you legal advice. That said, here are some thoughts I think I would use if I were in your situation… 1. In FL, where my incident occurred, I had to sue the driver of the car that hit me as they were the person at fault and responsible for the damages. When they were served, they pass the summons onto their insurance company who take over. In your particular case, you may also want to include the company as a direct party on the lawsuit too if it’s allowed in NJ…. as they bear liability for the workers operating their vehicles. It may depend though on who owned the vehicle, but according to your description it sounds like the company owned the car and the insurance on it, and the driver is one of their employees…. If so, and it were me and NJ allowed it I would likely put both on suit. 2. Again, in my case here in FL all witnesses would need to be summoned to court to testify. I didn’t research it but there’s a chance you could also get an affidavit from them, but then I wouldn’t know how they could be cross examined as eyewitnesses. In my case I had two witnesses ready to come to court - the owner of the home across the street where my car was parked, and the DV expert who appraised the car. You have a third - the police officer who wrote the accident report. 3. N/A 4. I had everything, but the official appraisal and information about the appraiser and the police report seem like the two key pieces of evidence. You’ll also likely need the repair receipt for your vehicle showing the extent of the damage. I also was ready with the carfax report before the accident, and after if it if it shows the accident on it. That said, I was told by the lawyer she would get that thrown out somehow. The idea with evidence is that there’s some witness that authenticates the evidence (e.g. the police officer says, yes this is the report I wrote) and then you can submit the evidence and question them about their observations and expertise (in the example of a police officer - how many accidents have you investigated, who was at fault in this one, etc.). I had the carfax report(s) so that I could testify myself as the owner of the damaged car I wanted to determine my loss in several ways….I was also going to describe why….because as a car buyer, if I had a choice between buying a car that was in a prior accident and the identical car that was not in the accident, I certainly would not pay the same amount if I bought the one in an accident at all because … anyway, that was one of my plans. 5. Pictures are good.
@@KayakFishingAddict thank you so much for responding so fast. you have answered all of my questions. but i still need some clarifications for point no: 2 2. since this incident took place at the airport there were no witness to testify on my side. Even the police officer who filed the report came after I called them, so I guess he won’t be able to testify. can i still proceed with filing a case in small claims court even without any witness? But the police report says the fault is from the other driver would that not be sufficient. let me know your suggestions
@@sampathreddyloka6265 The police officer is likely identified on the accident report. You may be able to call the police station and ask how to get in touch with him/her. When you file your small claims case you may also be able to ask the county clerk the process and if you’d need to have the police officer show up. Essentially, you need to prove who was at fault. The police officer and/or their report should hopefully do that. Essentially you need to prove (1) the other person was at fault for the accident, and (2) the value of the diminished value claim. Your witnesses, if any, are solely their to speak to those two things.
@@KayakFishingAddict hi I followed all the steps and filed a case in the small claims court against the at fault driver. And what happened next is amazing the insurance comp at got back to me and offered me the full amount of the appraisal which is $3750. They already sent the check to me via mail and requested me to file the dismissal in the court. I’m very very happy thank you for helping me out and answering all the questions that I had throughout the process
@@sampathreddyloka6265 Congratulations. I'm glad it worked out for you. Think of it from their point of view....they did their best to deny you your diminished value in order to protect their bottom line. Unfortunately, that caused you to take action against their client that has paid them insurance premiums to take care of stuff like this. The moment you filed against their client and the client was notified, likely they called the insurance company and complained, which applied more leverage. They also saw that you were serious about collecting what you were owed. So the same bean counters that decided to deny your claim in the first place recalculated what it would cost to (1) lose that customer, (2) the cost of court, and (3) the fact that they would have likely lost in court and had to pay all of the expenses on top of your claim ....and the recalculation wasn't worth the hassle to them. Your seriousness and diligence caused the recalculation. Just think of the 100's of others in your situation that don't have the time or know-how and either don't ask for their DV or take no for an answer or take a low-ball offer. It's a shame that it has to work this way....it should just be a required payment based on a 3rd-party evaluation.
Awesome video and thank you so much for helping out your fellow man. You are a modern day Robin Hood helping the disadvantaged consumer against the corporate thief.
Wow, getting State Farm to pay the full amount is no small feat, props to you! Diminished value claims can be such a headache to deal with. When I went through it in Elkridge, Jareds Auto Appraisals really helped me out. Definitely worth it if you need a hand getting what you’re owed.
This is probably the most thorough video I’ve watched on diminished value ever, including all the lawyers videos out there. This is an actual account of what the process was like from someone who suffered the loss. I have one question though...why did you have to have the “expert” come testify in person?? Wouldn’t their official appraisal report you paid for be sufficient to prove the damages?
Thank you for your very kind words. I'm glad the video is helpful. As to your questions, you definitely need a report of some kind where the diminished value is properly calculated with the right data. You don't need an expert for this, however, when I did my research I found out that I could hire an expert for a reasonable fee that would not only do the report but also be willing to testify in court. I'm glad I did; but let me unpack my thinking as to why. Although I think the entire industry should be changed to protect those that experience loss; at the moment, and in all probability, most of us will have to appear in court, or at least threaten to appear in court, in order to receive due compensation. Knowing this, and the fact that I could also ask for the expert's fees as part of the settlement, I was willing to risk paying his fees out of pocket in order to have him on my team. I just imagined me going to court, representing myself, and also testifying as to my calculations of diminished value while at the same time questioning "their" expert on diminished value and his likely much lower calculation. I thought it would be easy for the insurance company lawyer to somehow trip me up on some calculation and/or show that I wasn't an expert and consequently have the case thrown out on a technicality. That's not to say that someone else couldn't effectively do that, I just felt in my situation that I shouldn't. Perhaps if I had worked in the auto industry in car sales or a similar position, I might have felt better computing the diminished value myself. Interestingly, I felt very comfortable not hiring a lawyer as I was confident that I could stand before a judge and question witnesses. After all, I had the truth and justice on my side and I felt the judge would assist me as it was small claims court. As for the report being sufficient on its own, unfortunately the way the legal system is setup it isn't. The industry could make this much easier by making this more of a science rather than an art by specifying a fair formula for computing value (e.g. a car has a life expectancy of x years, and thus it depreciates 1/x per year, etc. ....easier said than done)...until something like that occurs, the court cases boil down to a battle of the experts. Because an expert has to defend his/her computations and philosophy and even the fact that s/he is an expert, they need to appear in court.
Kayak Fishing Addict I absolutely agree. I have ordered an appraisal by a certified appraiser here in Georgia and will use the certified report as well as the police report showing the other party fully liable as leverage for my claim. My hope is that I don’t have to sue in small claims court...but I will if I have to. I’ve sued insurance companies in the past and gotten a favorable judgment so I’m not adverse to it...I just know it’s work so hopefully I’ll be able to avoid it.
@@ELBarbarro Ah, so you're in Georgia. That adds one element that you should truly come up to speed on. There was a ruling the industry terms "17c" in Georgia. Google that and make sure you know how to defend against the insurance company trying to use that formula to determine your diminished value. Some try to apply that outside of Georgia as well, but it doesn't apply.
Very excellent video. You proceeded through your experience at a great pace, maintained detail and clarity without unimportant details. Perfect and informative anecdote sir!
Congrats on winning the Diminished Value case in Small Claims... But, having gone through the work & hassle of doing a Small Claims case (for a different type of case, but close to the $3k), I can tell you that the only real benefit that I got from it was having the judge rule in my favor. Otherwise, the time & resources that I expended was probably more than the settlement. If State Farm had offered me that $1500, (agree that it's low) that would've been my choice because it would have saved me a ton of time (& opportunity cost).
That's certainly something to consider and very likely the reason why the insurance companies say no to diminished value claims regularly. The more mysterious and laborious the process is, the more of a deterrent. The simple truth is that this should be a mandated payment with a specified and fair calculation. After all, we use KBB values for trade ins and private sales, thus a standard value guide does exist. No one should have to go to court for what they're owed for a vehicle property claim. But alas, these days, things aren't setup with fair restitutions in mind.
Wow ! Determination !! 👏🏻 I'll be doing this with the at faults insurance however they have ROOT and an absolute nightmare. Driver ran a red light and hit my brand new 2024 Genesis GV70 Sport Prestige. 7k in damages and even refused brand new parts, chose refurbished since state laws don't require it. Going to be messy and I know they will try to low ball me just like State Farm did with you ... ☹️
This was an amazing video. So clear and calm and informative. Why didn’t you ask State Farm to compensate you for the value of your time? It sounds very time consuming to go after them.
That's probably the one thing I missed, however, my guess is that would likely have been another struggle. I like to learn so I just count that piece of it as a learning experience. Besides, I can share the knowledge and give back via videos like this :).
I am facing this issue with State Farm. I havent gotten to the small claims yet, but will be coming shortly after i get an attorney send a demand letter (thru my legal plan at least that is free of service). But i do have another small claims case with my son's daycare. I asked this question to my lawyer. She stated your time lost has to be proved in terms of cost. Did you take time off work and lost money due to this? or did this after work hours. I'm a salaried worker so my employer will lend me time for appointments. She said all expenses you incur can be proven, but not time. This is why all business prefer this to go to small claims. What do they have to pay? what they actually owe you PLUS couple hundred more for court cost, summons, mailing fees, etc. They will take this gamble or the fact you will give up.
Thank you so much, I was just an an accident in my 2020 Honda Civic with 5000 miles. I was in a Hit and Run accident I filed a police report and took down the plates. I will be seeking diminished value compensation.
@@jcarlosmadrigal Hi Carlos. I think you meant to ask that of Erick. You'll need to reply to his comment instead of mine so that it will send him that question. I'd love to know how it's working out for him too!
I'm sorry to hear that you've been impacted by this Linda. It is draining. I encourage you to get the free estimate first. That will give you a $ figure that you can hope to get back. If that figure isn't worth the effort then perhaps just take it as a loss. If it is, you'll have the motivation to go after what is yours. At a minimum, you can write a demand letter with that dollar amount and submit it as there's always a slim chance that the insurance company won't reject it and will at least pay you something. That said, please realize, the fact that most people won't want to expend the effort is one of the reasons the insurance company plays the game of rejecting most all demand letters on their face. It shouldn't be this difficult, there should be a 3rd party accessor that figures the value of your car and the insurance company should be required to pay that value as well as fix your car in these situations. But alas that's not the way the system is setup. Again, I'm sorry that you have to go through this.
@Kayak Fishing Addict I appreciate your effort to even respond. I'm in Orlando Florida and this has been back and forth since Halloween 2022 I'm moving forward
I had state farm car insurance for about 20 years along with a disability policy due to an accident. I had a tractor trailer pull into my lane and sideswipe me into the curbed medium. I was unable to work for six months so i filed a disability claim and drew it for four months while i was going through rehab. State farm had my doctor to fill out forms every couple of weeks stating I was still disabled and I had to pay for the reports out of my disability payments.During the fourth month of my rehab state farm sent me to a doctor who basically reported there was nothing wrong with me and stopped my disability payments. This doctor was known for reporting whatever the payer wanted him to say and that was his business model. So I ended up going through two more months of rehab without any income. I dropped state farm insurance the day the stopped my disability payments. I had paid for disability for 20 years but when I needed it state farm stopped payments. When we settled wirh the other insurance company I was supposed to repay state farm all of the disability payments (yes you have to pay it back due to a Reagan era law) I had received. State farm did not get one dime from me because if they took me to court I would file a three million dollar lawsuit against them for breach of contract and get it
Informative video! I think State Farm has learned that they save a lot of money by making the process this difficult. They know they would have to pay you in the end if you go through with everything in court. But the majority of people will give up before they get that far. I'll be going through the same thing with State Farm on my Tesla Model 3. I'm very ashamed to say that the wreck was my fault but in Georgia that doesn't matter for DV claims.
Sorry to hear that you've got to go through this Brandon. But I hope the video is helpful on your journey. I imagine a Tesla will garner quite a bit in diminished value.
I recently bumped my M3 as well :( Thinking to file a DV claim, I wonder why in Georgia it doesn't matter who's at fault? In Michigan, we have a no-fault policy, is it the same in Georgia?
@@fei-li Georgia is not a no-fault state. I was told there were some class action lawsuits in Georgia about DV claims and that may have something to do with it. I ended up only getting about $1k on a $16k repair. Since it was my fault I can't take anyone to small claims court though.
Thank you for your video, I found it very informative, I’ve had my issues with State Farm, and they are notorious for not wanting to pay or under pay, they play dirty.
Hello, you did an amazing job on how you handled your situation, I’m impressed! I’m in the same situation. I have a 2023 XC60 ULTIMATE, I bought for my wife in November 23,2022, the accident happened December 29, 2022. Just got it out of the shop in the middle of April 2023. I clicked on the link that you provided to see what comes next. Yes I’m dealing with State Farm also. Your video helped out tremendously! Thanks
Great help, my friend. I've dealt with several lawsuits and two disability claims. The fact is that i attorneys have made these things their private club playground. Everyone tends to deny claims unless and until an attorney, receiving a percentage, is involved or until such time as the expense of the claim becomes less than the defense against it. It's typically a numbers game. It sounds to me, that once you forced State Farms to that threshold they paid out.
Well it may have had to do with that but it’s all dollars signs to SF. I mean down to the penny! It’s very important to keep in mind the facts. Fact: They tried to get away without paying something that was truly owed. That’s fraud really! Think about it! It is. Fact: It’s not like they ever wanted to pay it. They just denied it! The proof is when the Claim Rep came back with the “ $1500 Please go away offer.” They probably did a review on their insured. How much she has paid in premium and how much they have paid out in Claims and didn’t want to be in the red. Even if some of those claims weren’t her fault. Say uninsured motorists, hail, etc. it all comes down to profit and loss! Even though this claim wasn’t a large amount it doesn’t matter! See if they can get away country wide without paying claims of this type and amount, just think, that’s a lot of money right. Think about all the states, cities, all within those states and all the DV claims. Shoot just look at the comments section . That’s quite a few for the number of comments. Just think if they get away with not paying , we will go low, 10,000 of those that are $3500. That’s a nice little hunk of change . 10,000 is really really low balling it! But the disheartening thing is it wasn’t something that should have been in the category of “It’s negotiable” because if they truly felt that it was not something they owed the $1500 would have never ever been offered! Which makes their letter of denial .. what? A lie!!! It was an Out right lie!!! Otherwise they would have put the $1500 offer in the letter instead of outright denying it! The fact was they were seeing if he would just go away. Three D’s Deny, Delay, Defend Now in this case it seems like they may have skipped the delay part but I don’t know how long it actually took to get it settled. The first two are to wear people out! But like I mentioned before, I think, this wasn’t a big money case. That’s not to diminish the importance at all but… If this case would have been for a larger amount on any type of claim… there’s no way they would have given up so easy . UNLESS… they just know there aren’t any loop holes that their very large group of attorneys could find that would stick!! But if there is… it’s on and they will deny, delay, delay, delay and until they can’t delay any longer! Doesn’t even matter if it’s their own insured they are raking over the coals!!! Just research Uninsured/Underinsured claims with them. Keep in mind these are additional coverages that insureds pay for. They are not mandatory unless your lien holder requires it. Which of course they do. But regardless, especially the Underinsured part your paying for that extra coverage . It’s not part of a standard auto policy! It’s not something that is legally mandated by law that you have to have In order to be in compliance while driving your vehicle! But yet , If you were to research , you would see just how many people have to fight in court to get paid. One lawyer I came upon , I think it was in Mississippi, pretty sure it was Mississippi, he makes his living pretty much on just those types of cases and wins most of them!!
Thanks for your video. I was recently rear-ended and know that I will have to do battle for diminished value. Our state (Oregon) is very much pro-'victim' and I shouldn't have to go through what you did, but now at least I have a basic road map to dealing with State Farm. While I'm saddened that you had to go through so much to get relief, I'm happy for you that eventually you were able to obtain what was rightfully yours.
Great video and super detailed! I dont think we have diminished value in Canada and i think its something the insurance companies get away with all the time. The 1st question you ask when buying a car is , has it been in a accident? Glad to hear you got paid, a win for the good guys 💪
Thank you very much for that insightful and carefully worded video. Kelly liked your way of not assigning blame to people who were doing their job properly. The information will be invaluable to any State Farm clients, And those from other companies.
Excellent advice, beautiful delivery. This is helpful for my situation and I feel a bit more prepared as I move forward with my own diminished value claim with State Farm.
I loved your comportment in real life and also in the video. very descriptive, well explained and yet simple and actionable. I didn’t really see or experience the element of time, I believe that because it was new for you, you not only did the best per action as this unfolded, but you were really quick to implement and gain wisdom that you would incorporate and simply take the next step.. Great video. Loved it. Thank you. Helpful.
Hey i just got into a situation similar to this. I believe they didnt expect you to put your own money up to get things handled. It was your having the additional funds to settle things on your time that got things initially moving. But congratulations i will be checking this throughout my process.
Thanks for the info. I'm going up against Progressive for over 12k diminished value on my 2023 Audi RS5. It had 400 miles on it. It was parked getting it's first tank of gas, then blammo.. right side taken out by their customer in an suv. So, 3 months later here we are. Car is fixed, but Audi knows my car is worth less, I know it's worth less, and Progressive knows it's worth less. I got my independent report send off to them this evening. We will see what they say.
To answer your question at the end of your video, I believe it is because they try to call your bluff and nine times out of ten, the plaintiff will settle at the first offer or fail to follow through out of frustration or lack of time. You held steadfast with professionality and diligence. And, of course State Farm nor any other insurance company is looking out for their client's best interest; they are looking out for the Company's own best interest and that is all. Insurance is one of the largest scams in my not so humble opinion.
I do have one question, while you were making sure you got what was owed to you for diminished value did you use one of the online tools to see if it was almost on point with what your adjuster quoted. Reason I'm asking is I'm trying to debate if I should hire my own appraiser. The amount the insurance quoted me was almost on point with one of the online diminished value calculators. Anyways thank you for your time in reading this
@@mannyrodriguez4864 I did not. I hired John and he gave me the number. That said, it couldn't hurt to find one of those calculators online. I'd just be a bit skeptical as to who created the calculator...e.g. was it one of those insurance companies or a related company?
Thank you so much for posting this video. My wife car was hit by another driver. got police report (but it does not list fault). but other driver's insurance accepted liability and i have witnesses. car is fixed. got it professionally appraised. based on current market condition, he quoted $7145 in diminished value. wrote state farm a demand letter they have only counteroffered with $2050. I am going through a small claims right now with my son's daycare. The hardest part was the verbiage in the statement of claim. I went to courthouse 4x for my last and let me tell you Orange County courthouse is of no help. i even paid a self-help attorney who didnt who up the first appt and then on second appt he didnt help me with my daycare case either. If you can provide me with your statement of claim verbiage would be awesome. also when filing the claim i do see that you listed the other driver as a defendent. did you also list state farm as well? thanks again for this great video.
I'm sorry to hear about your accident. At least you have experience with small claims court that you can leverage! I don't have the information you're requesting as it was quite some time ago. Although you seem to have the appraisal already, the best I can do is share the link to the nationwide provider that gives the appraisal because they have a guarantee and do offer the assistance you seek. You can get the free estimate which will let you know how close your $7145 number is to theirs and ask them about the process and the letter format - bit.ly/3oHzwnR (affiliate). Either way, please drop back by and let us know how it went and if you were successful at getting your diminished value!
Another question how did you know if they used, used parts on your vehicle? And if your vehicle isn't all pricey should I still fight to get new parts installed ? Lots of us don't have family to get advice from so your information it's beyond appreciated 🙏
Good question! The one thing in our court is that we get to choose the company that fixes our car. The repair shop works for you, not the insurance company, and thus they need to be upfront about your repairs. You can ask them directly before your car is repaired, what parts they plan on using. Remember, they want to use quality parts because they are on the hook for warranty fixes, not the insurance company. So if you're not happy with their repairs, it comes out of their pocket. Typically the repair shop will quote new parts, it's the insurance company adjustor which prices out used or generic parts. The adjustor sets the price and the repair shop is almost forced to do the job for that price. They can push back and object, but the insurance adjustor has the final say on what the insurance company will pay them. To make things even more shady, many times the insurance companies invest in and/or own the salvage depot (always under a different corporation) that collects parts from totaled vehicles. Their adjustors look in that system for a part, quote the price of that used part to the repair shop, and they can even put a hold on it for them to order if there's low inventory. So in essence, they try to force the repair shop to use used parts that they control the pricing for and rolls back up to their investors. Interesting business heh!
Oh, and whether you should fight for new parts or not is really up to you. I can see it both ways, but in my case I wanted new because of a conversation I had with the shop manager who was concerned about the quality of a used door that had been in a crash. Oh, and don't forget, you can ask the insurance company for the VIN number of the car that originally had a given part. When I did that, the part came from a car several years older than mine. So I didn't think that was "equivalent" which is what the insurance company is supposed to guarantee based on the governing law.
I was recently involved in an accident where my Tesla was broadsided by a young lady who turned left in front of me. She told the on-scene police officer that she had a green left turn signal (meaning I ran a red light.) I was able to recover the video from the Tesla’s security cameras which I subsequently sent to the officer. He watched it, went back to the scene and observed that the intersection lights were functioning properly, and updated the crash report accordingly. The other driver’s insurance company has accepted liability. Both insurance companies have said they are unfamiliar with diminished value… My insurance company is Farmers, hers is Allstate. We’re both in Illinois.
Sorry to hear about the accident. I love that feature in the Tesla's, it comes in very handy when accidents happen. That's a funny response you got from the insurance companies... my guess is that the customer service representative has never heard of them. A simple google search for "Illinois Diminished Value" shows pages of results...so someone there certainly has heard of them. Please let us know how things turn out and don't forget to get your free estimate using the link in the description! Yours is an interesting case as Tesla's have appreciated in value recently due to the backlog of orders. You also might benefit if a rebate is approved in the coming weeks.
@@KayakFishingAddict First of all, this was a great video!!! The car is 1 year old with 13k on it. I actually have another MY on order…was going to sell the car that got hit because I could (have) gotten more than I paid for it. Thanks for your help! Happy New Year. Stay healthy.
You had to go through all of that to get the full amount because they've got Rodgers and Mahommes commercials to air every Sunday. Insurance is such a scam, glad you got back on them for the full value. Should have factored in your time spent doing all of the work as well. After all, it's the one thing we're all using and can't buy more of.
I did spend a lot of time. I hope there's not a next time but if so I will factor that in. The bright side is that I got a free education by going through the process and hopefully I'm helping others via this documentary of sorts!
That's right sir, I might have to go about things just the way you did. Your perseverance paid off and you were rightfully paid probably not all of what the true diminished value of what your car was now worth, but most of it. Thank you for your video, it really has been very informative and helpful indeed. God bless and Merry Christmas to you and yours.
I’m curious how much damage was actually done? I’m in a similar situation. My car was hit in a parking lot and it basically destroyed the driver’s side door. The repair estimate is about $3200. I filed a claim with their insurance (Progressive) and it goes into the shop tomorrow for repair at a body shop I trust. I took my car to a dealership to get an idea of the finished value but the used car manager I spoke to told me he didn’t think it was enough damage to justify a claim. I think there has to be at least some diminished value though. The car is a 2018 Subaru Outback that’s still worth over 25k, at least accident free.
Sorry this happened to you. It’s certainly not fun. My damage was about $3K-$5K in damage. I would suggest you get an estimate and make a determination based on that. Remember, if the car fax shows an accident, especially if there’s frame damage, you will have diminished value when you try to sell or trade in your car. That’s what you’re due by the insurance company, whether you decide to sell it later or not.
@@KayakFishingAddict, thank you for the reply. It’s unclear if there was frame damage. The dealership guy I talked to did mention that. But he said if it was just the door replacement, he wouldn’t consider it enough damage to lower the value. I think he just didn’t want to do any work though and trying to blow me off…
@@asheler1 Sounds fishy to me. If the accident is reported it will likely show up on a carfax which means you’ll have diminished value. You can try the affiliate link in the description or in the pinned comment for a free estimate.
Forgot to mention. I believe the repair shop's work may trigger the VIN of the vehicle to be tagged with the repair/accident information. That will figure in if there was "structural" damage or not. The diminished value estimators will likely want that report to accurately compute your diminished value.
I want to thank you so much for the information you shared on you tube. I to have to go up against State Farm. I was rear ended. I do have a police report plus the other driver did get a ticket . I have dealt with State Farm before and felt I go screwed. This video will really help me.
You're welcome Gary. I do hope that you're able to get a good settlement and I hope in addition that you get what you deserve for your separate diminished value claim! It's not easy but you can do it. If you haven't gotten your free diminished value estimate make sure you at least do that so that you can know the number to expect. You can get that here - bit.ly/3oHzwnR
Great video fellow Angler, just curious if that extra 700 in expenses that you filed included any fees for appraising your vehicles diminished value or were they solely for court costs/filing? Thanks in advance.
Thanks. And yes, it included $295 for the diminished value report itself. So essentially, I got my full ask plus 100% of all my expenses, sans my time of course.
I'm going through the same thing right now.... Funny enough days before this accident I got a value for my car from Carfax because I was going to trade it in that weekend. Immediately after I got the car fixed I took it in and the value diminished by close to $3,500. I just got back a diminished value offer from the insurance company for $495 after my car had close to $5,000 in damages. I find it hard to believe that my diminished value would only be under 500 so I am definitely ready to fight this. I would imagine that a lot of people don't have the opportunity to obtain their value prior to an incident like this but it might be my saving grace .
I think you're in great shape. If you have both carfax reports with the dates on them that may be proof enough. Send both to the insurance company. I'm sure they'll still deny it. But then you can give both to your expert and s/he will add in their own information. Either way, if a judge or jury has to decide and you have the carfax from days before the crash and right after the fix you're going to be in good shape..
Hello! Great job on the video! Very helpful. I am in the middle of a very similar situation with Geico. The adjuster is currently in the process of reviewing the documents and I am just sick wondering if (and how much) they are going to lowball me. If I have to continue this fight, as you did, do you still recommend suing the insured, or the company? Also, if I do have to take the next step, would you notify the insured that you are going to sue so that they can fight their own insurance company on your behalf? Basically making them do the legwork? I am a little hesitant to make this person mad at me since I have a nice car, that I have to park outside and they are my neighbor. If you catch my drift. Also, do you do FB so we might be able to chat on there? Thanks again. And again, great video!
Hi Brian, thanks. I'm sorry you have to go through this. I don't do FB, sorry. To answer your question though, I had to sue the insured, I didn't have a choice. It was and still is my understanding that I had to sue the person who was at fault. The insurance company didn't hit my car, the person did. However, I "do catch [your] drift", and like you, I try to do my best to avoid people getting upset, so I communicated with the folks I was going to sue ahead of time. Unfortunately, they still got upset, but I felt comfortable that at least I did my best to avoid it. I let them know that all they had to do was turn the paperwork they would get served with over to their insurance company. I hope it goes well for you. You may want to check with a lawyer in your area to see whether the custom/requirement there is to sue the individual or the insurance company.
Going through something very similar. We were rear-ended on the interstate. stopped at a backed up off-ramp. It totaled The drivers Nissan Rouge. Doing $15,000.00 worth of damage to our 2017 Tahoe Premier. Our diminished value report(also 8 pages), Gave a diminished value of $6200.00 State Farm never denied that diminished value exists. They offered us $2000.00. I rejected the offer today. As you did. I asked "what documentation do you have to support your offer of $2000.00?" Unfortunately we were on vacation 650 miles from home. If we have to return to that state for court. I will be keeping explicit records of expenses.
@Rick Peterson - I'm sorry to hear that you're going through this! It's not fun. Did they ever give you an answer on their $2K offer? As far as where you file a suit, check the jurisdiction requirements...my guess is that you're right and that you'd have to file suit in the state where the accident occurred, but you never know unless you check. Definitely keep records if you need to travel back and forth! You've got the right idea there. And don't forget, you can reach out to an attorney in that jurisdiction and see how much they'd charge you or if adding their charges into the suit as expenses is possible. That could save you some travel back and forth.
Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. At least the before accident value of your car should be easy to compute! Please let us know how it went and what you had to go through in order to get your diminished value! You've got an interesting case as your car truly was brand new at the time of the accident.
Can’t imagine going through that whole headache for the additional $1800. I would have just taken the $1500 and moved on with my life. But happy to hear you won the case and were paid what you deserved
Insurance companies scam people daily. So glad you were persistent! I am going through a similar situation with 17k worth of repairs and they are telling me no diminished value. I will NOT stop or back down!!!!!
Thank you for the information. I have a State Farm claim, too, because their insured blacked out and hit my car. Now they want to total my car and pay me a pittance for my vehicle, BUT I am working toward getting them to put the SUV back in serviceable condition - about $9,000. It's at their body shop at their request, but they are playing games to get out of paying to make me whole again.
Sorry to hear that. Be sure to grab your free diminished value report to see if it's even worth it to consider that path. Of course, that will only be valid if the car is not totaled. Either way they'll likely fight you tooth and nail since it seems it's on the border of being totaled in their minds. It's all a math calculation to them; it's called minimum payout.
Thank you so much for this video. Very informative. I'll have to apply your processes to my claim with SF also. Difference with me is that I was rear ended on a motorcycle and the driver fled the scene. To add another layer of awkwardness SF is my insurance company too.
@@KayakFishingAddict Checking back in with how my claim went. State farm decided to total my motorcycle since the frame was bent and to get it repaired would exceed the cost. Back in 2017 I paid $5900 for the bike. SF offered me $6700 so I took the money. I had it in my garage for a few days and took off all my aftermarket performance parts and put the stock parts back on. I sold those for an extra $400. SF came and hauled off the bike. I bought a better bike for $6800. I still have my injury clain ongoing as my lower back is messed up with 2 herniated discs.
@@atxjax1 Sorry to hear about the injuries. You did well on the bike and since it was totaled and insurance paid out the full value then there's no diminished value. I hope your back heals! Thanks for sharing your experience.
I think it helped that you kept every expense and we’re very organized and took steps and you also let them know of what your next step was and they saw that you were doing the work and were not going to stop, once you show them all of that it may be more expensive for them to go to court because time is also money for business, and the longer this was going to keep on going was going to cost them more on legal resources etc.
When you're right, persistence usually is the determining factor for insurance claims adjusters. they figure if they dangle a low-ball offer enough times you'll just accept it and move on.
I am glad you received what you believe to be a satisfactory resolution to your claim. I first started hearing claims for diminished value over 30 years ago and have always taken the position VALUE is a subjective term. What your vehicle is worth after complete repair is worth what another party is willing to pay for it. The expert opinion you received is just that, an opinion. Until an offer is on the table no value has been set. I have always advised a
Thanks, I’m glad I did too. I somewhat agree with you and that’s why a standard and fair calculation of the value would be best. However, the insurance industry seemingly prefers that there isn’t one….thus we must rely on expert opinions. Interestingly though, many of these experts have long worked at car auctions and understand what a used car is worth to a dealer….both before and after an accident. Thus there is some scientific method to their estimates.
Thank you for this story!!! I am in the beginning stages of claiming diminished value with Esurance. This is the "at fault's" insurance company and there was a police report stating their liability. I am going to send a link to your video to the claims representative at Esurance, so they will know that I know.....thanks to you.
My truck was just stolen from holiday Inn parking lot. Lost my job, 2800 miles from home truck also full of tools. I had new motor, transmission and rearend put in before leaving home. I'm in a hell of a mess I have learned finally at 60 years old to forget trying to have extras I will expect to have to work my way as usual to get out state farm and the rest just allows you to roll down road legally.
Great Video, Learned a lot, Documented Everything, and Spoke Right to the Point, Then Took it to the Next Step of the Solution. "Thank You" for Taking the Time to Post it. Beautifully Layed out and Spoken, "Tenacity Counts".......
You are so wonderful to take the time to share this, its invaluable info. I am dealing with a similar situation, its a very lonely road, thank you, thank you
Sorry to hear you're going through this but I'm happy this video is helping you out. Let's just say that I know how you feel. I hope the video will help you get your full diminished value payment!
As an insurance Agent, State Farm was compelled to represent the "insured" because they are simply required to per the terms of their policy. That simple. The reason they settled with you is because once they started logging the expense of going to trial and concluded it would cost them more in legal fees, the math worked in your favor. nevertheless, well done and thank you for such an informative video.
Sorry to hear you were in an accident. I hope this video helps you collect what you're owed in diminished value! Be sure to get your free estimate, link in the description.
I’m going through this with SF now. But instead of saying they owe me nothing, they offered $500. That’s the same base offer they sent for the personal injury too… but I got 15k. I will absolutely sue them if they don’t get it together.
Great video and very informative. I am getting ready to file a claim with State farm and used John Hackett to get my diminished car value. Thanks for the information on what to expect from State farm.
Da video popped up right when I needed it. It’s high time I fought for what’s mine. Theses guys think they can outsmart everybody, and that’s the problem.
GET YOUR FREE ESTIMATED DIMINISHED VALUE: bit.ly/3oHzwnR (affiliate)
Thanks for watching! Why did it take all of this to get my full ask for diminished value? What made the difference?
Not sure how much you're owed for diminished value? Get a free estimate from a nationwide provider!!! - bit.ly/3oHzwnR (affiliate)
good man. it took all this because state farm is unethical and they are not like a fucking good neighbor. they do it because few people are willing to go thru what you did and when they don't it directly adds to their bottom line.
Wow! For all that, they should have given you even more! That’s what I’m starting to think about mine. Mine happened on October 2nd, and I have had to deal with not only a report that is now on my carfax, but many phone calls during working hours to deal with this, multiple trips to the repair shop, multiple trips to the police station, trips to the post office, trips TO geico (missing even more work and costing me vacation time), mailing fees, and notary fees! Ugh. What a pain! Good for you for buckling down and making them see it you way as you were an innocent victim... like me.
Oh, I almost forgot, also the $300 I am out because I had to pay to get a professional appraisal done.
If someone vandalized ur car can you claim diminish value!.
@@longyoa2070 I'm not an expert, but my guess is no you can't. I don't believe vandalism shows up on a collision claim which would then be reported on a carfax like report and thus diminish the value of your car. But again, I'm no expert and can easily be wrong here.
Insurance companies are hoping people are busy with their three jobs, kids and lack of money to be able to do anything. Great video and way to stick up for yourself.
Exactly! You hit the nail on the head.
Great story. I'm going to Small Claims Court in 2 hours against a State Farm insured. I asked for $2975. They offered $1472 (almost exactly 50% of the ask). I sued in Small Claims court for $3500 to cover my appraisal fee and court costs. So we'll see how it goes. If I have success, I might just make a video myself.
Please let us know how it went?
How did it go? Going through the exact same thing
So how’d it go you ask? I went in there super prepared. In St Louis, they give the plaintiff only 5 minutes and the defendant 7, and finally the plaintiff 2 more minutes. So I had to shift on the fly.
State Farm sent an attorney. He didn’t really dispute anything I said. Even told me good job.
I won the judgment of 2700 bux. A couple hundred more to my favor than theirs.
But here’s what I didn’t tell you. My appraiser baked their $425 feet into the $2975 appraisal. And when I went to court, I added a specific line item for $425. So really, i came out nicely.
The judge, I believe, is inclined to come up with a judgement in the middle. And I think that’s State Farm’s strategy….to low ball ya into accepting their offer.
In this case it cost ‘em though because if they didn’t FORCE me to hire an appraiser, I would have taken their offer.
@@KayakFishingAddict see my updated post. A lot of typing
@@DanielMartinez-ed1io see post above. Lots of typing
Brother,thank you for posting this video.
It really helped in my case against State Farm.
I used all the steps that you explained here and won my case.
I was given more money than what the appraiser had appraised for.
Thank you for serving us.
You Rock!👌🏿🙌🏿
Thank you for your comment. Although I'm sorry you had to go through this, I'm glad that it worked out for you.
How did you get more than the appraisal?
I provided all the paperwork,defended my case with grace and the jury decided to award me more.
@@ukurikubohora wow you had a jury. That means a lawyer got 30%? Must have been a sizeable claim.
@@TwinFlameDivineLovePath It wasn’t bad…It felt good to defend myself against a lawyer and defeat her😂
Thank you for sharing. My car was not at fault in a 3 car collision. You’ve laid out well mapped instructions in the event that my car is undervalued. Your due diligence and persistence paid off. Congratulations to you. Very smart and good looking too!🌸
Thanks. I'm glad it helped you.
I have been handling liability claims including property damage and diminished value for Over 20 years and have worked on both sides of the fence. This was absolutely superior. Great jobThe reason they pay that claim is basicallyBecause of everything you listed. 2 things you did that were different than most. Instead of yelling at the adjuster in anger, you took action. Real action. This is very different than merely complaining to the adjusters manager, although that can help a little. 2nd, you not only took action but you kept Moving things along to the next step. And then the next step. And then the next step again. Basically, you call their bluff. Most people don't do that. Probably the adjuster in the adjusters manager knew that they were both going to be busted for poore total cost management in a file review and they didn't want that to happen so they paid the claim. They know that likely you would have prevailed, and then they would have to pay defence costs also..... They would also have to cover the expenses of their insured travelling and staying overnight and then travelling back to their home state. Again, good job on all of that.
Hi Sonny. Thank you for your kind words and insight. I can imagine why most people don't go to the lengths I did...the system is designed to make it difficult. Hopefully others will prevail at recovering their own loss in value due to an accident that wasn't their fault (diminished value) by watching this video.
I have questions about a diminish vaul claim. My car was parked a insured driver hit two of my cars parked in front of my house my total vaule for both cars was 15000 the insurance company telling me that she only have 10,000 damage claim what's the best thing you think I should do and can I file another claim for diminish vaule after I fix my car
Want to help me out on my diminished value claim? I can pay you.
@@donyeabeamon1553 thats means go file your own claim, u are not getting paid if you file 3rd party
not worrh it for 3k worth of trouble. insurance companies should also be honest
@Kayak Fishing Addict: Settled my claim with Farmers, almost 3 years to the day of the accident. Small claims court date was scheduled for the 14th of December and Farmers overnighted a check yesterday. I do plan on making a video of how I handled the DV claim to help others.
Congrats, I’m glad they finally paid!!!
All insurers will push you to limit to pay your dv claim. They know that most damaged parties do not know the procedure to collect all of your loss without an attorney's assistance. You are smarter than most and perseverance is your nature. Others believe it may be owed but lack your tenacity to see it through. As a collision business owner and dv consultant, I have come to realize you can't produce a back bone in a damaged party that has no spine. You are an exception, I salute you.
Thanks. I hope this video helps others see that they can do it too.
I am going to sue the driver too. Because his insurance is lowballing me. Thank you for this information
Please let us know how it works out for you.
This video is extremely helpful and is still relevant even into today. Thanks so much for detailing step by step what an ordinary person like you had to do to get what was owed to you. I think it is important for everyone to become educated in matters like diminished value, or total loss settlements BEFORE something bad happens to them!
Thanks J.
I like to know what he does for a living so patient and handle well and speech so clear. Amazing glad he got his money.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! We are going through a similar situation right now with State Farm. This info is extremely helpful. I didn't know about diminished value until yesterday. Our parked truck was hit over a month ago by a State Farm customer. There are several parties involved which has created a potential limits issue. As a result, I filed with my insurance and have already exhausted my rental coverage. The truck is still in the repair shop. So we're now paying out of pocket and being told we may end up not being reimbursed. Thanks to your video we'll be making our demands and asking for our DV on top of other expenses. God Bless you "David"!!!
I'm glad the video helped although I'm sorry that you have to go through this. It's unfortunate that the insurance company doesn't share this information with everyone! Be sure to get your free estimate for diminished value - bit.ly/3oHzwnR and I hope you're able to get every dollar you're owed!
Thank you! I'm dealing with State Farm they are a nightmare
You're welcome. I'm glad this video helped you out.
They knew you were NOT going away and you were 100% in the right. This was a matter of principle for justice more than the money in my view. The biggest and tallest buildings in just about every down town I have been to are insurance buildings and banks. They have so much money they can bully the average person in winning their case because of all their experience and lawyers. You my friend are a hero to me and you're very well spoken. You should have added additional expenses for loss of wages and your time and effort IMO.
Thanks for your kind words.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience. Very much appreciated.
My pleasure! I'm glad it was helpful.
Great video. I am in the process of negotiating my diminished value claim with Farmers and your video was the first one I watched in preparing for this journey. I had to file suit in small claims and getting ready for pre-trial conference. With your advice, I called John at Diminished Value of Tampa for his DV opinion and found out he (John) literally wrote the "book" on DV claims. Unfortunately, John passed in August after a long fight with cystic fibrosis. John was a Marine and served in Vietnam for 5 tours as a helicopter pilot (rescue).
I’m sorry to hear that, he was a nice man! Try the link in the description or first comment above. They give a free estimate and some assistance with the process. I hope you get your claim paid in full! Please comment once you’re through it and let all of us know how it went!
@@KayakFishingAddict John was able to provide a superior estimate before passing. Like you, John and I spent hours one the phone and he explained the nuance of DV claims and how to proceed. John also went into 17c (DV formula insurance companies use) and a history of DV. This man was a legend! After John passed, his longtime girlfriend called as she was clearing all of his accounts. John primarily did work for attorneys but took my "case" as I am in the military. She said I was the last personal case he took. I will definitely make a video about the process as I have dash-cam footage of the accident and copious correspondence. I will also include John's bio in the video. Also, there is some nuance for DV claims in Washington state. When I create my video, I will link your video as out of all of the DV videos on this platform ( and I have watched all of them), yours is clear, concise and straight to the point!
@@tmichael740 I’m glad you got to meet him. He really knew his profession and he was extremely helpful!
Someone crashed into my brand new car tonight. It only has 500 miles on it. I’m so glad you posted this video! Very helpful. Will likely turn a bad situation into a better one.
Sorry to hear that Alex. Please come back and let us know how it works out for you! And don't forget to get your free estimate from the link in the description.
Love your video! StateFarm wants to give me $3 as a diminished value of my car! I am going to fight them. Thanks for the video and I love how calm you talk.
Glad it was helpful! Now that is the lowest offer I've ever heard. They'd probably pay more in postage to get the check and paperwork to you than that.
Sounds StateFarm is generous. Geico offered me $0. Same here. Fighting.
@@NP-eb3lr anything new about your diminished value claim with Geico
@@davidbyrd5164 Yes, I hired an appraiser who walked me through the process. It turned out really well. They paid me what I asked for without going to the court. No negotiations. I had a brand new car (< 5000 mi).
Update ?
Superb video. Your video helped a ton with me initiating the same claim against SF in January. Sadly, I'm still in the progress of fighting against them after 6 months. It is now on the stage where their attorney requested a bunch of motions and jury trial, and lowballed me with 3.5k less than the actual DV. The law in my state says that each party has to pay their own expert witness for deposition, which means that if there will be a deposition, I have to pay even more out of pocket to hire my own expert to depose. Hope this case eventually resolves before trial... Even if it ends up being to trial, I think my chances of winning is high (I've a brand new Audi, dash-cam recorded the person hitting it, and 20k repair cost). Again, excellent and inspiring video. Thanks a lot!
Wow Dossie. I'm sorry to see you go through this ordeal but I'm happy the video has helped in some small way. Sounds like SF knows you're going to win too as their offer is likely enticingly close. That said, keep your receipts on the expert witness (I imagine they're the one that wrote your report) and ask them what their record is in court against SF! Perhaps they'll agree to only charge you if you win the case. And if you win the case, you should be able to get those costs as part of the settlement...remember all expenses usually can be passed on to the loser if you ask for those in your filings in court. Please drop back by and tell us how the story ends!
Thanks for all the detailed info! I was in a motorcycle accident on a new Ducati when there were waiting list to purchase a Ducati. Statefarm tried to lowball my payout. The comps were actually higher than what I paid but they still tried to lowball. All insurance companies are crooks.
Sorry to hear that, whatever happened? Did they eventually pay out your full ask?
@@KayakFishingAddict After a long fight they paid out $500 less than what I paid. Rather than their original offer which was Thousands less. The rep tried the classic line… It Lost value once it was drove off the lot. But then you see Bikes(Ducati’s) holding value and even selling above MSRP due to high demand and low stock.
@@robertserbin1 I’m glad it worked out in your favor!
Very informative, thank you for posting! I am dealing with this right now. I think your tenacity made the difference here. I think the insurance company counts on people not being fully aware of what their rights are. It's a shame they put people and particularly their insured through this process.
Sorry to hear you're going through this Dan. I hope it works out for you! I hope something here helps as you go through the process.
Tenacity for sure!
Very informative! Thank you, I am in Colorado and I want struck by a motorcycle and caused $19k damages. State Farm is my insurance and State Farm was the other drivers insurance. State Farm told me I needed to go get a quote from a dealer about how much it would be worth without the accident, and then a quote knowing the damage from the accident after it had been completely fixed. The quote is for $32k without accident and $24k after accident and car being fixed. I have just sent the quote off to State Farm and have contacted an attorney firm that handles diminished value. We shall see how this goes! The difference of $8k diminished value is quite motivating!
Sorry to hear you were in an accident, I hope you're ok. Yes, that's a decent sum of money. It will be interesting to see how they respond since both you and the other driver are both insured by them! Please let us know how it works out.
How did this ever play out? Did State Farm pay out the full diminished value or jerk you around?
Once I bought an amazing Volvo top of the line car that was with a salvage title, because the car was in a flood and had some undercarriage mechanical work done. I offered on the car telling the mechanic that it's a good price because of the title; then, he took my offer a few weeks later and it was an amazing car I had for several years. When I junked the car, the battery had lasted for almost the entire life of the car, so they don't make batteries like that anymore, too. Dark Blue Volve 760 - amazing!!!
Every time the lawyers had to open their mouths it was costing S.F. more money , lawyers fees are usually around 300 to 400 dollars an hour , so some manager finally actually looked at the bottom line and said PAY HIM NOW BEFORE THE AMOUNT GETS ANY HIGHER !!! CUT OUR LOSSES AND BE RID OF HIM . . . NOW! So now I must say BRAVO MAN , WELL PLAYED !
LOL, that's likely an accurate analysis.
Man, I love your voice!!! You sound like stage actor. Great job. Your voice brought me in. The reason you got paid was the attorney saw that you were serious and smart. Most people just give up. Cheers
Thanks! I appreciate your feedback.
Very well organized presentation, with easy to understand Bullet points, well documented real life examples and practical advice. I have learnt a lot. God bless.
I'm glad it was helpful. Thanks for your kind words.
Very useful video. I’m going through the exact same thing except State Farm has rejected everything including a professional appraiser report. I’m heading to the state insurance commissioner and then small claims court if necessary. I’ll also be looking for a new insurance company as not only was State Farm the company for the woman who hit me, but my insurer as well - for over 40 years. They still treated me like trash so they are losing all my families business.
I'm sorry to hear that Doug. I hope things turn out well for you. Be sure to post back on how it goes. You have a unique situation where you're insured by the same company as the other driver. It shouldn't matter though as unfortunately DV claims you need to file and fight on your own. I'd likely follow the same path you're on. Let us know how it goes.
Hello, interested to hear how things worked out? I am going through this as well. What was State Farm's reason for rejecting the professional appraiser report if you don't mind sharing?
@@sun_free They didn’t ever offer a reason. They were very unhelpful. I had to wait for the courts to reopen after covid and now I’m preparing to submit a complaint to the state insurance board on this issue.
@@DougForce Wow. Glad to hear you didn’t give up, they make it more difficult then it has to be so they don’t have to pay. Best wishes
Wow, I thought if you submit a claim they owe you a reply in writing with a reason by law. Also, please check the statute of limitations on DV claims in your state…they may just be running out the clock hoping you miss the designated timetable.
I just received 1400.00 for a diminished value claim on my 2023 Mazda CX5. I thought it was a little low but accepted it. Didn't want to deal with the headache or waste time fighting the insurance company. I googled and used the 10% cap formula, severity of damaged, current value before the accident and current mileage and 1400.00 was within ballpark
Congratulations!
That's awesome , congrats ! How long was that process for you after repairs completed ? What sources did you use to get your information to support your claim ? 😊
@@Gsdlife It's hard to recall the time period but it was a matter of months. The sole source of the information was the diminished value report.
Thanks for sharing! Great info to keep in mind. I went through sth similar with Progressive. I challenged their “comps” and called each dealer on their “sold” list and uncovered one vehicle that had actually SOLD FOR THOUSANDS MORE THAN STATED IN REPORT. To their credit Progressive increased their “total loss” settlement by OVER TWO GRAND (after some back-and-forth negotiations of course)
Glad you did your homework! Getting that number wrong is suspect, but accidents do happen....no pun intended.
Just about to start the process with Progressive. They denied any liability so I'm gonna n for a fight.
They settled because they knew you were correct in all dealing. They expect the person they are fighting to just give up. Most do and I admire your professionalism which indicated we better fold. I went thru a similar situation and because they underestimated a 75 year old woman to be so knowledgeable. Congratulations!
Thanks and congrats to you as well.
Doesn't matter how "super nice" the person who damaged your vehicle is and how bad you'd feel to get them in trouble, ALWAYS involve the police in a car accident. Their report is your best back up when insurance companies are stubborn about admitting responsibility if there's no proof their policy holder was at fault.
Very true. That's a lesson learned.. I'm glad it worked out in my case.
And they might not be so nice in a few weeks ,they might flip the story on you.. like the weasel did to me.
I am a public adjuster in Florida. You are correct in your steps. Most will give up long before they pay in full. You also noticed they do not tell full truth about much of what they do. And they keep a claim with someone that does not have the full authority to settle the claim. This is against ethics of insurance adjusting. Keeping records of expenses. Notes etc. All good stuff. Let me know if you would like to pursue a career in public adjusting. Helping people like yourself get this done.
Thanks for the confirmation.
I am going thru the same thing. I was thinking I was going to have to file a small claims court case also! I'll let you know how it goes. Smart guy!
Sorry to hear that @edwardsuzak. I hope it works out for you and that this video helped. Let us all know how it goes!
Its been 5 months, please tell me it isn't taking this long lol. Hope it went well
All insurance company should have 'Diminished Value' clause added in each insurance claim and should offer that value at the time of car repair itself....the way they offer rental car, they should also give 'diminished value' after their repair estimate....
Person who is at no fault, should not have to bare the 'diminished value' of their car, its unfair....and do not even have to struggle so much to get this amount....not everyone can go through this long fight....insurance companies are taking advantage here by not even discussing with the person who is at no fault also by not accepting the 'diminished claim' or not giving the fair amount....
It's universally known that if car gets hit, its resale value goes down...how come insurance companies donot believe in 'diminished value' when they are in this business, its totally insane...Society have created insurance company as not everyone is professional and aware of all the details, hence we give premium to them to know all this stuff....
Agreed. They don't "believe" in diminished value because they believe in maximizing profit and they likely feel they aren't in the business of repairing your car so that you can then sell it to someone else...thus you should be willing to eat the diminished value. But again, all of this is bogus and they will pay if you do the work.
Thank you for this informative info. Everyone I know that has spoken on car claims, accepts the first offer. TH-cam is my resource and I found out that it is indeed an offer. Your video taught me even more and how I will need to go a step further once my claim is paid out for loss or repairs. I’m guessing I should do my research and inquire about my diminished value before they pay my claim.
I'm glad it has helped you understand the process. I hope you're able to get your diminished value! The two claims are separate, so no worries there. In fact, in most states you have a year or two to make the diminished value claim....but I feel it's best to pursue it right away.
My 2022 S5 was just hit by someone 2 months ago and I was thinking I wouldn’t get much money. Now that I’ve seen this video I know to expect a lot more. Thank you.
I'm glad it was helpful. You can use the link in the description to get a free estimate on how much you can expect.
I am currently going through this nightmare against State Farm. Just waiting on a trial date. They refuse to offer because the damages were way more serious. Looking for over $10K in my case (it was a brand new car). I'm glad you got your situation worked out in your favor. It's unfortunate they can make us jump through hoops to get what we're entitled to.
I’m sorry to hear you’re going through this! Please come back and let us all know how it works out in your case!
Any update on this?
How did it work out for you?
How did it go?
Insurance company kidnapped him…
Fascinating and informative look into the belly of the beast. Thank you for taking the time and effort to make this. They are not looking out for the insured's best interest, which violates the principle you stated: "make the insured whole" for damages they suffered in the incident.
Glad you enjoyed it! And yes, it's about the bottom line at least as much as it's about making the insured whole.
I am glad I found this video. Very informative. I am going through this with Auto-Owners. When a guy back into my Porsche at the golf course. They told me they can only give me 10% of the amount of the repair amount, not even the diminished value amount. Looks like I am going to be going down this rabbit hole.
I'm glad it was helpful but I'm sorry to hear that you've got to go through this. Please come back and let us know how it works out!
@@KayakFishingAddict Oh, on my Porsche I ended up getting 90% of the appraisal of DV, but it came at the point where I told them I was going to sue their client. I am actually now having to do this with state farm on my wife's car that got backed into the week we were going to trade in. Sadly, it repair is 68% of TV and going to be a month and half til it can get into a shop before they determine total loss or fix.
@@frostshock13 Congrats on the DV claim on your porche. You're the only one I know who's gone through this a second time.... at least you've got the experience :).
This is an incredible story. I know it didn’t take a few weeks to settle this entire thing! I’m getting up to speed with this diminished value for my 2018 BMW X5 that was hit from behind. It was a chain reaction and I was the last car hit. I was aware enough to get out of the way of the car in front of me! My insurance co paid the amount minus my deductible. My insurance went up $100/month! Crazy huh? I know damn well my vehicle was spotless before the accident and it looks perfect now. HOWEVER, there is diminished value I need to recover! I’m in this for the long haul. Thanks again for the thorough video & steps. BTW, I live near Tampa so I’ll try to reach out to your appraiser! Thanks
Hi Robert. I'm sorry that you have to go through this. Come back and let us know how things work out for you! Oh, and the appraiser I discussed in the video has passed away. You can use the one I've linked to in the description and in the first comment though. They give you a free estimate so that you can see if it's worth your time to collect that amount of DV. If you want to you can then decide to purchase the official appraisal from them.
Hi @kayak fishing addict
First of all i wanted like to thank you and appreciate for helping so many of us here with our diminished value claims and the process to apply for it in the small claims court.
I was Involved in an auto accident on May 27, 2022 around 9:25am at Newark International Airport in New Jersey. I parked my car at the terminal with parking lights on waiting to pick up my family from the airport. while my car was parked, there was this 2015 Ford van came from behind and hit my car while it was trying to park infront of my car. there was damage to the fender and bumper area near the headlight on the drivers side of my vehicle. I called the police right away and notified them about the accident, the cops made a police report and i also took the pictures of the at fault drivers registration, insurance and Driver license in case i might need them in the future. The driver for 2015 ford van who hit my vehicle belongs to a corporate company. so i called this Corporate company and told them about the situation, they routed me to their insurance company and they took care of all the repairs happened to my vehicle which was around $1500 (including the labor fees for the repair and taxes).
Now i wanted to file a diminished value claim with the at fault drivers and corporate companies insurance carries. i got the official Diminished value appraiser report from the Tiger DV and the report says that i lost $3750 in value for my vehicle because of this accident. i sent the Diminished value report and demand letter to insurance company asking them to pay the money that they owe to me. The insurance company also got the diminished value report from their appraiser and the value was around $462. after exchanging so many email and lots of review insurance company has got back to me saying they will offer me $1000 as a good faith and this will be their final offer. so i quickly escalated this matter to the Supervisor of the insurance company and the Corporate Company saying if i dont get paid what they owe me, i will be filing a case against them in the small claims court. earlier toady evening i got a response from the corporate company stating that they agree with the insurance companies offer for $1000 and they will not increase their offer.
Im deciding to file a case in small claims court and i have below questions for you
1. Whom should i file the case against? the at fault driver? insurance company? corporate company?
2. do i need any witness to attend in the court on my behalf?
4. What other documents do i need as evidence? would police report be sufficient?
5. I did not take photos when the accident happened. but i have some pics later after the accident which still shows the damage.
I’m glad you found the video helpful. The guys at TDV may be in the best position to answer your questions, especially as the answers likely depend on the laws in NJ. I am not a lawyer nor am I able to provide you legal advice. That said, here are some thoughts I think I would use if I were in your situation…
1. In FL, where my incident occurred, I had to sue the driver of the car that hit me as they were the person at fault and responsible for the damages. When they were served, they pass the summons onto their insurance company who take over. In your particular case, you may also want to include the company as a direct party on the lawsuit too if it’s allowed in NJ…. as they bear liability for the workers operating their vehicles. It may depend though on who owned the vehicle, but according to your description it sounds like the company owned the car and the insurance on it, and the driver is one of their employees…. If so, and it were me and NJ allowed it I would likely put both on suit.
2. Again, in my case here in FL all witnesses would need to be summoned to court to testify. I didn’t research it but there’s a chance you could also get an affidavit from them, but then I wouldn’t know how they could be cross examined as eyewitnesses. In my case I had two witnesses ready to come to court - the owner of the home across the street where my car was parked, and the DV expert who appraised the car. You have a third - the police officer who wrote the accident report.
3. N/A
4. I had everything, but the official appraisal and information about the appraiser and the police report seem like the two key pieces of evidence. You’ll also likely need the repair receipt for your vehicle showing the extent of the damage. I also was ready with the carfax report before the accident, and after if it if it shows the accident on it. That said, I was told by the lawyer she would get that thrown out somehow. The idea with evidence is that there’s some witness that authenticates the evidence (e.g. the police officer says, yes this is the report I wrote) and then you can submit the evidence and question them about their observations and expertise (in the example of a police officer - how many accidents have you investigated, who was at fault in this one, etc.). I had the carfax report(s) so that I could testify myself as the owner of the damaged car I wanted to determine my loss in several ways….I was also going to describe why….because as a car buyer, if I had a choice between buying a car that was in a prior accident and the identical car that was not in the accident, I certainly would not pay the same amount if I bought the one in an accident at all because … anyway, that was one of my plans.
5. Pictures are good.
@@KayakFishingAddict thank you so much for responding so fast. you have answered all of my questions.
but i still need some clarifications for point no: 2
2. since this incident took place at the airport there were no witness to testify on my side. Even the police officer who filed the report came after I called them, so I guess he won’t be able to testify. can i still proceed with filing a case in small claims court even without any witness?
But the police report says the fault is from the other driver would that not be sufficient.
let me know your suggestions
@@sampathreddyloka6265 The police officer is likely identified on the accident report. You may be able to call the police station and ask how to get in touch with him/her. When you file your small claims case you may also be able to ask the county clerk the process and if you’d need to have the police officer show up. Essentially, you need to prove who was at fault. The police officer and/or their report should hopefully do that. Essentially you need to prove (1) the other person was at fault for the accident, and (2) the value of the diminished value claim. Your witnesses, if any, are solely their to speak to those two things.
@@KayakFishingAddict hi I followed all the steps and filed a case in the small claims court against the at fault driver. And what happened next is amazing the insurance comp at got back to me and offered me the full amount of the appraisal which is $3750. They already sent the check to me via mail and requested me to file the dismissal in the court.
I’m very very happy thank you for helping me out and answering all the questions that I had throughout the process
@@sampathreddyloka6265 Congratulations. I'm glad it worked out for you. Think of it from their point of view....they did their best to deny you your diminished value in order to protect their bottom line. Unfortunately, that caused you to take action against their client that has paid them insurance premiums to take care of stuff like this. The moment you filed against their client and the client was notified, likely they called the insurance company and complained, which applied more leverage. They also saw that you were serious about collecting what you were owed. So the same bean counters that decided to deny your claim in the first place recalculated what it would cost to (1) lose that customer, (2) the cost of court, and (3) the fact that they would have likely lost in court and had to pay all of the expenses on top of your claim ....and the recalculation wasn't worth the hassle to them. Your seriousness and diligence caused the recalculation. Just think of the 100's of others in your situation that don't have the time or know-how and either don't ask for their DV or take no for an answer or take a low-ball offer. It's a shame that it has to work this way....it should just be a required payment based on a 3rd-party evaluation.
Awesome video and thank you so much for helping out your fellow man. You are a modern day Robin Hood helping the disadvantaged consumer against the corporate thief.
You're welcome.....although I'm not sure about the analogy :).
Wow, getting State Farm to pay the full amount is no small feat, props to you! Diminished value claims can be such a headache to deal with. When I went through it in Elkridge, Jareds Auto Appraisals really helped me out. Definitely worth it if you need a hand getting what you’re owed.
Yes, the process is challenging. I hope the video continues to help people see that they can do it though.
This is probably the most thorough video I’ve watched on diminished value ever, including all the lawyers videos out there. This is an actual account of what the process was like from someone who suffered the loss. I have one question though...why did you have to have the “expert” come testify in person?? Wouldn’t their official appraisal report you paid for be sufficient to prove the damages?
Thank you for your very kind words. I'm glad the video is helpful. As to your questions, you definitely need a report of some kind where the diminished value is properly calculated with the right data. You don't need an expert for this, however, when I did my research I found out that I could hire an expert for a reasonable fee that would not only do the report but also be willing to testify in court. I'm glad I did; but let me unpack my thinking as to why. Although I think the entire industry should be changed to protect those that experience loss; at the moment, and in all probability, most of us will have to appear in court, or at least threaten to appear in court, in order to receive due compensation. Knowing this, and the fact that I could also ask for the expert's fees as part of the settlement, I was willing to risk paying his fees out of pocket in order to have him on my team. I just imagined me going to court, representing myself, and also testifying as to my calculations of diminished value while at the same time questioning "their" expert on diminished value and his likely much lower calculation. I thought it would be easy for the insurance company lawyer to somehow trip me up on some calculation and/or show that I wasn't an expert and consequently have the case thrown out on a technicality. That's not to say that someone else couldn't effectively do that, I just felt in my situation that I shouldn't. Perhaps if I had worked in the auto industry in car sales or a similar position, I might have felt better computing the diminished value myself.
Interestingly, I felt very comfortable not hiring a lawyer as I was confident that I could stand before a judge and question witnesses. After all, I had the truth and justice on my side and I felt the judge would assist me as it was small claims court. As for the report being sufficient on its own, unfortunately the way the legal system is setup it isn't. The industry could make this much easier by making this more of a science rather than an art by specifying a fair formula for computing value (e.g. a car has a life expectancy of x years, and thus it depreciates 1/x per year, etc. ....easier said than done)...until something like that occurs, the court cases boil down to a battle of the experts. Because an expert has to defend his/her computations and philosophy and even the fact that s/he is an expert, they need to appear in court.
Kayak Fishing Addict I absolutely agree. I have ordered an appraisal by a certified appraiser here in Georgia and will use the certified report as well as the police report showing the other party fully liable as leverage for my claim. My hope is that I don’t have to sue in small claims court...but I will if I have to. I’ve sued insurance companies in the past and gotten a favorable judgment so I’m not adverse to it...I just know it’s work so hopefully I’ll be able to avoid it.
@@ELBarbarro Ah, so you're in Georgia. That adds one element that you should truly come up to speed on. There was a ruling the industry terms "17c" in Georgia. Google that and make sure you know how to defend against the insurance company trying to use that formula to determine your diminished value. Some try to apply that outside of Georgia as well, but it doesn't apply.
@@ELBarbarro how did this work out for you
Very excellent video. You proceeded through your experience at a great pace, maintained detail and clarity without unimportant details. Perfect and informative anecdote sir!
Glad it was helpful! Thanks.
Congrats on winning the Diminished Value case in Small Claims...
But, having gone through the work & hassle of doing a Small Claims case (for a different type of case, but close to the $3k), I can tell you that the only real benefit that I got from it was having the judge rule in my favor.
Otherwise, the time & resources that I expended was probably more than the settlement.
If State Farm had offered me that $1500, (agree that it's low) that would've been my choice because it would have saved me a ton of time (& opportunity cost).
That's certainly something to consider and very likely the reason why the insurance companies say no to diminished value claims regularly. The more mysterious and laborious the process is, the more of a deterrent.
The simple truth is that this should be a mandated payment with a specified and fair calculation. After all, we use KBB values for trade ins and private sales, thus a standard value guide does exist. No one should have to go to court for what they're owed for a vehicle property claim. But alas, these days, things aren't setup with fair restitutions in mind.
@@KayakFishingAddict It's the perennial M. O. (maybe the 'Eternal M. O.) of the powerful vs. The Individual.., think I earned a beer with that one...
Wow ! Determination !! 👏🏻
I'll be doing this with the at faults insurance however they have ROOT and an absolute nightmare.
Driver ran a red light and hit my brand new 2024 Genesis GV70 Sport Prestige. 7k in damages and even refused brand new parts, chose refurbished since state laws don't require it.
Going to be messy and I know they will try to low ball me just like State Farm did with you ... ☹️
This was an amazing video. So clear and calm and informative. Why didn’t you ask State Farm to compensate you for the value of your time? It sounds very time consuming to go after them.
That's probably the one thing I missed, however, my guess is that would likely have been another struggle. I like to learn so I just count that piece of it as a learning experience. Besides, I can share the knowledge and give back via videos like this :).
I am facing this issue with State Farm. I havent gotten to the small claims yet, but will be coming shortly after i get an attorney send a demand letter (thru my legal plan at least that is free of service). But i do have another small claims case with my son's daycare. I asked this question to my lawyer. She stated your time lost has to be proved in terms of cost. Did you take time off work and lost money due to this? or did this after work hours. I'm a salaried worker so my employer will lend me time for appointments. She said all expenses you incur can be proven, but not time. This is why all business prefer this to go to small claims. What do they have to pay? what they actually owe you PLUS couple hundred more for court cost, summons, mailing fees, etc. They will take this gamble or the fact you will give up.
@@mustafamotiwala2331 "Your time lost has to be proved in terms of cost." -- thanks, that's insightful.
Thank you so much, I was just an an accident in my 2020 Honda Civic with 5000 miles.
I was in a Hit and Run accident I filed a police report and took down the plates.
I will be seeking diminished value compensation.
I'm sorry to hear that you were in an accident Erick! It's a good thing you took down the plates. Drop back and let us know how things turned out!
@@KayakFishingAddict what's going on with your Insurance.
@@jcarlosmadrigal Hi Carlos. I think you meant to ask that of Erick. You'll need to reply to his comment instead of mine so that it will send him that question. I'd love to know how it's working out for him too!
Thanks for sharing your story. Your commitment to see the process through was awesome because you were not at fault.
You're welcome. I'm happy to do it.
I'm in this area of life and it's emotionally draining to keep getting rejected. This takes too much if life.
I'm sorry to hear that you've been impacted by this Linda. It is draining. I encourage you to get the free estimate first. That will give you a $ figure that you can hope to get back. If that figure isn't worth the effort then perhaps just take it as a loss. If it is, you'll have the motivation to go after what is yours. At a minimum, you can write a demand letter with that dollar amount and submit it as there's always a slim chance that the insurance company won't reject it and will at least pay you something. That said, please realize, the fact that most people won't want to expend the effort is one of the reasons the insurance company plays the game of rejecting most all demand letters on their face. It shouldn't be this difficult, there should be a 3rd party accessor that figures the value of your car and the insurance company should be required to pay that value as well as fix your car in these situations. But alas that's not the way the system is setup. Again, I'm sorry that you have to go through this.
@Kayak Fishing Addict I appreciate your effort to even respond. I'm in Orlando Florida and this has been back and forth since Halloween 2022 I'm moving forward
@@KayakFishingAddict they have to pay. 😊 I will keep you posted.
I had state farm car insurance for about 20 years along with a disability policy due to an accident. I had a tractor trailer pull into my lane and sideswipe me into the curbed medium. I was unable to work for six months so i filed a disability claim and drew it for four months while i was going through rehab. State farm had my doctor to fill out forms every couple of weeks stating I was still disabled and I had to pay for the reports out of my disability payments.During the fourth month of my rehab state farm sent me to a doctor who basically reported there was nothing wrong with me and stopped my disability payments. This doctor was known for reporting whatever the payer wanted him to say and that was his business model. So I ended up going through two more months of rehab without any income. I dropped state farm insurance the day the stopped my disability payments. I had paid for disability for 20 years but when I needed it state farm stopped payments. When we settled wirh the other insurance company I was supposed to repay state farm all of the disability payments (yes you have to pay it back due to a Reagan era law) I had received. State farm did not get one dime from me because if they took me to court I would file a three million dollar lawsuit against them for breach of contract and get it
Wow. what a struggle. Sorry to hear that.
Informative video! I think State Farm has learned that they save a lot of money by making the process this difficult. They know they would have to pay you in the end if you go through with everything in court. But the majority of people will give up before they get that far. I'll be going through the same thing with State Farm on my Tesla Model 3. I'm very ashamed to say that the wreck was my fault but in Georgia that doesn't matter for DV claims.
Sorry to hear that you've got to go through this Brandon. But I hope the video is helpful on your journey. I imagine a Tesla will garner quite a bit in diminished value.
I recently bumped my M3 as well :( Thinking to file a DV claim, I wonder why in Georgia it doesn't matter who's at fault? In Michigan, we have a no-fault policy, is it the same in Georgia?
@@fei-li Georgia is not a no-fault state. I was told there were some class action lawsuits in Georgia about DV claims and that may have something to do with it. I ended up only getting about $1k on a $16k repair. Since it was my fault I can't take anyone to small claims court though.
BTW, sorry to hear that! It's a terrible feeling. I didn't have my car for 2 and a half months.
Brandon Parrish thank you for the info!
They bank on the assumption that people won't make the time to do everything you did. Thanks for sharing.
So true!
Thank you for your video, I found it very informative, I’ve had my issues with State Farm, and they are notorious for not wanting to pay or under pay, they play dirty.
You are welcome! I hope it helped. Enjoy!
Hello, you did an amazing job on how you handled your situation, I’m impressed! I’m in the same situation. I have a 2023 XC60 ULTIMATE, I bought for my wife in November 23,2022, the accident happened December 29, 2022. Just got it out of the shop in the middle of April 2023. I clicked on the link that you provided to see what comes next. Yes I’m dealing with State Farm also. Your video helped out tremendously! Thanks
Hi Terry. Thanks, I hope it's helpful to you although I'm sorry you're going through this. Please let us all know how it turns out!
Great help, my friend. I've dealt with several lawsuits and two disability claims. The fact is that i attorneys have made these things their private club playground. Everyone tends to deny claims unless and until an attorney, receiving a percentage, is involved or until such time as the expense of the claim becomes less than the defense against it. It's typically a numbers game. It sounds to me, that once you forced State Farms to that threshold they paid out.
Thanks. And unfortunately I think you're right.
Well it may have had to do with that but it’s all dollars signs to SF.
I mean down to the penny!
It’s very important to keep in mind the facts.
Fact:
They tried to get away without paying something that was truly owed. That’s fraud really! Think about it!
It is.
Fact:
It’s not like they ever wanted to pay it. They just denied it! The proof is when the Claim Rep came back with the
“ $1500 Please go away offer.”
They probably did a review on their insured. How much she has paid in premium and how much they have paid out in Claims and didn’t want to be in the red. Even if some of those claims weren’t her fault. Say uninsured motorists, hail, etc. it all comes down to profit and loss!
Even though this claim wasn’t a large amount it doesn’t matter!
See if they can get away country wide without paying claims of this type and amount, just think, that’s a lot of money right. Think about all the states, cities, all within those states and all the DV claims. Shoot just look at the comments section . That’s quite a few for the number of comments.
Just think if they get away with not paying , we will go low, 10,000 of those that are $3500.
That’s a nice little hunk of change .
10,000 is really really low balling it!
But the disheartening thing is it wasn’t something that should have been in the category of
“It’s negotiable” because if they truly felt that it was not something they owed the $1500 would have never ever been offered!
Which makes their letter of denial .. what?
A lie!!! It was an Out right lie!!! Otherwise they would have put the $1500 offer in the letter instead of outright denying it!
The fact was they were seeing if he would just go away.
Three D’s
Deny, Delay, Defend
Now in this case it seems like they may have skipped the delay part but I don’t know how long it actually took to get it settled.
The first two are to wear people out!
But like I mentioned before, I think, this wasn’t a big money case. That’s not to diminish the importance at all but…
If this case would have been for a larger amount on any type of claim… there’s no way they would have given up so easy .
UNLESS… they just know there aren’t any loop holes that their
very large group of attorneys could find that would stick!!
But if there is… it’s on and they will deny, delay, delay, delay and until they can’t delay any longer!
Doesn’t even matter if it’s their own insured they are raking over the coals!!!
Just research Uninsured/Underinsured claims with them. Keep in mind these are additional coverages that insureds pay for. They are not mandatory unless your lien holder requires it. Which of course they do.
But regardless, especially the Underinsured part your paying for that extra coverage . It’s not part of a standard auto policy! It’s not something that is legally mandated by law that you have to have In order to be in compliance while driving your vehicle!
But yet , If you were to research , you would see just how many people have to fight in court to get paid. One lawyer I came upon , I think it was in Mississippi, pretty sure it was Mississippi, he makes his living pretty much on just those types of cases and wins most of them!!
Thanks for your video. I was recently rear-ended and know that I will have to do battle for diminished value. Our state (Oregon) is very much pro-'victim' and I shouldn't have to go through what you did, but now at least I have a basic road map to dealing with State Farm. While I'm saddened that you had to go through so much to get relief, I'm happy for you that eventually you were able to obtain what was rightfully yours.
Sorry to hear about your accident. I hope this video helps you with your claim.
Great video and super detailed! I dont think we have diminished value in Canada and i think its something the insurance companies get away with all the time. The 1st question you ask when buying a car is , has it been in a accident?
Glad to hear you got paid, a win for the good guys 💪
Thanks. I’m surprised that Canada doesn’t have something similar!
Thank you very much for that insightful and carefully worded video. Kelly liked your way of not assigning blame to people who were doing their job properly. The information will be invaluable to any State Farm clients, And those from other companies.
Thanks for your kind words.
Thanks for your video, I’m going through this as we speak and I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes!
I hope it works out for you Hassan
Excellent advice, beautiful delivery. This is helpful for my situation and I feel a bit more prepared as I move forward with my own diminished value claim with State Farm.
Thanks for your feedback and I hope you're able to get your full DV claim! Please drop a comment here when it's all over and let us know how it went!
This video was very informative, I am currently going through the same thing with State Farm. I will let you know how it goes
Joseph Jones any update?
Just starting. Any update with yours? I hear Statefarm can be a hassle
Update?
I loved your comportment in real life and also in the video. very descriptive, well explained and yet simple and actionable. I didn’t really see or experience the element of time, I believe that because it was new for you, you not only did the best per action as this unfolded, but you were really quick to implement and gain wisdom that you would incorporate and simply take the next step.. Great video. Loved it. Thank you. Helpful.
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for your kind words.
Hey i just got into a situation similar to this. I believe they didnt expect you to put your own money up to get things handled. It was your having the additional funds to settle things on your time that got things initially moving. But congratulations i will be checking this throughout my process.
Sorry to hear you’re in this situation. I hope it works out for you.
Very informative video, even several years later. Thanks for posting!
Glad it was helpful!
I'm going through the same th iij mg with them now. This video is really helpful. big thumbs up to you bro.
Sorry to hear you're entangled in something like this. Glad you found it helpful.
Thanks for the info. I'm going up against Progressive for over 12k diminished value on my 2023 Audi RS5. It had 400 miles on it. It was parked getting it's first tank of gas, then blammo.. right side taken out by their customer in an suv. So, 3 months later here we are. Car is fixed, but Audi knows my car is worth less, I know it's worth less, and Progressive knows it's worth less. I got my independent report send off to them this evening. We will see what they say.
I'm sorry to hear about your accident but I'm glad the video helped you out. Please let us know how it turns out for you!
I realize this is an old comment, but any update? I am also about to begin the process against Progressive involving damage to a brand new Tesla.
Great video thanks for posting. I am currently in a dv settlement claim on my r8, should be interesting.
Thanks. I hope hearing my experience helps you. Sorry to hear that you're going through the same thing though!
To answer your question at the end of your video, I believe it is because they try to call your bluff and nine times out of ten, the plaintiff will settle at the first offer or fail to follow through out of frustration or lack of time. You held steadfast with professionality and diligence. And, of course State Farm nor any other insurance company is looking out for their client's best interest; they are looking out for the Company's own best interest and that is all. Insurance is one of the largest scams in my not so humble opinion.
Thanks for sharing! It's a business, so like most, owners/shareholders are at the top of the food chain where customers/clients should be.
Thank you for the video. This helps me alot with what I'm going through right now :)
You're welcome, thanks for watching it. I'm sorry to hear you're going through this but I hope it turns out well for you.
I do have one question, while you were making sure you got what was owed to you for diminished value did you use one of the online tools to see if it was almost on point with what your adjuster quoted. Reason I'm asking is I'm trying to debate if I should hire my own appraiser. The amount the insurance quoted me was almost on point with one of the online diminished value calculators.
Anyways thank you for your time in reading this
@@mannyrodriguez4864 I did not. I hired John and he gave me the number. That said, it couldn't hurt to find one of those calculators online. I'd just be a bit skeptical as to who created the calculator...e.g. was it one of those insurance companies or a related company?
Thank you so much for posting this video. My wife car was hit by another driver. got police report (but it does not list fault). but other driver's insurance accepted liability and i have witnesses. car is fixed. got it professionally appraised. based on current market condition, he quoted $7145 in diminished value. wrote state farm a demand letter they have only counteroffered with $2050. I am going through a small claims right now with my son's daycare. The hardest part was the verbiage in the statement of claim. I went to courthouse 4x for my last and let me tell you Orange County courthouse is of no help. i even paid a self-help attorney who didnt who up the first appt and then on second appt he didnt help me with my daycare case either. If you can provide me with your statement of claim verbiage would be awesome. also when filing the claim i do see that you listed the other driver as a defendent. did you also list state farm as well? thanks again for this great video.
I'm sorry to hear about your accident. At least you have experience with small claims court that you can leverage! I don't have the information you're requesting as it was quite some time ago. Although you seem to have the appraisal already, the best I can do is share the link to the nationwide provider that gives the appraisal because they have a guarantee and do offer the assistance you seek. You can get the free estimate which will let you know how close your $7145 number is to theirs and ask them about the process and the letter format - bit.ly/3oHzwnR (affiliate). Either way, please drop back by and let us know how it went and if you were successful at getting your diminished value!
Another question how did you know if they used, used parts on your vehicle? And if your vehicle isn't all pricey should I still fight to get new parts installed ? Lots of us don't have family to get advice from so your information it's beyond appreciated 🙏
Good question! The one thing in our court is that we get to choose the company that fixes our car. The repair shop works for you, not the insurance company, and thus they need to be upfront about your repairs. You can ask them directly before your car is repaired, what parts they plan on using. Remember, they want to use quality parts because they are on the hook for warranty fixes, not the insurance company. So if you're not happy with their repairs, it comes out of their pocket. Typically the repair shop will quote new parts, it's the insurance company adjustor which prices out used or generic parts. The adjustor sets the price and the repair shop is almost forced to do the job for that price. They can push back and object, but the insurance adjustor has the final say on what the insurance company will pay them. To make things even more shady, many times the insurance companies invest in and/or own the salvage depot (always under a different corporation) that collects parts from totaled vehicles. Their adjustors look in that system for a part, quote the price of that used part to the repair shop, and they can even put a hold on it for them to order if there's low inventory. So in essence, they try to force the repair shop to use used parts that they control the pricing for and rolls back up to their investors. Interesting business heh!
Oh, and whether you should fight for new parts or not is really up to you. I can see it both ways, but in my case I wanted new because of a conversation I had with the shop manager who was concerned about the quality of a used door that had been in a crash. Oh, and don't forget, you can ask the insurance company for the VIN number of the car that originally had a given part. When I did that, the part came from a car several years older than mine. So I didn't think that was "equivalent" which is what the insurance company is supposed to guarantee based on the governing law.
I was recently involved in an accident where my Tesla was broadsided by a young lady who turned left in front of me. She told the on-scene police officer that she had a green left turn signal (meaning I ran a red light.)
I was able to recover the video from the Tesla’s security cameras which I subsequently sent to the officer. He watched it, went back to the scene and observed that the intersection lights were functioning properly, and updated the crash report accordingly.
The other driver’s insurance company has accepted liability.
Both insurance companies have said they are unfamiliar with diminished value… My insurance company is Farmers, hers is Allstate. We’re both in Illinois.
Sorry to hear about the accident. I love that feature in the Tesla's, it comes in very handy when accidents happen. That's a funny response you got from the insurance companies... my guess is that the customer service representative has never heard of them. A simple google search for "Illinois Diminished Value" shows pages of results...so someone there certainly has heard of them. Please let us know how things turn out and don't forget to get your free estimate using the link in the description! Yours is an interesting case as Tesla's have appreciated in value recently due to the backlog of orders. You also might benefit if a rebate is approved in the coming weeks.
@@KayakFishingAddict First of all, this was a great video!!! The car is 1 year old with 13k on it. I actually have another MY on order…was going to sell the car that got hit because I could (have) gotten more than I paid for it. Thanks for your help! Happy New Year. Stay healthy.
@@JJ-jc6kt Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it and I hope it helps you.
You had to go through all of that to get the full amount because they've got Rodgers and Mahommes commercials to air every Sunday. Insurance is such a scam, glad you got back on them for the full value. Should have factored in your time spent doing all of the work as well. After all, it's the one thing we're all using and can't buy more of.
I did spend a lot of time. I hope there's not a next time but if so I will factor that in. The bright side is that I got a free education by going through the process and hopefully I'm helping others via this documentary of sorts!
That's right sir, I might have to go about things just the way you did. Your perseverance paid off and you were rightfully paid probably not all of what the true diminished value of what your car was now worth, but most of it. Thank you for your video, it really has been very informative and helpful indeed. God bless and Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Hi Benny. Thanks for your comments and well wishes. I hope the video helps in your diminished value journey.
I’m curious how much damage was actually done? I’m in a similar situation. My car was hit in a parking lot and it basically destroyed the driver’s side door. The repair estimate is about $3200. I filed a claim with their insurance (Progressive) and it goes into the shop tomorrow for repair at a body shop I trust. I took my car to a dealership to get an idea of the finished value but the used car manager I spoke to told me he didn’t think it was enough damage to justify a claim. I think there has to be at least some diminished value though. The car is a 2018 Subaru Outback that’s still worth over 25k, at least accident free.
Sorry this happened to you. It’s certainly not fun. My damage was about $3K-$5K in damage. I would suggest you get an estimate and make a determination based on that. Remember, if the car fax shows an accident, especially if there’s frame damage, you will have diminished value when you try to sell or trade in your car. That’s what you’re due by the insurance company, whether you decide to sell it later or not.
@@KayakFishingAddict, thank you for the reply. It’s unclear if there was frame damage. The dealership guy I talked to did mention that. But he said if it was just the door replacement, he wouldn’t consider it enough damage to lower the value. I think he just didn’t want to do any work though and trying to blow me off…
@@asheler1 Sounds fishy to me. If the accident is reported it will likely show up on a carfax which means you’ll have diminished value. You can try the affiliate link in the description or in the pinned comment for a free estimate.
Forgot to mention. I believe the repair shop's work may trigger the VIN of the vehicle to be tagged with the repair/accident information. That will figure in if there was "structural" damage or not. The diminished value estimators will likely want that report to accurately compute your diminished value.
I want to thank you so much for the information you shared on you tube. I to have to go up against State Farm. I was rear ended. I do have a police report plus the other driver did get a ticket . I have dealt with State Farm before and felt I go screwed. This video will really help me.
You're welcome Gary. I do hope that you're able to get a good settlement and I hope in addition that you get what you deserve for your separate diminished value claim! It's not easy but you can do it. If you haven't gotten your free diminished value estimate make sure you at least do that so that you can know the number to expect. You can get that here - bit.ly/3oHzwnR
Great video fellow Angler, just curious if that extra 700 in expenses that you filed included any fees for appraising your vehicles diminished value or were they solely for court costs/filing? Thanks in advance.
Thanks. And yes, it included $295 for the diminished value report itself. So essentially, I got my full ask plus 100% of all my expenses, sans my time of course.
Thanks, looks like I need to do the same.
@@Megalodon1 Sorry to hear that but happy this video can help you out! Let me know how it goes for you!
I'm going through the same thing right now.... Funny enough days before this accident I got a value for my car from Carfax because I was going to trade it in that weekend. Immediately after I got the car fixed I took it in and the value diminished by close to $3,500. I just got back a diminished value offer from the insurance company for $495 after my car had close to $5,000 in damages. I find it hard to believe that my diminished value would only be under 500 so I am definitely ready to fight this. I would imagine that a lot of people don't have the opportunity to obtain their value prior to an incident like this but it might be my saving grace .
I think you're in great shape. If you have both carfax reports with the dates on them that may be proof enough. Send both to the insurance company. I'm sure they'll still deny it. But then you can give both to your expert and s/he will add in their own information. Either way, if a judge or jury has to decide and you have the carfax from days before the crash and right after the fix you're going to be in good shape..
Hello! Great job on the video! Very helpful. I am in the middle of a very similar situation with Geico. The adjuster is currently in the process of reviewing the documents and I am just sick wondering if (and how much) they are going to lowball me. If I have to continue this fight, as you did, do you still recommend suing the insured, or the company? Also, if I do have to take the next step, would you notify the insured that you are going to sue so that they can fight their own insurance company on your behalf? Basically making them do the legwork? I am a little hesitant to make this person mad at me since I have a nice car, that I have to park outside and they are my neighbor. If you catch my drift. Also, do you do FB so we might be able to chat on there? Thanks again. And again, great video!
Hi Brian, thanks. I'm sorry you have to go through this. I don't do FB, sorry. To answer your question though, I had to sue the insured, I didn't have a choice. It was and still is my understanding that I had to sue the person who was at fault. The insurance company didn't hit my car, the person did. However, I "do catch [your] drift", and like you, I try to do my best to avoid people getting upset, so I communicated with the folks I was going to sue ahead of time. Unfortunately, they still got upset, but I felt comfortable that at least I did my best to avoid it. I let them know that all they had to do was turn the paperwork they would get served with over to their insurance company. I hope it goes well for you. You may want to check with a lawyer in your area to see whether the custom/requirement there is to sue the individual or the insurance company.
Kayak Fishing Addict
Great! Thank you!
Thanks for this precious information! I was just hit over the weekend and waiting for AAA to get back to me. They’re playing the waiting game
I'm sorry to hear you need it but I'm glad it's helpful/precious to you. Thanks for the comment!
Going through something very similar. We were rear-ended on the interstate. stopped at a backed up off-ramp. It totaled The drivers Nissan Rouge. Doing $15,000.00 worth of damage to our 2017 Tahoe Premier. Our diminished value report(also 8 pages), Gave a diminished value of $6200.00 State Farm never denied that diminished value exists. They offered us $2000.00. I rejected the offer today. As you did. I asked "what documentation do you have to support your offer of $2000.00?" Unfortunately we were on vacation 650 miles from home. If we have to return to that state for court. I will be keeping explicit records of expenses.
@Rick Peterson - I'm sorry to hear that you're going through this! It's not fun. Did they ever give you an answer on their $2K offer? As far as where you file a suit, check the jurisdiction requirements...my guess is that you're right and that you'd have to file suit in the state where the accident occurred, but you never know unless you check. Definitely keep records if you need to travel back and forth! You've got the right idea there. And don't forget, you can reach out to an attorney in that jurisdiction and see how much they'd charge you or if adding their charges into the suit as expenses is possible. That could save you some travel back and forth.
Same thing just happened to my 2 day old car in Jacksonville, and the other person has State Farm. Thank you for this video.
Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. At least the before accident value of your car should be easy to compute! Please let us know how it went and what you had to go through in order to get your diminished value! You've got an interesting case as your car truly was brand new at the time of the accident.
Can’t imagine going through that whole headache for the additional $1800. I would have just taken the $1500 and moved on with my life. But happy to hear you won the case and were paid what you deserved
Thanks. It's hard to imagine why the insurance companies don't even tell you about the first $1500, so most people don't receive any payment at all!
Insurance companies scam people daily. So glad you were persistent! I am going through a similar situation with 17k worth of repairs and they are telling me no diminished value. I will NOT stop or back down!!!!!
Thank you for the information. I have a State Farm claim, too, because their insured blacked out and hit my car. Now they want to total my car and pay me a pittance for my vehicle, BUT I am working toward getting them to put the SUV back in serviceable condition - about $9,000. It's at their body shop at their request, but they are playing games to get out of paying to make me whole again.
Sorry to hear that. Be sure to grab your free diminished value report to see if it's even worth it to consider that path. Of course, that will only be valid if the car is not totaled. Either way they'll likely fight you tooth and nail since it seems it's on the border of being totaled in their minds. It's all a math calculation to them; it's called minimum payout.
Thank you so much for this video. Very informative. I'll have to apply your processes to my claim with SF also. Difference with me is that I was rear ended on a motorcycle and the driver fled the scene. To add another layer of awkwardness SF is my insurance company too.
I'm sorry to hear you were hit. I hope you're ok. That is awkward! Drop back and let us know how things turned out!
@@KayakFishingAddict Checking back in with how my claim went. State farm decided to total my motorcycle since the frame was bent and to get it repaired would exceed the cost. Back in 2017 I paid $5900 for the bike. SF offered me $6700 so I took the money. I had it in my garage for a few days and took off all my aftermarket performance parts and put the stock parts back on. I sold those for an extra $400. SF came and hauled off the bike. I bought a better bike for $6800. I still have my injury clain ongoing as my lower back is messed up with 2 herniated discs.
@@atxjax1 Sorry to hear about the injuries. You did well on the bike and since it was totaled and insurance paid out the full value then there's no diminished value. I hope your back heals! Thanks for sharing your experience.
I think it helped that you kept every expense and we’re very organized and took steps and you also let them know of what your next step was and they saw that you were doing the work and were not going to stop, once you show them all of that it may be more expensive for them to go to court because time is also money for business, and the longer this was going to keep on going was going to cost them more on legal resources etc.
I think you’re right!
When you're right, persistence usually is the determining factor for insurance claims adjusters. they figure if they dangle a low-ball offer enough times you'll just accept it and move on.
True!
I am glad you received what you believe to be a satisfactory resolution to your claim. I first started hearing claims for diminished value over 30 years ago and have always taken the position VALUE is a subjective term. What your vehicle is worth after complete repair is worth what another party is willing to pay for it. The expert opinion you received is just that, an opinion. Until an offer is on the table no value has been set. I have always advised a
Thanks, I’m glad I did too. I somewhat agree with you and that’s why a standard and fair calculation of the value would be best. However, the insurance industry seemingly prefers that there isn’t one….thus we must rely on expert opinions. Interestingly though, many of these experts have long worked at car auctions and understand what a used car is worth to a dealer….both before and after an accident. Thus there is some scientific method to their estimates.
Thank you for this story!!! I am in the beginning stages of claiming diminished value with Esurance. This is the "at fault's" insurance company and there was a police report stating their liability. I am going to send a link to your video to the claims representative at Esurance, so they will know that I know.....thanks to you.
Hi Tom. Thanks for your kind words. I'm glad this video helped you. I hope you get your diminished value.
Hey Tom I as worried did everything work out with Esurance because I’m about to do the same
Very informative and well spoken sir. Thank you for the video and information!!
Glad it was helpful!
My truck was just stolen from holiday Inn parking lot. Lost my job, 2800 miles from home truck also full of tools. I had new motor, transmission and rearend put in before leaving home. I'm in a hell of a mess I have learned finally at 60 years old to forget trying to have extras I will expect to have to work my way as usual to get out state farm and the rest just allows you to roll down road legally.
Sorry to hear that. Thanks for sharing.
Great Video, Learned a lot, Documented Everything, and Spoke Right to the Point, Then Took it to the Next Step of the Solution.
"Thank You" for Taking the Time to Post it.
Beautifully Layed out
and Spoken,
"Tenacity Counts".......
Thank you Gareth.
Great information...thank you for posting this video 👍
Glad it was helpful!
You are so wonderful to take the time to share this, its invaluable info. I am dealing with a similar situation, its a very lonely road, thank you, thank you
Sorry to hear you're going through this but I'm happy this video is helping you out. Let's just say that I know how you feel. I hope the video will help you get your full diminished value payment!
@@KayakFishingAddict Thank you so much, I am in the middle of it still, I will update you, I learned how to from YOU, thank you, thank you
@@julieelle1682 You're very welcome. I hope it works out for you.
As an insurance Agent, State Farm was compelled to represent the "insured" because they are simply required to per the terms of their policy. That simple. The reason they settled with you is because once they started logging the expense of going to trial and concluded it would cost them more in legal fees, the math worked in your favor. nevertheless, well done and thank you for such an informative video.
Thanks for your insight. I only wish they did so for the right reason, covering the loss; and without having to play the game.
I would like to thank you for this video. The video is very informative and help tremendously for my diminished value claim.
I'm glad it helped.
Thanks for sharing this!! I ran into this video when searching about insurance companies because I was just in an accident yesterday
Sorry to hear you were in an accident. I hope this video helps you collect what you're owed in diminished value! Be sure to get your free estimate, link in the description.
I’m going through this with SF now. But instead of saying they owe me nothing, they offered $500. That’s the same base offer they sent for the personal injury too… but I got 15k. I will absolutely sue them if they don’t get it together.
Sounds like their standard operating procedure. I hope this video helps you get what you're owed.
Great video and very informative. I am getting ready to file a claim with State farm and used John Hackett to get my diminished car value. Thanks for the information on what to expect from State farm.
Thanks. I'm glad it was helpful. Please return and let us know how things turn out for you!
Da video popped up right when I needed it. It’s high time I fought for what’s mine. Theses guys think they can outsmart everybody, and that’s the problem.
I’m glad the video gave you some inspiration. Please do drop back by and let us know how things worked out!