http://diminishedvalue.com/

That is good info. Thanks and congrats for getting what you wanted.

 

Way to keep fighting Chris. I go in for round one on Monday afternoon. The advantage on the fight is currently in GEICO's corner, but I've been gathering all sorts of data to throw at them.

BTW, how much does 'your lawyer' charge?

 

good luck neff, keep on em' and don't give in.....they may try to get you down, but just hold firm. Getting them to declare it a total loss is a great start.

 

Wow. My first post on this site after becoming a new G owner has to be this??? Sheesh...

There is a ton on misinformation in this post. I won't pick it all apart, but as for diminished value, there is no first party diminished value in Florida within the law, and secondly, the insurance contract (policy) of every major Florida form I have seen does not provide for it anyway.

That being said, it is entirely SUBJECTIVE. It's just like evaluating an injury claim. You have nothing but jury verdicts to speak of, experience, etc. In even thinking about pursuing a diminshed value claim against a third party, you need to keep in mind the amount of actual damage done to the car, the repair quality, amount of surface painted, the age of the vehicle, the mileage on the vehicle, the resale of the vehicle, the rarity of the vehicle. All of these contribute.

I have litigated about 10 DV cases with verdicts. The most I have ever seen paid was a Ferrari 360 with $70k in damages get a $40k DV settlement post repair. The next was a new BMW Z3 (when the first came out) get an settlement of around $8k after taking a $20k hit. The rest were under $1,500 or received ZERO-NOTHING. The most important (and annoying) thing is the fact that you must have all of the repairs perfected as best as can be expected to even have your DV claim considered.

An insurance company may pay you a little something to go away, but most of the time, they dig in on DV claims. If you need any other info, let me know...

 

it was pretty obvious that the insurance rep i saw was just making up numbers to try to keep the payment amount down.

I totally agree, i am sure that without a call from an attorney, i would have never seen a cent from this. They flat out had no intention of paying it without the threat of a lawsuit.

Interestingly, in GA and other states i believe it is determined by a formula and paid automatically.

 

Hey, I need your help. I was in a MAJOR accident on Tuesday morning (Nov 29th) and the insurance company told me my 2004 G (valued at $30,000) was totaled. On Friday, Dec. 2, the insurance company asked for my SSN, my loan number, the name of the lein holder and they told me that my car was totaled and that I should be receiving a check as of 12-12-2005 (or there abouts). On Saturday, Dec. 3rd, I went out and ALMOST bought a new car. I ended up leaving a deposit and am supposed to p/u my new car today or tomorrow.

WELL, the insurance company called me yesterday morning, Dec. 5th, and they now say that there is only ~$14K (that they can see) in damages done to my car and that they no longer are going to total the car. I'm presently having an independent body shop tear the car apart to look for additional damages.

What I want to know, is there any way I can add the diminished value to the amount of damage to FORCE the insurance company to total out my car? I would REALLY appreciate a reply. BTW, there was NO other car involved in the accident. I hit a piece of wood in the road and nailed a guard rail. Frame damage both front and back of the vehicle.

Thanks in advance.

 

You cannot make a DV claim on your own policy. I saw your comment earlier about Un/Underinsured Motorist coverage, but that is for injuries to yourself or passenger for a truly Un/Underinsured driver. A board with a nail doesn't count--even if you are hurt--and has nothing to do with your vehicle damages, anyway.

You may have rental car coverage, but that will max out at whatever amount you purchased. That would be your only other leverage. I definitely would have a reputable shop do a complete teardown before writing a full estimate. The general rule of thumb is 80% of the value of the car deems it a total loss, however, if there is extensive, structural damage, it may be irrepairable or a reputable shop may not be 'comfortable' repairing it (remember, they have liability if the screw up repairs and you have a second loss)...

 

Georgia indeed has DV built into it's own law and found within Georgia first party coverage with the policies...There is a formula, but IMuHO, it's kinda gimmicky and has little logic, though at least it's uniform. It would cover the majority of claims, but overpay the simplest of exposures and undervalue the largest...

 

Thanks r10...

 

Great info R10 ... thanks for sharing - I know I am going to look at my policy now!