I've done some searches on NAM, but I can't see where anyone said how much they got, what exactly they did to get the adjuster's attention on the matter, etc. The KBB website no longer has the option to check a box regarding repairs/bodywork before you get a valuation.

I'm a lawyer, so kind of know what I'm doing here, but 6 days post 35 mph rear-end on my 06 MCS and the adjuster has already said they won't cough it up unless I hire an expert. He refused to accept a pre and post trade-in quote from the MINI dealership as evidence as well.

I don't want to have to sue, but hell, that 's what I do for a living so it wouldn't be difficult. I'd just rather not go through the aggravation. Any anecdotal evidence would be helpful.

 

"CR&PW&JB" may be able to give you some input on the matter as an insurance rep. Maybe it will even turn into a daily question,

 

are you trying to get the car totaled? pm me if so, I own interest in a bodyshop and know the ins and outs and if its even possible-even if it is NOT techinically totalled, you have options.

 

I'll let the OP clarify things if I'm wrong, but it sounds he's trying to get additional money from the other driver's insurance company (above and beyond the costs of having his car repaired) because his car won't be worth the same as it was before the accident, even after the repairs are completed.

 

Diminished Value claims are handled differently by each particular insurance company because there is very little, if any, State mandated handling of these claims. Some insurance companies won't honor them at all. Others, require stacks of paperwork to prove your claim.

So, I really can't speak of what YOU need to do to prove you have a valid Diminished Value claim because I don't know which company you're dealing with. I can only speak of my company and what we require. In fact, our own company will have different rules within different jurisdictions.

Our State Farm office in Maryland will honor a DV claim. But we're going to require you to substantiate your claim. No... we're not going to take printouts of 3 E-Bay listings showing how much people are asking for their similar cars. :impatient Yes, we get people doing that. But we would accept the proof that you're providing in this case, which is.... a signed document from a certified car dealership or an appraiser that shows the value of your vehicle post-accident and what they feel it would have been worth had it not been in an accident.

And... we're not going to honor a DV claim on any 10 year old Hondas. We only allow them on newer model cars.

 

How do you decide on a dollar value for the DV settlement, since the insured won't really suffer a "loss" from the diminished value until he later sells the car?

Maybe the market value of his brand-new car has been diminished by $2000 because of the repair work, but if he holds onto it for ten years before selling it, the previous repair history might only mean a $500 difference in the market value of the car, if that much.

And what if instead, he totals the car in a future accident, rather than selling it? I've never had my insurance company lower my insurance payout on a totaled vehicle because of past repair work, so in that case, there really isn't any "loss" from the diminished value at all.

 

Yep, good point. But it would get too complicated and drag out too long if we made them wait until they actually sold the car to pay the claim.

So, if it's substantiated, we pay it when it's presented.

 

I honestly think it's nice that the insurance companies are willing to do this for their customers, but my opinion is that it forces them to talk out of both sides of their mouth.

On the one hand, they're promising to pay to have your damaged car restored to pre-accident condition, but by paying out these DV claims, they're admitting that the value of your car will be diminished, even after the repairs.

I think that the insurance companies either shouldn't make these payouts at all, or they should make them part of *every* damage claim.

 

Well, Scott... I would say that insurance companies do as good a job as possible at ensuring vehicles are returned to their pre-loss condition (while trying to balance that with the need to keep expenses under control). In fact, a good "body man", armed with today's technology, can repair a car so well that I would bet good money that if I lined that car up next to an identical car that hadn't been involved in a loss, nobody, including pros, could tell me which one was in the accident. Of course, there are exceptions... like cars that have had frame segmentation.

The problem is more in the perception others have of a vehicle that has had major repairs performed, opposed to the condition of the car. Just the knowledge that the vehicle has been involved in a serious accident is going to reduce the value of the vehicle. So... we'll still honor the DV claim for vehicles we *know* have been repaired to their pre-loss condition (based on the types of repairs performed and the list of parts repaired/replaced) if they can produce the required documents, even though the proof we require is still quite subjective.

 

I didn't have to prove anything really...I just called the insurance company and told them I wanted to make a diminished-value claim. They said "okay" and after a few days called with a offer, asking if it was okay w/ me. I said yes. I forget the amount, but it was well over $1K. Interesting thing was after the repairs were complete I considered trading-in my MINI (an '03 Cooper) since it was now all spit-shined and spruced up. The dealer had a line item....-$1K off any trade-in car's value if it had been in a collision. So I think there is ample justification for making a claim.

 

My 06 MCS was hit with only 5000 miles on it... the total damage to the car was 2800 dollars... the man hit my husband who was stopped at a stop light.. he was going around 35-45 ish mph.... he thought my husband was going to run the light.. when in fact my car was sitting at full stop.. long story short.. they paid the 2800 to have the car fixed.. paid 500 dollars in diminish value.. not sure this helps.. but thats how it worked for us

 

That was almost TOO easy. If I'm one of their policyholders, I'm not too happy about them handing out money that way (imagine how many $1000 DV claims they must handle with that kind of service).

Remember, insurance is a socialist system, the more your company spends, the more costs to be shared by the policyholders.

But hey, worked out well for you !

 

Very good info - thanks to all who responded.

At-fault driver's ins co is Encompass. Haven't been able to determine at what % of ACV they'll total out at. Initial tear down is at $3500 which is a joke. It wasn't drivable and won't hold a charge for more than 30 seconds, and the check airbag light is on so it will have to get taken to Mini North Scottsdale (300 miles round trip from Tucson). Plus rental car for me for... 2-3 months? At first I wanted it totaled so I wouldn't have to deal with the diminished value stuff, but I don't think we're going to get there.

The body shop it's at is fantastic - did a great job on my XTERRA back when I was an SUV kinda girl. I know they will make it perfect post-accident, but if you have two perfect CR/W 06 MCS with 20k miles on them side-by-side, same price, one having been in accident and one not, which would you pick? We all know the answer to that.

My rental is a 2008 Pointiac G6. This is the first time I've driven an American car for any length of time...

 

CR&PW&JB got to disagree with your assertion, especially in light of some of the ungodly profits made by insurance companies and the favorable tax treatment reserves receive.

For most insurance companies the claims dept is the bastard stepchild of the company and the first place that the company seeks to control costs. Now, if you are in sales or underwriting that is where most insurance companies concentrate their "customer friendly" efforts. Sales makes money - claims do not. They'll go out of their way to tailor your policy - for a fee. Before state legislation you were lucky to get a call back from a claims representative if you disputed his or her analysis.

I've spent over twenty years handling claims and coverage analysis for insurers who have been alleged to have gotten it wrong - that is why they hire us as outside counsel. More times than not the claim could have been resolved equitably for a few dollars more (after all it is only about money) but the claims manager doesn't get his or her raise if his or her payment per claim ratio is seen as high since then the policy is considered a money loser (even though the Company is usually more than willing to write the customer another policy for an increased premium - i.e., recapture the loss over time).

Insurance companies often talk about pool sharing with other policy holders. However, what is really going on is reinsurance that spreads most of the risk throughout the industry thereby further diminishing the company's claim exposure, and providing another source of income for the company and tax write offs. In sum, it ain't socialistic - it is very capitalistic and run as a monopoly with very little true competition.

 

^ I think you live in a different world than I, trico.

In my world, Claims Managers don't get raised dependent upon the amount of money they paid out or didn't pay out on claims. They get paid based on their subordinate's ability to handle claims fairly and equitably and in a reasonable time frame.

My companies Claims departments surely are NOT the bastards of the company. In fact, it's quite the opposite. As an Underwriting Manager, I often felt we were an afterthought and taken for granted. Claims was the place to be.

Reinsurance ? Maybe that would be the case for smaller companies. But I assure you, not so with the world's largest insurance company. And not any of the other huge companies. When we have good years, our Mutual policyholders get dividend checks. When we have a bad year, they all share in a rate hike. They all share the risk, wouldn't you say ? It's a capitalist society we live in so certainly there are capitalistic natures of the business. But to say it's purely capitalistic would be an over simplification of the blatant type. And no competition ? Google "Auto Insurance Companies" once and see how many different names pop up on the first couple pages along. Hell, I get claimants that have insurance with companies I never heard of and I've heard of about 150 of them.

And "ungodly" profits... I talked about this recently in another thread. You should know better than to make such a statment. You can't look at an insurance company's profits for one year or evey five years. All it takes is one Katrina or one CA earthquake and you can eat up a decade of profits.

 

So my 2008 S was rear-ended at a stoplight - total damage has come in around 4K. On the off-chance that someone in the Triangle area has had to get their MINI appraised - does anyone have any recommendations on some reputable appraisers in the area (a dealer is scheduled to open in Raleigh early next year - but I'd like to handle this now if I can).

 

When our Clubman got hit a few months ago I mentioned DV and the adjuster said that she would put the claim in and get back to us with a figure. Once the repairs were complete they called with a very reasonable amount and we had the check in 2 days. We had to ask for it, but they came through.