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While Hubby was driving my car around the Greenville area, a woman turned in front of him causing quite a bit of damage to the front end. Thank God he wasn't hurt, just shaken up a bit.
After going back and forth from "repairing" vs "totaling" the car, it appears that their insurance company has deemed it repairable and moving forward with repairs.
I understand that I can file a "diminished value claim" after the repairs are done, so I'm seeking advice from anyone who has done this. By the way, I"ll be filing this with Allstate, her Insurance Company.
After a quick "google" search, I understand I'll need an appraiser to determine value, and since we're in WNC and the car is in Greenville getting repaired, does anyone have a recommendation for someone in these areas?
Thanks very much for your advice, input, and recommendations as I greatly appreciate ALL advice I receive on City-Data!!
While Hubby was driving my car around the Greenville area, a woman turned in front of him causing quite a bit of damage to the front end. Thank God he wasn't hurt, just shaken up a bit.
After going back and forth from "repairing" vs "totaling" the car, it appears that their insurance company has deemed it repairable and moving forward with repairs.
I understand that I can file a "diminished value claim" after the repairs are done, so I'm seeking advice from anyone who has done this. By the way, I"ll be filing this with Allstate, her Insurance Company.
After a quick "google" search, I understand I'll need an appraiser to determine value, and since we're in WNC and the car is in Greenville getting repaired, does anyone have a recommendation for someone in these areas?
Thanks very much for your advice, input, and recommendations as I greatly appreciate ALL advice I receive on City-Data!!
Why aren't you filing with your own insurance company in WNC. ?? Did you not have your own insurance? Why are you on Google? Who/what do you want a recommendation for, a body shop ? or ?
saucystargazer's response is dead on right. You can ask us but the insurance company you've been paying for years is here to advise you. Here's a link (there are many on the subject) but start with YOUR insurance company, not the woman who hit you. You should not be talking to the other person's agent. (Don't know if you are in touch but I tossed that in. I was in a minor tap and the other person's insurance company called here three times. Each time I got a call, I contacted my agent to keep them off my back. I never asked why they were calling but I knew not to talk to them. My own agent knew what happened.)
Sorry guys, it seems I didn't do a good job of explaining the situation...
Immediately after the accident, we spoke to our insurance company, Travelers. Within a day we were given a repair estimate and valuation of the car. This revealed that the damage fell beneath the threshold to total it. Our Insurance company said that if we filed thru our company, he would have to repair it. He knew I really wanted to not repair it, as the value would diminish, but have it totalled. He explained the differences of filing as an insured vs a claimant...that as a claimant he would have to add in car rental and other charges to the total claim, thus increasing our chances of meeting the threshold, so we decided to file a claim (as a claimant) under their policy, Allstate.
The body shop has found more damages than Allstate's estimate, and are only $600 away from the threshold to total it. Since we have a $900 car rental bill to date, the payout will be over the value of the car, making absolutely no sense. Since they've decided to repair it, we will file a diminished value claim, that can only take place after the repairs are done.
It seems there are differences to the way each company processes the Diminished Value Claims. With Travelers it's simpler, but with Allstate, there are more requirements of proving the value has been diminished because the car has been wrecked/repaired. They require an independent appraisal, and that is why I'm on CD to get recommendations for appraisers in WNC, and advice from someone who's done this already...
Thanks for your advice, as I appreciate any help I can get
Cool. Missed one detail . We can handle that. I duckduckgo'd (it's a search engine) diminished value appraisals. There are a number of companies that do it. Then you run into today's normal issue - are they ethical. We use Allstate. Do you want me to check with them to find out who in this area they'd recommend? They're still independent and you obviously wouldn't go through them. I like our small agency in Asheville.
In the old days, AAA kept a list of preferred repair shops and businesses. I can contact them to see if they can recommend someone but you tell me (send an email since I may forget about this thread). Car's in the Greenville area. If I make the contact or contacts, it would be for someone out of Greenville unless you state otherwise. If you have AAA, you can call and ask if they still maintain a list of preferred businesses.
Can you just contact a dealer for your make of car for a trade in value? We mom went though this when trading in after a minor rear end(was under 1k in damage but for some reason it showed up on a car fax when the insurance companies said it wouldn't) and she lost several thousand.
Thanks guys for your input...they have decided to total the car after all, so I'm spared the ordeal of having to file this extra claim.
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