Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This happened to me while living in TX. Fortunately for me the party that hit me was not insured (not even a citizen here) so I filed an uninsured claim against my insurance company.
My car was 6 weeks old and had less than 3000 miles on it when it was hit. The damage to my car (Honda Accord Coupe) was about $15K and they decided not to total it. Keep in mind that my damage was more than cosmetic. There was minor frame damage and many moving parts around the front left tire had to be replaced.
If there was just cosmetic damage to your vehicle, it will be hard to prove diminished value. In order to get diminished value, there must be damage and replacement of factory installed moving parts.
My insurance company offered me $1,200 in diminished value, which was a lowball. I declined, thinking it was more like $5000. I had to hire an appraiser ($500) to do a thorough report and market analysis of the vehicle. He came back with a diminished value of $4,700. The insurance company declined to pay that and we went to an arbitrator who sided with me and eventually I was paid $4,500 by my insurance company.
Bottom line is, you have to prove your cars value has significantly declined. A quote from a dealer is not proof. You will most likely have to pay to have your vehicle appraised. And even then its a crapshoot as to whether you will get any money back from insurance. Hope this helps.
Simple answer before you talk with a lawyer; write Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin lodging a formal complaint against the company, spelling out the specifics and as much validation on diminished value as you can. Send a CC: to the CEO of said insurance company - the address you can find via a Google search. Companies, especially the CEO HATE to get the Commissioner (who sets their rates) involved because it makes the company look bad in the eyes of the Commissioner and is a lot of paperwork and admin costs to the company. Give it a shot. I can tell you from personal knowledge that it works.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.