Hey guys, I am new to this forum and here is my situation. I got my 2016 Ftype R coupe in Oct 2015. After few weeks of driving, I was rear ended by a nissan driver and it was completely his fault. It didn't hurt the car's body part but the rear bumper. And I noticed there has been a accident record on the vehicle's history. I think this will definitely cause a diminishment. How should I deal with the insurance company?

 

btw It is a well equipped car. Original price is 130k before tax.

 

It's unfortunate it had to be reported. And couldn't settle with the other driver not using any insurance. Especially since the damage was minor. Then no report would have been filled.

I don't know how it will effect value, but it will some since its on the carfax report. Especially on high end cars. Just accept it and live with it. The longer you keep the car the less it will matter I would bet.

 

In Ny there is no diminished value allowed in an insurance claim. Check PA laws. This sucks, as as soon as there is an accident report future buyers assume the worst. Keep pictures and the repair sheet so you can show the non serious nature of the accident. If diminished value case can be made, get all you can. I have been burned by this on two cars.

 

PA does allow it, but it is always a fight with the insurance companies. They never want to pay diminished value. They feel that repairing the car makes you whole again.

It sounds like you already accepted a settlement and had the car repaired. If so, you are probably out of luck.

Edit. Forgot to say that in the event you get them to agree to diminished value there are public adjusters that do specialize in this but take a percentage of the gains.

 

Hello everybody. Here is the the straight scoop about automobile diminished value claims. I speak from much knowledge in this field.

There are two types of claims. First-Party and Third-Party. First-Party claims are those made against your own insurance company seeking compensation for a loss. Hitting a tree is an example of a First-Party claim. Third-Party claims are those made against an at-fault party and, by extension, their insurance company. An example is getting rear-ended.

With regard to First-Party diminished value claims, they are allowed only in Georgia, Kansas and Washington. In every other state there is case law, etc. prohibiting you from obtaining compensation for diminished value in First-Party claims.

Third-Party diminished value claims are allowed in every state except Michigan. Some states have their idiosyncrasies, West Virginia doesn't allow diminished value unless the vehicle had structural damage, for example.

Lots of misconceptions about diminished value.

 

This is clarifying as when investigated there was no distinction between first and third party, only that it was allowed in New York. Is the acceptance of the repair essentially the end of the potential for dimples shed value claim? Are you an attorney or in claims?

 

Not sure if I understand your question but if you are asking if by accepting the repair (?) that you give up the right to make a diminished value claim, my answer is no. And no, I'm not an attorney, just an appraiser.

 

Just an appraiser? I think that puts you higher on the food chain than an attorney.

 

You can and definitely should pursue your diminished value claim, but be very careful as the legal fees can eat up a tremendous amount of the recovery. I had a 2 year-old 750 rear ended hard causing over $13k in damage. GEICO was great about the repair but only offered $1,500 on the diminished value. I contacted the local dealer and asked a buddy how much is the car really devalued? He gave me a formula dealers use, something like if the crash repair is close to 25% of the vehicle's resale, then diminished value is 50% of the repair cost. This made me think around $6,500 would be the limit.

I went back to GEICO and countered but they would not budge. Having a "friend" as an attorney who swore he could get me more AND we could recover his fees, I elected to sue. After over 2 years, an arbitration win, appeals by GEICO and then a hearing, I won a little over $4k in diminished value and $10k in legal fees (NC limits legal fee recovery to $10k). Only problem was I spent over $13k of padded billing by my "friend" and only gained a few hundred dollars overall. GEICO spent over $25k between what they paid me and their own expenses but they fought tooth and nail anyway.

With perfect 20-20 hindsight, I would have been better off accepting the crappy $1,500 initial offer or at least found better friends.

 

That's interesting. I had my BMW M5 lightly rear-ended. They only replaced the bumper, parking sensor, headrest backlash mechanism and the impact absorber. Was $4.5k in damage. Geico also offered me $1500 in diminished value. I called a diminished value estimator and got an estimate of $8000. Geico hired their own expert who came back with $4k. And we negotiated a settlement of $5k. No Lawyers. I netted $4700k since I paid $300 for the estimate.

 

That is great for you. Maybe my suffering taught GEICO that it is better to settle reasonably than litigate.

 

This is spot on accurate! I can't verify the states cited, but the concept with regards to 1st party and 3rd party claims is wholly accurate.

I've had to do extensive research on this because my 1st F-Type was broad-sided at 40MPH by someone who ran a red light, THREE WEEKS and 592 Miles after delivery. You can find case history on Diminished Value all over the internet, but the bottom line is it is exceedingly difficult to impossible to get insurance to compensate for loss of value due to an accident (aka diminished value).

For clarity, a 1st party claim is one you make against your own insurance carrier - you're at fault or nobody else involved in the incident. This does indeed vary from state to state, but most states have allowed (or been swayed by the insurance lobby) Insurance Carriers -- Farmers, State Farm, Allstate, Geico, etc. -- to EXCLUDE diminutive value from the policy coverages. You will rarely find it on the summary of coverage or Declarations of Coverage (aka Dec Page), and carriers have managed to craft the language deep within the policy in a manner that obscures this exclusion. But if you read the fine print of your policies 192 pages, and focus on the Exclusions/Excluded From Coverage section. Loss for diminished value will most assuredly be one of the many elements excluded from the policy. That stated, I am aware of a few cases where the Agency with which you placed your policy has actually gone to bat for the driver, and have been successful in obtaining some partial restitution for diminished value from the Carrier. This would be the very rare exception to the norm however.

3rd party claims get much more convoluted. As stated earlier, A 3rd party claim is one in which you file a claim against the other drivers insurance. To be able to do this, the other party MUST have insurance of course, and the other driver must by ENTIRELY AT FAULT. A police report or accident investigation (sometimes conducted by an insurance adjuster interviewing both drivers and any witnesses over the phone in the ensuing days) is typically required to verify fault. Any effort to elevate ones claim to include Diminished Value in a 3rd Party claim is also going to be dictated by the extent of the other drivers insurance. Assuming the other party is at fault, if they only have State mandated minimum levels of insurance coverage, your chances of recovering for diminished value is capped by the Limits of their policy, a sizable portion of which will already be tapped by the repairs to your expensive all-aluminum body Jaguar.

The reason for the difference between 1st and 3rd Party claims is not well understood by the public, until you understand the mechanics of what is occurring here. In a claim against your own insurance carrier, you purchased a policy, which in essence translates to a CONTRACT for coverage between you and your carrier. The terms and conditions as expressly written in that Contract -- your long form Policy -- becomes the governing rule of law, and I can assure you it is not written to protect you, the paying customer. The policy is written to limit the exposure of the Insurance Carrier, but written in a way that gives the appearance the policy is intended to protect you. In a way, it does some of both, but far more the former than the latter.

In a claim against another drivers policy, THERE IS NO CONTRACT between you and that drivers insurance carrier. You likely don't know the other driver, you have no affiliation with their insurance, and even their coverage exclusions don't apply to you, "a 3rd party" that is not a party to their policy. Even if you happen to both be insured by the same Carrier, Farmers for instance, the other drivers' Policy/contract has nothing to do with you. Thus, when you initiate a 3rd Party Claim, you have considerably greater "leverage" against the other parties carrier to make demands for how you are going to be made whole... Type and cost of rental, chosen repair facility, what is or isn't "adjusted" out of the list of recommended repairs, claims for diminished value, to name a few of the negotiating points. THIS IS information the insurance companies would prefer the public not become familiar with... They want you, joe public, to believe that they dictate the terms of the repair/settlement -- just as if it was a 1st Party Claim, and dictated by the terms of some imaginary policy/contract that does not really exist between you and they.

In 3rd Party claims - right or wrong - the carriers are very experienced and adept at manipulating the process to their advantage from the word go, and before the claimant gets too crazy in their demands. They WILL bully and fight you tooth and nail to mitigate their exposure, for which they legally have little protection and minimal backstop, other than the rather offensive wall of defense they put forth. They have done this rodeo many times before. They will push your buttons and test your limits, even to the point of challenging you to take them to court, because they know few citizens really want to engage in that hassle, even if they are full of verbal bluster themselves in trying to get what they believe they are rightfully entitled to.

Having been through most of this myself, the most astonishing facet of the whole process became apparent when I decided to FIRE my current carrier, Cancel my current policy, and move my Auto coverage to a different Agent and Carrier. Now a better informed consumer of auto insurance exclusions, when I began shopping other agents and carriers, I made it crystal clear with each agent quoting my coverage that I wanted to see a copy of their auto policy before I would even consider their quotation. Sadly, I had to beg, threaten, and stomp my feet... and even then, not a single agent/carrier would provide an example or copy of the boilerplate language contained in their policy. It seems the entire industry sells via smoke and mirrors... Sign there, write a check here, we'll bind coverage, and the policy will arrive in the mail in a few weeks. Having become well versed in auto policy EXCLUSIONS, I wanted to review the express language that would be contained in the policy I was considering. Seems like a Fair and Reasonable request, right. Not a chance.

Only after asking four times of the State Farm agent who had the best quote and the most willing to work multiple lines of coverage (Auto, Home, Liability Umbrella, etc.) to my advantage, was I successful in getting him to provide - with great reluctance - an "agents copy" of the policy, with the caveat that I tell no one where I obtained it from.

Moral to the story of Auto Insurance: BUYER BEWARE!!!

 

Just want to add this. If the liable person does not have insurance, your own UM (uninsured/under-insured motorist coverage) should kick in, or you could opt for taking them to small claims court to recover the diminished value.

 

True. Meant to add that 1st party coverage kicks in if the total value of the loss/claim exceeds the limits of the 3rd party coverage, thus you are back to being bound by the express terms and exclusions of your policy/contract.
In my case however, diminished value for a 3 week old F-Type R was estimated to be $30,000 by an expert in DV appraisals, so a small claims filing capped at 10k would be wholly unsatisfactory.

 

It's civil court for you. Best of luck.

 

I know this isn't directly related to the OP, but what I did was put my new F-type on my classic car policy through Grundy with an agreed value of $89k (which is about sticker price). I didn't pay sticker, but they allowed that number for agreed value. I have my Tiger and Austin Healey with them as well. Limitations: 1. Must be garaged 2. Not for commuting to work. No mileage limits.
Premium was $1000 cheaper per year than Liberty Mutual, even though my home owner's, wife's cars and pick-up truck are insured through them.