Kelly fought for her DV in CA!

June 26, 2019By Justin Petty

Kelly fought for her DV in CA!

Have you had trouble getting your diminished value claim settled?  

So did our client Kelly in San Mateo, CA so she hired us as her experts.  She had a 2016 Audi Q3 2.0T Premium Plus with over $20K in damage after an accident that wasn’t her fault and, although it should have been totaled, the at-fault insurance carrier INSISTED it was repairable!  

She submitted her $6100 DV claim and got the typical immediate denial.

Because California only requires $5K in property damage liability coverage, insurance companies COMMONLY attempt to use this denial / delay tactic…

Here’s how it works:

The responsible carrier will refuse to address the victim’s out-of-pocket damages (like Loss of Use and Diminished Value), arguing that the VICTIM’S insurance carrier needs to subrogate first. 

If this happens, the victim almost never gets paid for Diminished Value.  Since your own policy doesn’t cover diminished value, you MUST get it from the at-fault person’s carrier so the subrogation claim must wait until you recover your DV.  

Otherwise, the subro claim could exhaust the limits of the at-fault party’s policy, leaving you empty-handed with no way to recover.  The Made-Whole Doctrine exists to combat this inequity (search more about this topic on our blog).

Once she made everyone aware that she knew her rights, Kelly got the full Diminished Value settlement of $6100 and her insurance company was forced to wait on their subrogation claim.

Do you need a great expert appraiser to help with your diminished value auto claim?  

You can get a FREE claim consultation today to talk about your claim with one of our experts!

Yulian’s California DV Success

June 13, 2019By Jennifer Petty

Yulian’s California Diminished Value Success

Yulian G. lives in California 🌴 and has a 2016 Subaru WRX that sustained over $17K in damages.

He works at Yosemite National Park and, while he fought the wildfires, he was also fighting Mercury Insurance with a Diminished Value Appraisal from Petty Details to get his $7K auto claim paid. Guess what? He got it PAID IN FULL!

Hear straight from our raving fan – his email is below!

“Mercury Insurance sent me a settlement check in which the amount from your appraisal was included and paid in full!

I wanted you to know that, despite the complexity of this case, your services were ON POINT and you guys provided excellent customer service and expertise! I’m so glad that I listened to your advice!

Again, thank you so very much for your understanding, expertise, customer satisfaction and empathy. You’re a rare occasion in the business field today. I’ll make sure to highly recommend your business every chance I get! Come visit Yosemite anytime!”

Yulian G.

Want to be our next California diminished value success story?

Fill out the form below to get a FREE diminished value claim consultation today!

Cali girl Liz wins $6K in DV!

June 9, 2019By Jennifer Petty

Liz is a Cali girl 🌴 with a 2016 Audi Q3 2.0T Premium Plus who had over $20K in damages after an auto accident.

She filed for diminished value with a certified appraisal from us at Petty Details and ended up settling her auto claim for over $6000!

Now it’s back to the beach for Liz to enjoy a carefree summer thanks to our expert help.

Get your success story with help from an appraisal and our experts today by filling out our form below for a free claim consultation today!

Has Attorney Montie Day Changed California Diminished Value Law?

January 13, 2016By Justin Petty 1 Comment

In the small world of automobile claims, there’s new buzz surrounding California Diminished Value law and the recent changes in California Jury Instructions regarding property damage to automobiles.

The changes came in response to one attorney’s relentless pursuit of justice. Attorney Montie S. Day refused to sit idly by when he realized California insurance carriers and their adjusters were using language in official jury instructions to try and make accident victims believe they could not legally recover lost value damages.  Specifically, we’re talking about inherent lost market value to automobiles, or as it is more commonly known, diminished value or simply DV.  Market surveys and sales prove that damaged and repaired vehicles are generally less desirable (thus, less valuable) on the resale market than identical vehicles that have never been damaged and repaired.

What’s interesting here is that big changes are expected, yet there is no new California Diminished Value law.  What the insightful Mr. Day attacked was not improper law (jury instructions are not law, and the law in California already recognized the right of a victim to recover inherent lost value aka diminished value).  Instead he realized insurance carriers were using language in the jury instructions to mislead accident victims and imply that the law in California would not allow recovery of inherent diminished value, so he attacked and exposed that unfair and misleading tactic.

ALERT! ! ! COLLUSION / DECEPTIVE SUBROGATION PRACTICES IN CALIFORNIA REGARDING THE MADE WHOLE DOCTRINE

May 6, 2015By Justin Petty

Warning – Your Insurance Company Could Be Stealing From You!

Insurance companies are stealing money from their own policyholders by ignoring the common law “MADE WHOLE DOCTRINE”.

If you have been in an accident and had to use your own policy to get your vehicle repaired, then you are potentially a victim of the malicious subrogation practices by carriers like State Farm, GEICO, Farmers, USAA, AAA, CSAA, Mercury and many others.

Almost every insurance carrier in California is illegally demanding money that is not theirs to take under a general subrogation provision in personal auto policies before their customers are made whole.

2011 Audi S5 California Diminished Value Win!

March 2, 2015By Jennifer Petty

LOCATION: Roseville, California

Jason lives in California and he dealt with the normal slow paced adjuster and the holiday rush while trying to get his diminished value claim on his 2011 Audi S5 settled.

He hired us after the insurance company told him they needed expert proof to pay diminished value.  

That is where we stepped in and did what we do best:  

We did our research gave guidance and support to our client throughout his claim!

California Diminished Value Claims

January 20, 2014By Justin Petty No Comments

California diminished value

California Diminished Value Claims :

What You Need To Know

Throughout the country, individuals are realizing that they have a right to recover the inherent lost market value (diminished value) that occurs after a vehicle has been wrecked and repaired.

UPDATED JAN. 2016

There are only two states where case law does not support recovery of diminished value in a negligence cause of action.  California is not one of those states.  New case law in California is clear that it IS possible to recover for the diminished value of your vehicle if you are able to prove your loss. (more…)