The Tesla and Inherent Diminished Value

December 16, 2013Auto Accident, Auto Repair, Diminished Value, Insurance Claims, Rare Vehicle Auto Claims, Tesla Diminished Value

Tesla Model S – Diminished Value On A Rare Vehicle

tesla diminished value

Recently, I was asked to review the impact a collision would have on a relatively rare vehicle, the Tesla Model S.  The review was challenging because the vehicle doesn’t have many of the mechanical components that a traditional internal combustion engine vehicle has.  Additionally, there has been some reservations about the safety of the Tesla due to recent reports of fires ensuing after collisions (undercarriage damage to the battery bank). (more…)

How is Fault Determined in an Auto Accident?

October 18, 2013Auto Accident, Insurance Claims, Liability

fault argument

The subject of determining fault has no doubt spawned many a fist fight, and the debate on the best way to allocate fault is still alive and well.

This subject can get very complicated, but I’ll try and simplify it down to a quick study.

I have to say that negligence laws differ in each State, so I am going to generalize and speak about negligence and fault as it is addressed in the vast majority of the United States, and we’ll omit specific exceptions due to locale.  If you have a specific question about tort liability or negligence in auto accident, please seek out a competent attorney or professional.  The information presented here is not legal advice and is for informational purposes only. (more…)

Writing Insurance Claim Dispute Letters

October 14, 2013Auto Repair, Diminished Value, Injury Claims, Insurance Claims, Total Loss

dispute letters
If you’ve found this information, then you’ve probably been involved in an auto accident of some sort and you are seeking recovery for property damages you have incurred.  It is not uncommon to have a dispute with the insurance company over your claim.

Disputes most commonly occur over the dollar value a claim is worth.  For the purposes of this excerpt, I will address the article’s title and focus on helping you get words down on paper (or computer screen).

This is a difficult topic to quickly and sufficiently cover, but we’ll give it a shot by focusing on general guidelines and common tactics for most insurance claims.  We’ll assume that you have sufficient language and grammatical skills to compose a demand letter that doesn’t contain glaring mistakes. (more…)

The Placebo Effect / How It Affects Your Diminished Value Claim!

September 18, 2013Auto Repair, Diminished Value, Insurance Claims, Small Claims

I guess most of us have heard of the placebo effect, but just in case. . . here’s my definition:

Being told that a pill (you don’t know it’s just sugar) is a fix for a problem, then having the problem resolve.  The healing effect due ONLY to the belief of having a healing medicine, and not any actual physical medicine.

placebo-brain
©iStockphoto.com/ FotografiaBasica

I think this is a great example of the power of thought on the physical world.  It is at the very least, evidence that it may be possible to think healing into being.  As I was reviewing my historical records of how diminished value claims are settled, I began to think about and analyze the conversations and belief patterns of my customers as they behaved and thought about their insurance claim potential.  The placebo effect is rampant.

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Diminished Value and Kelley Blue Book

September 13, 2013Auto Repair, Diminished Value, Insurance Claims

Recently, I had a case where an adjuster was negotiating an inherent lost market value claim based on values and condition descriptions found in Kelley Blue Book.  The amount of inherent lost value that the adjuster was willing to pay was about $4k less than what my research and opinion came out to.  Obviously, I argued that Kelley was not accurate, and naturally, the adjuster requested a synopsis on why I believed that using Kelley Blue Book was not a reliable method for researching inherent lost market value, or DV as it is becoming common to call it (diminished value).

I happily obliged the adjuster, and here in this blog entry, I will re-cap why I think using Kelley Blue Book (or any other online valuation guide) to calculate DV is a severely lacking and inaccurate method.

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Subrogation: Are you the Tortoise or the Hare?

September 4, 2013Subrogation

subrogation tactics, tortoise or the hareIf you don’t know what subrogation is, then this article isn’t for you.  In this posting, I am speaking only of personal automobile subrogation recovery.  A recent teleconference with some claims professionals made me think of this blog posting.

Subrogation recovery is a difficult skill to master.  There are two fundamental approaches to maximizing recovery.  One approach focuses on speed, and the other is based on securing the most future money. Think of the fable “The Tortoise and the Hare” and the lesson it teaches.  We believe that lesson is well applied in the area of subrogation, and our long term numbers can prove it.

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Salvage Vehicles, Total Losses, Rebuilt / Salvage Titles & Diminished Value

May 23, 2013Diminished Value, Insurance Claims, Total Loss

Salvage Vehicles, Total Losses, Rebuilt / Salvage Titles & Diminished Value

In every claim I have ever handled where the vehicle was a total loss and had a salvage / rebuilt title, I was instructed to deduct 50% of it’s pre-accident value to account for the salvage / rebuilt status.  Also, when I was handling claims for insurance companies, I was routinely told that diminished value did not exist and to simply deny paying for it.

If asked, the main reason for denial was because it was a “stigma” claim, for which we did not legally owe (which was a lie).  The next best denial reason was that unless the vehicle sold for a loss due to the repair history, the claim was “unrealized” and there was no claim (also a lie).

Just think about that for a minute if you’re an adjuster.  Are you not instructed to deduct 40 – 60 % of the value on a total loss settlement if the vehicle had a salvage or rebuilt title?  And are you not instructed to refuse to pay diminished value on vehicles that are repairable?  Do you know the law about the matter?  I do.

The fact of the matter is that in most cases, if a vehicle has any substantial value, then if damaged and repaired, it will suffer lost market value due to stigma.  If your damages were due to another person’s negligence, then their liability insurance company will ultimately have to settle the claim for them if you sue the person.

How is stigma loss documented and how do you sue?

Information is always free at Petty Details, LLC!