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, … Read More
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 … Read More
In a professional forum for diminished value providers, we had a member inquire about how the amount of the repair bill affects the inherent diminished value of a vehicle. It is my experience that the amount of damages is an imperative factor to have in order to accurately assess diminished value. Let’s dig right into the details. … Read More
If 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. … Read More
Recently, the Texas legislature enacted a law that abolishes the Small Claims Court in Texas. There are a few articles on the web about it, but for the most part, nobody noticed! After researching the subject matter (thanks to Hal Monk), I found the amended rules.
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 … Read More
Are you joking? YES! Seriously, I sometimes get the feeling that some people just don’t understand how life works, and that causes them difficulty in discerning ordinarily easy facts to observe. Our mission statement at the office is “We are here to prove that paying attention to details and doing the right thing is the … Read More
I truly cannot tell you how many times a claimant threatened to sue the company when I was adjusting insurance claims. All insurance adjuster learn pretty early on that a person will have a hard time trying to sue someone else’s insurance company for bad claims handling, so never was I ever worried when a … Read More
Is automobile diminished value a fact? If so, then how does one prove the exact diminished value? Is there anything fake about diminished value? In almost every successful recovery, an expert report on diminished value is required. As an expert in diminished value, my research indicates that diminished value exists in almost every case where … Read More
So one of the most common questions I get is related to how an accident will affect insurance premiums. If you are worried about this, then you are correct in doing so. The answer as to how much your rate will increase is specific to the insurance company that provides your coverage. For example, if … Read More