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!
