Is Kelley Blue Book A Reliable Method for Researching Diminished Value?

September 30, 2018By Justin Petty
Is Kelley Blue Book A Reliable Method for Researching Diminished Value?

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, or diminished value or DV as it is common to call it, that the adjuster was willing to pay was about $4000 less than what my research and opinion came out to.

Obviously, I argued that KBB was not accurate.

Naturally, the adjuster requested a synopsis on why I believed that using Kelley Blue Book was not a reliable method for researching diminished value.

I happily obliged the adjuster.

Want to read more about why using Kelley Blue Book (or any other online valuation guide) to calculate diminished value is a severely lacking and inaccurate method?

Read more – click here!

Do you have to sell your car to prove your diminished value? A Graph

November 11, 2016By Justin Petty No Comments
Do you have to sell your car to prove your diminished value? A Graph

What do you think? Do you have to sell your car in order to prove that it has lost value?

does your car have to be sold

To the surprise of me and my client’s attorney, we recently had a Judge that said YES.  Insurance adjusters are trained to say YES to the title question, too. But what do you think?

The graphic with this article sorta sums up why the law does not agree with the Judge or the insurance adjusters, but I’ll go a little further to drive the point home.

No, Really…Do You Have To Sell Your Car To Prove Diminished Value?

Am I richer when the prices of my stocks go up?

Am I poorer when my stock values are down?

If average home prices around the home I own rise, am I richer?

If I trade my Lamborghini even for a Toyota Corolla, am I richer, or poorer?

If the doctor says I need a $10000.00 surgery to save my foot, am I richer if I don’t get the surgery?

If I lose my foot, and then use a prosthetic, is the cost of maintaining and replacing the prosthetic, along with the future medical costs I will incur part of the value of my claim, or does it only count when I actually go and pay for the care?

If everybody in your neighborhood paid $500 for a grill from the hardware store, and you found an identical one on Craigslist for $325.00 and still in the box, what is the market value of the grill?

If I have a Rolex valued at $22,000.00 by a well known Rolex appraiser, and I sell it for $18000.00, did I change the value of the Rolex?

If a sell price dictates market value, then there is no such thing as a “good deal”.

FIND OUT WHAT THE EXPERT SAYS & SEE THE REST OF THE GRAPH

Auto Accident – Do You Need an Attorney?

May 11, 2016By Justin Petty
Auto Accident – Do You Need an Attorney?

Do you need an attorney for your auto accident?

Answer the question for yourself!

Let me start by saying that some people never need an attorney, and others will always need an attorney.

Additionally, this article is based on my 15 years of claims adjusting experience. I have developed a simple little formula that will help you decide if you need an attorney or not. Keep in mind, this quiz is tailored for auto accidents only, and I make no warranties or guarantees that your result is a foolproof answer.

Ultimately, the only person that can decide if you need an attorney is you.

With that being said, simply answer the following 15 questions and then add up your answers. All of these questions are yes or no questions. Whatever answer you have the most of is your answer to the title of this article.

Take Justin’s Quiz to find out!

Diminished Value in Texas – How Does It Compare?

April 27, 2016By Justin Petty
Diminished Value in Texas – How Does It Compare?

Dealing with Diminished Value in Texas

If you have a repairable collision claim in Texas, then you may be entitled to recover for your vehicle’s diminished value. In Texas, if you file a third-party auto claim, then if your claim meets certain standards, you would likely recover diminished value if the case went before a jury.

Diminished value in Texas compares to other states in this capacity through the negligence law rules.  

In Texas, if one is over 50% at fault for a loss, then they cannot recover damages from a less negligent party.

The kicker is that if they are only 10% at fault, then that 10% can be deducted from their damage amount. Some States have a law that applies negligence in a pure manner.

For example: if you are 10% at fault, then you owe 10% of the other person’s damages. If you are 61% at fault, you can still recover 39% of your damages.

The point, and to answer the question in the title of this article, is that YES you can get paid for diminished value in Texas.

READ MORE ABOUT DV CLAIMS IN TEXAS!

Insurance company refuses to total my vehicle but I want it totaled – what can I do?

April 11, 2016By Justin Petty
Insurance company refuses to total my vehicle but I want it totaled – what can I do?

What if I want to total my vehicle but the insurance company refuses to total?

Frankly, I’m surprised that I don’t get asked the title question more often, but I know why I don’t.  Simply put, it is the dogmatic way insurance adjusters explain the total loss or repair process to accident victims.

From the onset of dealing with most adjusters, the tone is set by the adjuster that what they say is how it is.  Most simply TELL people how it is.  The art of negotiation is lost and with it, common sense. 

This isn’t their fault; their supervisor told them how it was when they started and as they trained.  But don’t blame the supervisor because his manager told him how it was when he started.  But don’t blame the manager. . . you see where I am going with this? 

It is a mindset drilled into adjusters that THEY are the ones that decide if a vehicle is totaled or not.  They are sadly mistaken.

So, listen, it is YOUR vehicle. 

YOURS. 

Not theirs. 

YOU decide what to do with it, not them.  Remind them of this if you disagree with them.  Ask them whose name is on the title.  After you have cleared up the issue of ownership and ultimate control over the destiny of your vehicle, then you have to implement a plan to bring the destiny to reality.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT WHAT YOU CAN DO!

WHAT’S THE MADE WHOLE DOCTRINE & WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ANYWAY?

March 31, 2016By Justin Petty
WHAT’S THE MADE WHOLE DOCTRINE & WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ANYWAY?

Made Whole Doctrine: Are you being preyed upon?

Insurance companies count on vehicle owners not knowing about the law, specifically the made whole doctrine.  They use the lack of knowledge by the layman to prey on accident victims for profit.  Right now, many of the accident victims that are reading this article are being further victimized by their own insurance company, and many times the adjusters that are doing the victimizing have been indoctrinated to believe they are doing the right thing and that they are within the law.

Let me be very clear here:

Insurance companies routinely steal money from their own customers through improper and illegal subrogation activities.

ARE YOU AFFECTED? CLICK HERE TO READ MORE!

INVALID DIMINISHED VALUE CLAIM DENIAL – 8 Unfair Examples

January 22, 2016By Justin Petty
INVALID DIMINISHED VALUE CLAIM DENIAL – 8 Unfair Examples

If you’ve had the displeasure of being in an accident where your vehicle was repairable, you’ve probably experienced a loss in the resale value of your vehicle, no matter how well it was repaired.

Additionally, in the vast majority of cases the insurance company that is responsible for settling the claim with you gives you an unfair and invalid diminished value claim denial.  In my view, the denial of these valid claims is an act of fraud.

If it is fraud, then why doesn’t the insurance company get in trouble for it?

The primary reason is that there are very few attorneys and even fewer accident victims that really understand the denials.  Because of that, it is difficult for the accident victim to defeat the illogical and unlawful reasons that insurance companies use to deny diminished value claims. 

I thought long and hard about what I could do to help accident victims get fair compensation for lost value, and outside of preparing an appraisal for them and directing them to an attorney that will take their case, the best I can do is to educate.  So that is exactly what I will do right now!

I’ve already published one article that gives some responses to common denials, but in this post, I am going to pull out the stops and address every denial reason I can find, and provide all the proper reasons why the denials are invalid, improper, and in most cases, fraudulent.

READ ABOUT THE DENIALS YOU MIGHT RUN INTO

Auto Dealer Quotes & Diminished Value – The Solution

January 21, 2016By Justin Petty
Auto Dealer Quotes & Diminished Value – The Solution

If you are attempting to recover damages as a result of diminished value, you will undoubtedly be required to prove your loss.

This can be very difficult for the average accident victim. Can you just call around and get auto dealer quotes to prove your loss?  

Knowledge of the proper methodologies and form for presenting valid supporting data eludes most laymen.

As a former licensed adjuster and current owner of a claim services company, I can attest to how hard it is to document diminished value in a credible manner.

Spill The Beans!  

How Do I Prove My Diminished Value?

READ MORE FROM OUR EXPERT!

How The Amount Of The Repair Bill Affects Diminished Value

January 12, 2016By Justin Petty
How The Amount Of The Repair Bill Affects Diminished Value

Severity of Damage and Inherent Diminished Value

In a professional forum for diminished value providers, we had a member inquire about how the amount of the repair bill affects the diminished value (inherent) 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…

Click for the Truth About How The Repair Bill Affects Diminished Value