Diminished Value in Texas – How Does It Compare?

April 27, 2016By Justin Petty

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.

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

March 31, 2016By Justin Petty

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

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

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?

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.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT WHAT HAS CHANGED!

How The Amount Of The Repair Bill Affects Diminished Value

January 12, 2016By Justin Petty

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

Collision Repair – 7 Things You Need to Know

January 11, 2016By Justin Petty

Worried about your collision repair after an auto accident?

You ought to be.

In nearly 15 years as an adjuster, I have seen some doozies when it comes to collision repair.

Not all shops are crooks, but body shops, like any other business, are in business to make money.

Most people are not experts on collision repair, and body shops know this.

Taking your car to a body shop is sort of like going to the doctor or hiring an attorney. You kind of have to trust what the doctor or lawyer says because they are specially trained.

It is the same for a body shop, you kind of have to trust what they tell you because they are specially trained.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT PICKING A SHOP

Auto Accident: Third Party Claim and Myths About Adjusters

January 6, 2016By Justin Petty

What is a third party claim and what do you need to know?

Anytime you’re involved in an auto accident and it was not your fault, you potentially have a third party claim.

If the at fault party has liability insurance, then when you file a claim with their insurance company and you have a third party claim.

I have read quite a few articles that give a lot of bad information about adjusters. The thing I have noticed about those articles is that none of them were written by an insurance adjuster!

I’d be willing to bet that if you have not been an insurance adjuster, then you believe insurance adjusters are almost as bad as used car salesmen or attorneys, hehehe. It is a common view. I can’t speak for every single insurance claims office out there, but I can say that I have worked for 5 different non-standard companies as an adjuster, and I have worked on contract for many standard companies as a recovery specialist with a firm.

I have never been instructed to deny any valid claim, nor have I been advised to “low-ball” claimants.

This might happen at some companies, but it is definitely not the norm. Insurance adjusters (if they care about their license) will usually try very hard to fairly resolve claims.

I will say that I have definitely dealt with some companies that have some “questionable” practices.

I won’t name names, but some of these companies simply attempt to cut costs by hiring inexperienced adjusters and giving them a “rule-book”.

It is the inexperience of the adjuster in interpreting the “rules” that causes the majority of the issues.

FIND OUT THE UNWRITTEN RULE AND MORE – CLICK HERE!

Auto Accidents – Critical Thinking

July 20, 2015By Justin Petty

What To Do After An Auto Accident

Advice on Dealing with an Auto Insurance Claim

Most of us will be involved in an auto accident within our lifetimes.

This means that we are likely to have a claim with an insurance company; either our own insurance company or someone else’s insurance company.

After over 17 years of experience in the field of insurance (most as a claims adjuster), I have come to realize that the majority of the public just doesn’t get it (the claims process, that is).

Additionally, I also believe that the majority of auto claims adjusters don’t get it.

When I first began to speak with people about insurance claims over 17 years ago, the problem was not so apparent, but as more attorneys and less experienced adjusters come on the market, claimants get fed a lot of misinformation.

Just search the internet for auto accident claims help or some similar string of search words and you will quickly become confused on how to best approach getting a fair settlement on your insurance claim.

In my own opinion, the best approach is the simplest approach. As the title of this article indicates, critical thinking is the key to a successful claim negotiation.

As an adjuster who has handled almost every type of claim imaginable, I will attempt to give some pointers on critical thinking that we should all remember when we are dealing with a claim, adjusters and claimants alike.

GET MY 6 TIPS FOR CRITICAL CLAIM THINKING!

3 Biggest Arguments Against Inherent Diminished Value Dispelled

July 13, 2015By Justin Petty

Diminished Value Denials: How The Insurance Company Is Lying To You

The vast majority of insurance adjusters have had no formal training in valuation appraisals.

The unfortunate fact of the matter is that insurance adjusters work for an insurance company and are forced to work within the policies of the company they work for.

Unfortunately, insurance companies train employees and adjusters to deny diminished value claims, even if the evidence is overwhelming.

It is such a rampant practice that they even provide adjusters with several arguments to use and most companies provide form letters that make silly arguments about why they won’t pay for diminished value.

Here are the three most common arguments carriers use against diminished value and the breakdown of why they are not valid defenses to inherent lost market value claims.

SEE THE ARGUMENTS AGAINST DIMINISHED VALUE

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