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!

My Attorney Says They Don’t Do Property Damages?!

January 22, 2015By Justin Petty

attorneys and property damage

When dealing with another person’s insurance company for an accident, many attorneys will simply tell clients that they do not get involved with the property damage part of the claim and that includes diminished value and total loss settlements.

In fact, MOST injury attorneys practice this policy on third party cases.

Why do they say this?

Well, normally it’s because there is no way for the attorney to make any money handling the property damages AND make sure the victim gets all their property damage money.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ATTORNEYS AND PROPERTY DAMAGES

BIG Loopholes in Uninsured Motorist Claims Exposed

January 13, 2015By Justin Petty

UM claims exposed

As a veteran adjuster and automobile damage claim litigation specialist, I have seen countless claims where the at fault party is unknown.

No problem if you have uninsured motorist coverage, right?

Wrong!

Click here to read the rest of the article and find out important facts you need to know about your Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage that may make you shiver in your boots!

[ut_button color=”mid-blue” target=”_self” link=”https://diminishedvalueexpert.com/diminishedvalue/dvhottopics/loopholes-um-claims-exposed/” size=”medium” title=”UM CLAIMS” ]CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT UM CLAIMS[/ut_button]

What is a CCC report?

March 24, 2014By Justin Petty 15 Comments

Total Loss and the CCC Report

First off, I just want to say that we get a lot of calls from irate folks who think we are CCC because this article pops up high in searches for CCC. We have lots of funny interactions with accident victims where the conversation starts out with a full-on blow out argument! lol

Let’s be clear – we are not CCC! We are appraisers who help consumers when they get a low valuation from companies like CCC (there are others as well). Just wanted to get that out there to set the record straight since so many folks are finding this article useful (and to prevent screaming matches and the therapy sessions that then have to follow :)).

If your vehicle has been deemed a total loss, many insurance companies will rely on a company called CCC (that is not US lol) to provide a market evaluation on the value of your vehicle to act as a settlement tool.  CCC (Certified Collateral Corporation) Information Services Inc. is a company that provides vehicle value reports to insurance companies.  They utilize their own methods and develop a value for your vehicle that is supposed to be reflective of the actual cost of a replacement vehicle in the market where your vehicle would have been sold, had it not been totaled.

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Writing Insurance Claim Dispute Letters

October 14, 2013By Justin Petty No Comments

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…)

Difficult Adjusters and Lawsuits

November 24, 2009By Justin Petty No Comments

packs-a-punch3

As a former liability adjuster, I cannot count the times that an individual threatened a lawsuit in an attempt to get more money.

I would like to make the point that adjusters are calloused to the threat of a lawsuit.  Many times, the adjuster’s ignorance is the reason they do not respond.  It is rare for an adjuster to actually be involved in the negotiation of an actual suit, so they never get real experience and hardly ever actually hear or see what the staff attorney or hired attorney does to get the suit settled.  Threatening a suit is rarely useful unless the threat is clearly credible.

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Soft Tissue Injury Fraud

September 29, 2009By Justin Petty 1 Comment

soft tissue injury fraud

There is a common idea among insurance adjusters that the majority of soft tissue injury claims are fraud.

Let me put my opinion out there.  As an injury adjuster for years, I saw almost every type of injury claim out there, including a lot of soft tissue injuries.  For those of you who don’t know, soft tissue injuries are injures that do not include any breakage of the skin or bones.  They are normally describes as strains or sprains.  Anyway, here is why adjusters think there is such rampant fraud. . . .

Attorneys and chiropractors solicit accident victims.  I have seen it many times and the victim is an innocent bystander to the actual fraud.  Here’s the common scenario.

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Injury Claims – How much are they worth?

September 24, 2009By Justin Petty No Comments

In deciding to try and help auto accident victims I seem to have created some enemies, hehe.  Oh well.  I will continue to give honest and straightforward answers to the questions that accident victims have.  Recently I have had quite a few questions that relate to how to calculate how much a minor injury claim is worth.  In response to the numerous questions, I wrote an e-book which is available for purchase by clicking on the title of this posting.  I will also answer questions for free if you e-mail me or call me, but if you want it in writing to refer to when I am not personally available, you’ll have to make a very small investment.  Although I won’t give away all of my secrets here on the blog, I will offer some free tidbits and general information that will compliment the e-book.

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Adjuster Inexperience

August 30, 2009By Justin Petty No Comments
 policy excludes diminished value

During my years as an insurance adjuster I came to realize that most insurance companies hire inexperienced adjusters to handle most of the smaller property damage claims that come through the doors.

When I first started adjusting insurance claims, the best pay I could find was $22K per year, and when I started adjusting claims that was okay money, but I could have worked 50 hours a week at a grocery store for $9 or $10 per hour and made just as much or more.

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