The Convoluted Appraisal Clause

April 30, 2019By Jennifer Petty

Get ready for your mind to be blown in the latest article from Justin Petty regarding the Appraisal Clause and how much it can vary from policy to policy.

You will see four different versions of the appraisal clause and he’ll compare them and show you some of the differences/problems with them. He’ll also talk about how they work and how the clauses can sometimes be worded in a way that ultimately works AGAINST you, even though everyone normally assumes it was created to HELP you!

Read his opinion about these different appraisal clauses and how you might be able to deal with them if you are trying to resolve your total loss.

You might walk away with more questions than you had before – luckily, Justin is just the guy to point you in the right direction!

Read Justin’s Mind Blowing Appraisal Clause Comparison!

Appraisal Clause results in fair value for owner!

December 12, 2018By Jen Petty

Sometimes, when you invoke the appraisal clause, the two appraisers get in a sticky situation where they don’t agree and one tries to make up unwritten rules on the idea of “that is what we have always done”.

This case was one of those.

The owner had been through a pretty horrific hail storm and his new vehicle was totaled in the process. When he got his offer, he felt like it was pretty low. We took a look and agreed that his valuation contained the typical problems they normally do and seemed to be several thousand dollars off.

Read about how this Appraisal Clause case wrapped up!

Diminished Value on Luxury Cars

October 5, 2018By Justin Petty

Do you own a high end vehicle like a Lamborghini, Mercedes, Cadillac, Infiniti, Bentley, Rolls Royse, Porsche, Maserati, BMW, Audi, Saab, Lexus or any other vehicle that is considered a luxury or exotic vehicle?

If so, you should certainly be thinking about diminished value if you were involved in a collision! You might not know the technical term for it but you know you’re gonna be put through the ringer when you go to trade that baby in and those are the FACTS!

No matter if you backed into a tree or if some negligent driver crashed into you, it is highly likely that your vehicle has lost value because of the simple fact that it was in an accident. Even if you took the vehicle to the best repair facility around, it doesn’t change the fact that your car was once wrecked.

Diminished value is a concept that has been around for nearly 90 years.

There is law relating to it in Georgia dating back to 1926!

If you’ve been in an accident in your luxury vehicle, what the heck can you do about it?

Find out for yourself straight from our experts!

Diminished Value Claims – Income Tax Benefits

October 4, 2018By Justin Petty

Let me make this really clear up front: We are not tax professionals!

We do not give tax advice. We are simply pointing you to information to aid in your research when filing your taxes after taking a loss in value after an auto accident.

Did you know that casualty losses are deductible from your income taxes?

In Topic 515 on the IRS’s website, it discusses the types of losses that can be claimed on your income tax.

Diminished value is specifically listed!

Reservation of Rights – What is It?

October 3, 2018By Justin Petty

This is a hard subject to explain to a lot of people.

Let me start by saying that you need to understand what is in this article before you blow your top at some insurance adjuster. There are ways around a reservation of rights defense, but you have to be stealthy and, above all, you have to remain calm.

If you have found this article, you are either an insurance adjuster doing some research or you are involved in a claim and being advised that your claim is not being paid at this time and that they are putting the claim on a “reservation of rights”.

I’m going to speak on Texas and specifically on auto insurance as Texas is my home State and auto insurance is where I have the most experience, although the reservation of rights or its equivalent exists in almost every State in the U.S. and can come about on claims that are not automobile claims.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT RESERVATION OF RIGHTS!

Total Loss After Auto Accident – Do it Yourself Insider Secrets

October 2, 2018By Justin Petty

If you would like to get a fair settlement for the total loss of your auto, you have found the right article. It will take a little work, but I think I can shed a little light on what you need to know in order to get a fair settlement.

As the owner of an appraisal and claim service company as well as a former licensed adjuster who has settled thousands of total loss claims, I will reveal the tricks to getting an insurance company to take you seriously.

In this article, I will dispel common misconceptions on total losses, tell you how to argue with computer programs and formulas, and give step-by-step instructions on how to best support your claim to get it settled.

Total Loss Help – What Can You Do?

October 1, 2018By Justin Petty

Total loss disputes are common.

The value of your vehicle is very important to you, but it may not be as important to your insurance company or the insurance company of that guy or girl that hit your car and totaled it.

There are some options to help get a fair value on your vehicle.

The most common and accepted is to employ the services of a non-interested professional. If the professional is truly a non-interested expert, then their opinion should be based on accepted appraisal methods and proper training and experience. The value you get from an independent appraiser should be in line with the actual value of your vehicle as it relates to the terms of the insurance claim.

READ ABOUT YOUR TOTAL LOSS OPTIONS!

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

September 30, 2018By Justin Petty

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?

Does A Total Loss Have Diminished Value?

August 20, 2018By Justin Petty

Short Answer: No!

I think most people get this, but I get this question all the time, so I am writing this article in an attempt to properly explain why a total loss settlement does not include diminished value.

First, let us define Diminished Value:

Diminished Value is the loss in re-sale value of a vehicle after it has been in a wreck and then repaired.

Second, let us define Total Loss:

A Total Loss occurs when the insurance company decides that they are not going to repair your vehicle.

There are a few things to realize when you are dealing with an auto claim.

Click here to read the rest!

Appraisal Clause: Deceptive Practices by Insurance Companies

October 23, 2017By Justin Petty

Total Loss Disputes

If you’ve done some Googling because of a total loss dispute with your insurance company, you probably came across information explaining your right to appraisal (also called the invoking the Appraisal Clause).

Unfortunately, because auto total loss disputes are usually less than $10,000.00, it is an area that hasn’t traditionally attracted attorneys (but there are a few attorneys that will fight for you).

In fact, because the amounts in dispute are typically under $10,000.00, most insurance companies don’t even train their claims staff about the appraisal clause.

I know.

I was an adjuster for over a decade and NOT EVEN ONCE was the appraisal clause mentioned. If you invoke the appraisal clause, you can bet that you will be dealing with a claims representative that has no clue what they are doing (if you’re an adjuster that thinks you know better, prove it).

I educate adjusters and insurance carriers every week about this little known right that their insureds have.

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