Does an insurance company have to pay diminished value after repairs on a liabilty claim?

Answer

Currently, there is no absolute answer. Whether diminished value is recoverable depends on several factors. The initial question to answer is in which U.S. State did the accident occur? The second is whether you are the at-fault driver or the person who was hit.

Whether you can recover diminished value for your automobile depends on each state's law -- and different legal prinicples apply if you seek to recover as the victim of the accident or the at-fault driver. As a general rule, your right to recover from the person who hit you is governed by tort law (think negligence). If you try to recover for the decreased value of your own car as the at-fault driver, your ability to collect is typically governed by contract law.

I have written a series of articles on this subject which you can access at the AutoMuse weblog on the vehicleinfo.com website or under the Articles section at the same site.

Please realize I have provided this for information purposes and it should never be considered a substitute for legal advice.

Answer

The bottom line is If you were not at fault in the accident, the at-fault party (or their insurance company) owes you money. This is true in all 50 states. There is over 75 years of case law to back that up. If you live in the state of Georgia, you can also collect your diminished value from your own insurance company, whether you were at fault in the accident or not. This is based on a class action lawsuit in 2001 (Mabry v State Farm).

How much value has your vehicle lost? Don't let the insurance company tell you, Ask The Experts at Collision Claim Associates, Inc. www.collisionclaims.com

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