I feel compelled to jump in.....had the same problem after being hit in Dec. The car was near perfect after repair! I too went after diminished value and had a certified appraisal done because the insurance company would pay nothing without it. DV was $6100....appraisal was $310 at my expense. Just got a check for $3100 which maxed out the property damage of the vehicle that hit me after my repair and the repair of the vehicle I was pushed into was completed. However, I have contacted the driver who drove the insured vehicle (not his) for consideration (i.e. I want to contact his insurance company for the remaining $3000). We'll see how that goes.

 

Your uninsured motorist coverage should also kick in for UNDERinsured motorists. Also, since you proved diminished value, the insurance should now reimburse you for the cost of the appraisal. My very close friend is an insurance adjuster for State Farm and confirmed both of these facts.

 

just an FYI, carfax gets their info from DMV, INS,and body shops. most states require the ins carrier and the body repair shop to report frame damage occurance. i said MOST states. some dont. but thats here nor there. this mans car was seriously hurt. to the point the frame had to be sectioned. it is not as it was!!!!! he needs to know the truth about what he is out. his title he has now will show nothing. the moment a new one is issued it WILL show as a brand. that leaves him not whole. that leaves him out now, and in any future resale of this vehicle. its not fair...... but that is why diminished value came to be!!!!! and that is why courts are upholding this, to make the owner whole again!!!

california is very much on top of their game on branding car titles. most of the arbitration rejects we see are from cars purchased at the fontana auto auction. i understand what you are saying about the theft recoveries. most being just fine. probably 80% or so not needing much recon to make perfect again. but any time an insurer pays out a total loss, or a sizeable amount. it is reported to most states department of motor vehicles. i cant think of any states that do not require frame SECTIONING to be reported. the actual cutting and replacement of part of the frame rails. allthough this car will most likely be darn near good as new. it will never be able to have a gmpp warranty. and any factory warranty can be canceled if gm finds this out.... this needs to be appraised by a qualified person. and the person needs to have the repair bill in hand at the time. this man is out some money in loss of value from pre collision to after repair..and it aint a COUPLE thousand dollars!!!!!!

 

Three points:

First -- DV exists NOW as a result of the damage. It's NOT a future damage or claim. The fact that it's somewhat (though not entirely) speculative doesn't change the fact that it's a present damage.

Second -- for others chiming in -- I've NEVER seen a car insurance policy (and I've seen lots of them from every major company that I can think of) that pays DV AND the repair price to their OWN insured even as part of the "uninsured motorists" coverage. If you're attempting to recover from your own insurance company, you're policy (which is a contract) will limit you to one or the other. There's no state that I know of that overrides this, because (in theory) you're free to contract to whatever terms you choose... If you're recovering from someone else's insurance company, you're not limited by contract, therefore most states say you're entitled to BOTH the cost of repair AND DV.

Third -- I didn't really think about the frame damage aspect. Most of the damages that I've dealt with for myself and clients have been 'cosmetic' and between $10-$15K... I agree with others that we're probably talking about more (possibly considerably more) than $5K for DV. Get an appraisal!! Also (and I've mentioned this in numerous other posts on the subject), if you don't want the insurance company to total the vehicle, then you did the right thing by waiting until after the repairs were made until you present them with the DV claim. If you do it before, quite often that will push you over their % value limit and they'll total the vehicle. Just something to think about for others as to how you time it. I generally prefer to wait -- the other advantage of waiting is that initial repair estimates are often increased once repairs begin because more extensive damage is discovered. This can sometimes increase the DV as well.

HTH,
Vaughn