Denise993

I was rear ended (and not in a good way ) two weeks ago while in my Acura MDX. A miscreant slammed into the car behind me who was pushed into me. I didn't have much damage ($1,000 or so), but I asked the insurance company about dimished value since my car had never been in an accident and was in excellent condition.

He said "There is no diminished value in Virginia" ... I of course Googled it and found this article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp...nguage=printer

The important part is this:
"Likewise, in Virginia, according to the State Corporation Commission's Bureau of Insurance, insurers "are not paying diminished-value claims to policyholders because it is either excluded specifically in the coverage, or the language in the collision coverage has been interpreted by the Virginia Supreme Court that diminished value is not covered."

I'm not so worried about the value of the Acura, but it would totally stink if it had been in the 993.

Anyone have any experience with this?

No HTwo O

But what about your neck pain, and lower back discomfort? And those headaches. Just saying. Don't let the insurance off so easy, yet.

dcdude

Regardless of state supreme court decisions, we are probably all advised to have a diminished value conversation with our 993 insurers. If they say "yes," ask to have it documented in a letter.

Also looking for elaboration on being rear-ended in a good way.

NEK

Based on my limited experience and quick research, I think your diminished value question raises 2 issues--coverage and damages.

Whether there is coverage is up to the language of the policy you're trying to collect on (your's or the miscreant's, or sometimes both). Unfortunately for policy holders (or their victims), policies often contain an exclusion for diminished value (which makes sense to me).

But you may have another option if (a) you didn't cause the accident, (b) you want to go after the guy who did (doesn't sound like that's called for in your case), and (c) if your state recognizes diminished value as damages. Each state (or district in my case) gets to decide (by statute, regulation, or case law) whether it recognizes diminished value as legally recoverable damages. I don't know whether Va (a google search should give you that info), but I seem to recall that it does, along with Maryland (home of the most idiotic drivers I've ever seen, by far) and DC. I suspect this is not worth pursuing with your Acura, but keep this in mind should anything happen to your Porsche, heaven forbid.

-NEK, Washington, D.C.

Makmov

Colorado has no diminished value law on the books either; however, there has been some successfully won court cases against some of the biggest insurance companies - like Farmers for one.

goofballdeluxe

Good luck getting diminished value, regardless of car or state.

Insurance companies will fight this tooth and nail, as it means more money to be paid out. I've never heard of a person getting diminished value, unless the car was a very rare/exotic car and the person causing the accident was guilty of gross negligence, neither of which would apply here.

Mark in Baltimore

Denise,

I've tried getting diminished value, both for the 993 and my '07 Sequoia (neither accident was my fault) and both times the insurers (not mine) said that they do not pay out diminished value and/or Maryland is not a diminished value state. For the 993, I did get the insurer to pay a bit extra to respray the underside of the front bumper.

Good luck, and hope you're okay.

Stuttgart951

The insurance company will say 'no' 100% of the time. Why would they agree? They'd lose a boat-load of cash.

What you do is file a complaint with the state's Bureau of Insurance or the national Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking.

Although my experience with diminished value claims is near zero, the filing of a complaint with the appropriate bureau requires investigation by that bureau.

In almost all cases, the only possible resolution to the insured's complaint, in the eyes of the regulatory agency, is the insured's satisfaction. The insurance company is basically "guilty by default" and leaning on the policy, as written, is a useless defense for them.

Although that guilty by default assumption is counter to the foundation of our legal system, the laws written in this arena are designed specifically to protect comparatively clueless consumers from being taken advantage of by more knowledgeable organizations within the specific industry - be it insurance, auto sales, lending, etc, etc.

They can be forced to pay - just not by you.

2Many Cars

Since $1,000 in accident damage is so easy to do I'm not sure you'll have any real diminished value, at least not on an MDX. Take photos of the damage in case the eventual buyer wants to see it but otherwise just get it fixed and forget about it.

Mark in Baltimore

Awesome info.

Stuttgart951

Happy to help.

I have a sizable soft spot for this stuff and zero tolerance for watching people get screwed - be the "method of screwing" criminal or civil. Avenues of remedy are available for both and none require the claimant to retain counsel.

What bothers me, personally, is that so few people are even aware that they have these options for seeking resolution.

Denise - here is where I would start for Virginia:


State Corporation Commission
Bureau of Insurance
Property and Casualty Division
PO Box 1157
Richmond, VA 23218
Tel: 877-310-6560
Fax: 804-371-9349

Website Homepage:

http://www.scc.virginia.gov/division...oihomepage.htm

Page for "How To's" regarding complaint filings:

http://www.scc.virginia.gov/division...ecomplaint.htm

Link to P&C complaint form in PDF format:

http://www.scc.virginia.gov/division...cs/pc_fill.pdf


Go get em.

NEK

Stuttgart951 gives you a good option if you're inclined to go that route, but I'd read the policy language first because if there's a diminished value exclusion I'd bet you're done, no matter what authority you call. I'll stick my neck out and say it's fair for insurers to expressly exclude diminished value coverage, which if provided would mean higher premiums, and would make the process even more of a hassle. I guess that's what agreed value coverage is for--an option that seems pretty popular with owners of collectible cars.

-NEK, Washington, D.C.

Denise993

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the info and advice.

I don't think it's worth the hassle for me to pursue the diminished value any further for the Acura, but I certainly would had I been in the 993.

I'm sure I would have had a lot more damage in the 993 also... as the MDX is a much higher, heavier vehicle. The lady that was pushed into me had a lot more damage to her front end than I did on my back end.

The really annoying part is that the kid (21 years old) must have had his head down because he hit her without ever hitting the brakes ... probably texting ...