Sympathy time - Somone nailed my new 4Runner

[UoD]

I will definitely call the body shop and tell them to replace the mount bolts.


One of my concerns is the "diminished value" of the car ... which is only 40 days old. I now have a vehicle that has been in an accident and potentially has a lessened value. Unfortunately, State Farm doesn't take that into consideration. Additionally, the last ruling in the Supreme Court of the State of Florida declared that insurance companies have no obligation to pay diminished values claims unless the wording of the policy is such that diminished value payment is assured.

I hate people who can't drive ....

 

[IIIBradIII]

re diminished value

In that case take a look at your own policy - if you want to and if it is worded correctly you can make a diminished value claim against your own policy. I used to work as an adjuster and approved several claims like this.

 

[UoD]

I have State Farm. I don't have a copy of my policy on hand, but their website clearly states that they do not provide compendation for diminished value. BUT --- they will be reclaiming money from the other guy's insurance company ... so, I wonder if they will approve the diminished value and charge the other guy for it.

 

[IIIBradIII]

Well insurance companies can only subrogate (that's the claim they make against the perp's ins co) for monies that they actually spend - sometimes we would throw in customer receipts with our subrogation packages but the other company really had no obligation to us to pay them. And if there really is a law in your state that excludes diminished value I guess you're stuck. That's insane though - talk about an anti-consumer law! I wonder how much dough the ins co's contributed to the political machine to get that one!

 

[UoD]

Well -- there isn't a LAW persay.... The supreme court of this state gave an opinion on the matter. The opinion was that insurance companies are not obligated to pay. According to whoever I talked to at the FL Division of Insurance Regulation, people are quite often able to negotiate some level of compensation.

 

[IIIBradIII]

Well then I guess you know what you have to do - negotiate! I will tell you though - the only thing that really gets ins co's moving is the Dept of Insurance of your state. Well that and huge personal liability suits, but that's really not applicable here. In my opinion, if your truck is that new and you were hit that hard, you deserve some level of diminished value compensation. If the ins co's refuse to budge, invoke the arbitration clause of your policy contract and get it before an arbiter - the ins co should be willing to work with you at that point.

 

[UoD]

... and I just found out the guy who hit me wasn't actually insured. He gave false insurance information to the officer...

 

[Kanab]

... and I just found out the guy who hit me wasn't actually insured. He gave false insurance information to the officer...

Now you can sue him in small claims court for whatever your own insurance does not cover. I hope the police press charges agains't this guy and jerk his license. Sorry about your hassle on this issue.

 

[IIIBradIII]

Ah man that sucks. The good news though is that since you'll now be filing an uninsured motorist claim against your insurance, you get the benefits of being the insured as well as the claimant. Your insurance company treats each differently, and they must now afford you different coverages under UIM. Your deductible is likely lower now too.

 

[Spider5]

I hope you have uninsured motorist coverage on your insurance. If you don't you might need to deal with this in small claims court like others have mentioned. Sorry about your truck good luck on fixing it.

 

[UoD]

Yeah --- I am fully covered. One thing I don't mess around with is insurance ... I get everything I can.

The only thing I may be out is my deductable.... but, State Farm said they will sue the guy for me to get it back.

 

[IIIBradIII]

Check your policy carefully. I'm in a different state than you so things can be drastically different, but we have no deductible at all if the perp is uninsured.