Consumers May Be Owed Thousands in Car Accident Claims

Consumers who receive payments for damaged cars after a car accident may be owed hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in diminished value claims.

When cars are seriously damaged in car accidents, even after repairs they may suffer “diminished value” losses. Diminished value is the perceived loss of a car’s value after it is damaged in an accident, despite repairs, according to the Insurance Information Institute. In other words, potential buyers may see a damaged vehicle as less valuable than it was prior to the accident. 

An accident on a car’s record, even after repair, can diminish the resale value by hundreds to thousands of dollars.

In these circumstances, a vehicle owner may make a diminished value claim to help make up for this loss. Regardless of whether an insurance company will pay a diminished value claim and how much it might agree to pay depends on a number of factors, such as who was at fault for the accident. Laws regarding diminished value claims can also vary from state to state.

Under the regulations of most states, if a car accident was the fault of another driver, the blameless driver is eligible for compensation through a diminished value claim. In these circumstances, the third party (insurance company) has a legal obligation to make the victim of the accident “whole” again. 

However, a growing number of people who have been in car accidents are coming forward with claims that they were not paid what they were owed for their diminished value losses. Many insured car owners are unaware they are eligible for these claims. Moreover, insurance companies may try to avoid paying these claims, according to ABC7NY.

In some cases, injured consumers have turned to litigation against their insurance companies for these losses.

A recent diminished value claim class action lawsuit against Allstate ended in a $10 million settlement in Washington over allegations the insurer failed to pay diminished value claims owed to policyholders, Law360 reported.

If your vehicle was damaged (but not totaled) in a car accident with another motorist in the last five years, and the market value of your vehicle was reduced after repairs, you may be owed diminished value losses by your insurer.

Filing a lawsuit can be a daunting prospect, so Top Class Actions has laid the groundwork for you by connecting you with an experienced attorney. Consulting an attorney can help you determine if you have a claim, navigate the complexities of litigation, and maximize your potential compensation.