Y2KMaxGXE-R

iTrader: (4)

My Maxie has been vandalized and my ins. company (GE Auto) says that there's a law in state of MD stating that one can't file a dminishing value claim against your own insurer.

I called the State Ins. Admin, they said I need to look into my policy (theres no such law)and file the complaint.

WizzaMax

iTrader: (9)

And this Dim Value is what in laymens terms...never heard of it.

NickStam

iTrader: (3)

did they sell you a policy where you can't collect for vandalism?

SteVTEC

When my Accord V6 was rear-ended (see pic below) my insurance company was initially going to try to fix it and I was hella p!ssed about that. I did some research on the subject and I believe you CAN make a diminished value claim in the state of Maryland.

http://www.insure.com/auto/collision...shedvalue.html

They ended up totalling it anyways so it ended up not mattering, but hopefully that link will help you out some. According to the article, insurers in the state of Maryland are NOT allowed to exclude diminished value payments as part of auto damage claims...

I'm not sure how bad the damage is to your car, but if it's minor and your car is still going to have a clear title then you might not have anything to worry about.

Y2KMaxGXE-R

iTrader: (4)

My policy has coverage for vandalism. Yes, it is minor, the actual cost to fix under $3K...The insurance company does not say I cant collect diminished value in the state of MD, but said that under my particular policy I cant collect diminished value from my own carrier.

SteVTEC

Oh okay, I see now

First off, if the damage is only minor, there probably really isn't going to be any "diminished value" losses that you're going to want to collect anyways. Your resale should remain intact. Now look at the "rip" picture of my dead Accord below. If they had tried to fix that my resale would have been fugged because I wouldn't have had a clear title.

What your policy is stating is that you can't collect diminished value from THEM, but you CAN COLLECT it from another carrier. Like on my Accord, the idiot in the van that rear-ended me caused a helluva lot of damage to my car. If my insurance decided to put the car back on the road (thank GOD they didn't!) then I would have been able to file a diminished value claim against the guy that hit me - HIS INSURANCE company. That's what your policy is stating.

Unfortunately, vandalism goes under UM (uninsured motorist), so you might not be able to collect. And this guy that hit me, of course he wasn't even freakin insured. So if they put my Accord back on the road I might have gotten screwed on being able to make a diminished value claim under my insurance's uninsured motorist. When the other party isn't insured, your UM acts as THEIR insurance, and I'm not sure if you can make a DV claim on UM...hehe

But if your damage is minor, again, you probably don't have much, if anything, to worry about, unless your title is no longer clear as a result of the damage.

Hopefully that made sense

Frank Fontaine

I'm not sure what your point is if your car will be fixed less your deductible. Did you suffer emotional damage or something?

No wonder rates are so high. I'm all for stamping out fraud and raising rates for those who make claims. PA just isn't agressive about fraud the way NJ is.

Y2KMaxGXE-R

iTrader: (4)

Steve,
First of all, vandalism is covered under comprehensive. Litelrally, the damage is caused by something else than another vehicle. There are different kinds of damage that fall under comprehensive...falling rock, flood, theft, acts of nature, and so forth. Uninsured motorist is when your vehicle is damaged by another one w/o insurance coverage on it.
Second, speaking of diminishing value. It is very easy to prove. As soon as you file an insurance claim on your car, it gets into computer we all like : CarFax. CarFax doesn't care how much damage was done, or if the vehicle is truly repaired to pre-incident condition. Even if your title is clear, when you take that car to a trade-in, the dealer WILL NOT give you the same amt. as for the car with clear CarFAx report.

Y2KMaxGXE-R

iTrader: (4)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Frank Fontaine
[B]I'm not sure what your point is if your car will be fixed less your deductible. Did you suffer emotional damage or something?
No wonder rates are so high. I'm all for stamping out fraud and raising rates for those who make claims. PA just isn't agressive about fraud the way NJ is.




Frank, the lack of knowledge makes people blame others for things like you wouldn't believe. I did not say I am seeking emotional damage. In case you never had a car accident, then let me tell you, you can't recover "pain and suffering" aka "emotional damage" unless your body was physically inside of the car during the accident, and you got to prove the physical distress.

What I am struggling against, is my car loosing value as the result of some creap breaking into it, and my insurance company not wanting to do jack about it. THey are not willing to replace my radio with a brand new one, but the one that is of equal value. I said OK, if my car and everything in it depreciates, then it must cost less each year to fix AND TO INSURE. How come my premium stays level even as my car ages? So don't think of these companies they are struggling, the system is made for BOTH insured and insurer to make enough money for both. I just don't buy into insurance co's emotional appeals to the public that claims "make premiums go up". They do what they have to do in order to retain the desired growth of earnings to keep their shareholders happy. Whats in this for me-I just pay premium and want my *** to be covered.

volkl77

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Y2KMaxGXE-R
[B]Sounds about right.. Ideally Insurance companies break even on premiums vs claims, at least thats how its supposed to work. They make money on the return of investing your premium $$s. Unfortunately insurance companies are lousy investors and to make up for their funds mismanagement, you get dinged with higher rates.

I was able to file a diminished value claim here in Texas only after I paid a certified appraiser $500 to render an opinion on the actual loss in value. The event that necessitated the claim was a hit and run at 60mph on a freeway here in Houston. The police were never able to find the *&%%$ that hit my wife. The Uninsured/Underinsured part of the policy covered all damages to the car ($14,450+...nope it wasnt a Max) and medical claims, but I had to remind the insurance company that indeed they were going to payout on the diminished value. One hitch to all this was that any and all claims could only total the maximum amount of coverage for property damage...in this case it was 25k, so I was able to recoup about another $8500 in diminished value. I now carry no less than 100k for property damage. What is really sickening about the whole event is that even the BMW dealership that preformed ALL the repairs would NOT take the car as a trade in!!! Now THATS diminished value!!!

Frank Fontaine

I actually saw something like that when my freind's older brother was getting divorced. They had some dude from a Porsche dealer state that the dude's accident reduced the value of the car by $x on letterhead. The wife was seeking that much more money since she was to get the Porsche as part of the settlement. Let's use common sense--there is no such thing as body work that is good as new. When you look at a repair up close, you see tiny little scratches which is where the bondo material was sanded. Is the car worth less? You better believe it, because I personally and many others don't want a damaged vehicle. But to expect others to pay for it (other motorists who purchase insurance) is not cool imho.