Diminished Value Secrets |

Everyone knows that it takes time to recover from a car accident. There is the nerve-jangling emotional distress, the potential physical injuries, and the sheer hassle of dealing with the insurance paperwork and vehicle repairs. “What most people don’t realize is that the value of your car never fully recovers,” says Omar Quddus, President and Co-Founder of Advocate Auto Claims, LLC (www.advocateautoclaims.com). “Moreover, if you’re not at fault, you’re entitled to compensation for this diminished value.”

The concept of diminished value is easily understood with this hypothetical scenario: You’re in the market for a used car and can choose between two identical vehicles, one that has been repaired after being in an accident and one that has never been in a crash. Would you pay as much for the repaired vehicle as you would the car that has never been in an accident? “Diminished value is the difference between the prices that the two cars can fetch in the marketplace,” says Quddus.

In the event of an accident, the insurance company of the at-fault driver is usually liable for the diminished value of the vehicle not at fault. That doesn’t mean, however, that insurance companies are eager to pay out diminished value claims. Indeed, carriers place the responsibility of proving diminished value on the consumer – something that most people are ill equipped to handle. “It’s like burdening the victim of a car accident with the part-time job of substantiating their claim,” says Quddus.

As a result, consumers often turn to online companies that – for fees ranging from $29 to $500 – will generate a report stating the vehicle’s diminished value or perform a full vehicle inspection. But the onus is still on the consumer to convince the insurance company to pay the claim. The result? “People spend their time, energy, and money fighting insurance companies that are determined to refuse or deny a claim,” says Quddus. “Even if a company agrees to settle, chances are that the consumer will accept a lowball offer.”

In contrast, Advocate Auto Claims uses its industry expertise to negotiate on behalf of its diminished value claim clients – and does so on a contingency basis. “When consumers use our services, they know that we will initiate the claim, substantiate the claim, process the claim, negotiate the claim, and settle the claim – and that they won’t have to pay a dime until we achieve a settlement,” says Quddus. “That’s a far cry from paying top dollar for a report and then never seeing a dime from the insurance company.”

Quddus attributes Advocate Auto Claims’ success to the ten years of experience their affiliate company has in settling diminished value claims for fleet owners and car rental agencies. “We have licensed public adjusters who understand that every insurance company in every state handles claims differently,” says Quddus. “They know the loopholes and the need for substantiation, but more importantly, they have answers for every type of request, requirement, and denial that an insurance company can throw at them.” In addition, with access to past cases where a given insurance company has paid a claim, Advocate Auto Claim’s adjusters are well positioned to cite previous settlements in order to pave the way for successful negotiations.

The bottom line? When it comes to diminished value claims, it simply doesn’t pay to do it yourself. “There’s no sense in paying out of pocket for an online report when the insurance industry is set up to avoid paying you,” says Quddus. “Instead, you can leave it to the experts and be assured that you’ll receive the best settlement possible.”

Diminished Value is something that only a small portion of the population actual knows about. Part of our mission is to help educate people about Diminished Value and how the process works.

According to a recent nationwide survey, almost 80% of the people surveyed were concerned that their insurance rates would go up if they tried to pursue a Diminished Value claim. All this tells us is that the subject of Diminished Value is simply not understood.

Here’s an example.* Let’s say that you are driving a car and you are insured by ABC Insurance. Now, let’s say that someone comes along and hits your car. This person is covered by XYZ Insurance. If the person that hits your car is deemed to be “at fault” (meaning that they were responsible for the accident), then they are responsible for the financial loss that you have suffered.

Most people simply think of the cost that it will take to repair the vehicle. They expect to get money from the other person’s insurance company, XYZ Insurance, to repair the car. They DO NOT expect that their insurance premiums (from ABC Insurance) will go up because of this.

What most people don’t know (and the insurance companies certainly don’t promote) is that they actually owe you more. Most people leave thousands of dollars on the table! That other insurance company may ALSO owe you money for the Diminished Value that you car has suffered.

So if your insurance rates won’t go up because the other person’s insurance company paid for the actual repairs, why should your insurance rates go up because the other person’s insurance company paid for the loss of value (Diminished Value) your car has suffered? The answer is simple: your rates won’t go up. The money isn’t coming from your insurance company; it’s coming from THEIR insurance company.

As an aside, calculating Diminished Value can be a bit tricky and the insurance companies know all the tricks. It’s their industry; they’re expected to know the tricks. Additionally, once you’ve requested Diminished Value from an insurance company and they make an offer, getting them to then change that offer is difficult at best. Unless you know exactly what you are doing, they will almost always give you a lower figure than what you could get if you had used professional services prior to requesting the Diminished Value claim.

For more information on Diminished Value and Diminished Value Claim Recovery, please visit Advocate Auto Claims.

*Please note that this is not meant to be a legal summary of proceedings or interpretation of law or anything like that. It is merely an illustrative example to help you understand the concept.

What Insurance Companies Don’t Want You To Know

The squeal of tires. The sickening sound of metal grinding against metal as you lurch forward in the driver’s seat. As you climb out of the car, you’re shaken – but thankfully you and the driver who hit you are not injured. Unfortunately, the same isn’t true for your car. Even after you endure the hassle of dealing with insurance companies and the inconvenience of taking your car in for repair, the bottom line is that your car simply isn’t worth as much. “The resale value of a vehicle with an accident history is considerably less than a comparable vehicle that’s never been in an accident,” says Omar Quddus, President and Co-Founder of Advocate Auto Claims LLC (www.advocateautoclaims.com).

This phenomenon is called “diminished value,” and the at-fault or third party’s insurance company has an obligation to compensate the driver who was not at fault for this difference in market price. “Insurance companies are required to restore a vehicle to its pre-loss condition and value,” says Quddus. “Unfortunately, most consumers aren’t aware that they are entitled to diminished value compensation – and insurance companies don’t volunteer that information.”

That’s the reason Quddus is on a mission to educate consumers about their rights, and why Advocate Auto Claims pursues diminished value claims on behalf of drivers who weren’t at fault in accidents. “Even when consumers are aware of the diminished value issue, they’re often ill-equipped to handle the roadblocks that an insurance company will throw at them,” he says. “Each insurance company has its own internal procedures, but those procedures can vary from region to region.” Similarly, the laws and regulations governing diminished value differ greatly from state to state.

The maze of regulations and loopholes, as well as the harsh stance taken by auto insurance companies against diminished value claims leaves consumers with few options. “Consumers may be involved in an accident once or twice in a lifetime; they simply don’t have the resources and knowledge to get the compensation they deserve,” says Quddus.

This is precisely why the owners of Advocate Auto Claims, who have more than 10 years of experience working with diminished value claims on behalf of fleet owners and rental car agencies, have opened their doors to consumers. While drivers can pay out of pocket for a vehicle inspection or a report to substantiate their claim, and an attorney may pursue such a claim in conjunction with a personal injury case, Quddus’ company handles every aspect of diminished value claims – and does so on a contingency basis. “The process of establishing diminished value and then negotiating the proper compensation is both an art and a science,” Quddus says. “We pride ourselves on our ability to get results, and don’t expect to be paid until you do.”

Diminished Value or DV, can be defined as the loss in market value of a vehicle that has been in an accident and repaired. The extent of Diminished Value a vehicle suffers is dependent on a number of factors including the pre-loss condition, year, make, model, the type of accident the vehicle was in, the amount of damages the vehicle suffered and other factors.