Tom McCutcheon
Q: I had a wreck in April and I had only had my car a couple of months. It was brand new and the damage was estimated to be around $10,000.00. They did not total my car but repaired it. Now, the insurance company wants to settle and I asked the adjuster about diminution in value and he said that wasn’t a law.
Michael
Tuscumbia, AL
A: I am sure that certain insurance companies have contracts with their insureds that specify what they will and will not pay. If you are making a claim against your insurance company for collision or comprehensive damage to your own vehicle, the contract (that you haven’t seen or read) between you and your insurance company will define what their obligation to pay is and is not.
If you are making a claim against someone else who negligently caused damage to your car and their insurance company is trying to tell you what the law is, don’t believe them.
The law of damages in Alabama is simple and straight forward and exactly what you think it should be. If someone through carelessness or negligence damages property that you own, you are entitled by law to the value of the property prior to the damage.
Everyone reading this, if given the choice between two identical cars except that one had been wrecked and the other not, would choose the car had not been wrecked. We all know that if you trade in a car that has been previously damaged, it is worth less as a trade in.
What you are really looking at is an issue of evidence and proof. If you can by the testimony of an experienced car salesperson or automotive appraiser, provide competent evidence of how much less your car is worth in its wrecked, repaired condition, then the Court should award that amount of money for the diminished value of your property.
Buckle up and drive safely.
2210 Helton Drive
Florence, AL 35630
256-764-0112
