I was in a accident with my truck.(rearended)?

Question

I bought a 50,000dollar truck and was fully covered.After the accident i asked what amount i would recieve for depreciation and they told me i wasn't covered, saying they sent me a letter several mths before telling me they no longer cover depreciation,in which i know i didn't get..What up with this?

Sorry i'ii explain more.It wasn't a write off.There was aprox 12,000 in damage.It doesn't make sense that i get no diminished value, if I'm to sell ,Iwill lose money.

Answer 1

In many states, the Courts have found such claims not valid and consumers are barred from recovery of "Diminished Value" claims. You will need to call your state insurance comission to find out if you have the right to present such a claim in your state.

Even if permitted, the insurance company you're dealing with may have written exclusionary languager right into the policy. That's what this sounds like from your explaination. And if so, you have no recourse at all with your own insurance company.

If you find that you can legally make such a claim in your state, you'll need to contact the OTHER insurance company, find out if THEIR policy covers it, and if so, what you need to do next.

The following link should be helpful.

Answer 2

Depreciation and dimunition of value are 2 seperate things.
Over time, items depreciate. The theory behind dimunition of value is an item is less valuable than it was before it was damaged.

Some states acknowledge dimunition of value, most don't. If your state recognizes it, you can't recover this damage from your own insurance--you recover it from the at fault party. Good luck proving it too....I have yet to see anyone successfully prove this and I live in a state the recognizes dimunition of value.

Depreciation would apply to your vehicle repairs. For example, your muffler is damaged in the accident--your insurance doesn't owe you a new muffler at 100% of the cost, they only owe a portion because you benefited from the damaged muffler prior to the accident. This is a wear & tear item so you eventually would have replaced it. The purpose of insurance is to make you whole, not better off.

You have to read your policy under COLLISION--read what's covered, and then read what's excluded...it'll be there in the fine print. And you read the policy that was sent with your renewal declarations page...not the one you originally received. All the insurance company has to do is prove they sent it to you--they aren't responsible for you receiving it.

Answer 3

You get what you truck is worth. I'm assuming that it is a new truck. You generally lose about 20% the moment you drive it off the lot. So, the day after you bought it, it was worth $40,000. Since it is several months old, I'll assume that it depreciated even more. I'll guess about $35,000.

Full coverage mean full replacement coverage. It is not how much you (over)paid for your truck.

Answer 4

if you were rearended i do beleive in all 50 states that the person that rearended you is at fault-people been sued for less so get them for non assured clear distance(if your lucky)but 99 percent of the time courts wont even hear it because you spend 50,000-as soon as you drive it off the lot your vehicle is only worth between 40-45,000-any new car depreciates as soon as you drive it off the lot-even if its only got 1 extra mile on it because it is not new anymore-it is official used but try what ya want-chances are youll pay it off and be lucky to get bluebook value out of it even if its fixed to new condition because it is now used plus nobody wants to pay top price for any damn thing especcially a dealer-so if ya sell it run it high in the paper and hope a sucker comes along-you will never get what you paid for any type of new car-sorry bud but its true that you now drive around a "used vehicle" in selling terms

Answer 5

Before accepting any offer I would contact the Insurance Commission in your state at the state level and inquire as to your rights. Then you will know what steps you can take under the statutes to get a fair deal. You may have a valid complaint about how you company is handling your claim? Don't let them bully you. and good luck.

Answer 6

Your insurance company will pay for the repairs, up to the kelly blue book value of the truck, depending on the coverage you carry. The same applies to the person who hit you.