Dimished Value claim after a collision?

[Mr. Music]

I recently found out that I can file an inherent diminished value claim against the at-fault's insurance company up to three years after a traffic collision here in Florida. According to the Insurance Consumer Advocate Network, "Inherent Diminished Value assumes optimal repair quality has been achieved and is defined as the amount by which the resale value of a repaired vehicle has been reduced simply because the subject vehicle now has a significant damage history." Having gotten rear-ended back in September of 2009, my car sustained a fair bit of damage, resulting in loosing a fair bit of value. I'd say that "optimal repair quality has been achieved," as the repair was done very well, and welds, joints, and paint finish are all factory perfect.

I will be filing a diminished value claim against the at-fault's insurance company in the next few days after trying to get some sort of value appraisal from a few dealerships in my area If I don't have to pay for a "professional" diminished value appraisal, I wont, and I don't really want to get lawyers involved. There isn't much information on what has to be done to file a diminished value claim (if there is, help a brother out), since insurance companies want to pay as little as possible. I'm still doing research, but have any of you folks been through this process before and have any tips or advice? Sharing is caring!


Thanks,

Eric

[audtatious]

Go get'em tiger