Insurer Approaches to Diminution Claims

Home » News & Knowledge » Insurer Approaches to Diminution Claims

So your vehicle has been involved in an accident that was the fault of another driver. You are now worried that your car will have lost some value as a result of it sustaining damage and needing to be repaired.

Following this, your car will have a repair history and may suffer prejudice on the market when you come to sell it. You therefore intend to submit a claim to the insurers of the responsible party. What can you expect to receive back from them?

Firstly, it can take most insurers some weeks to acknowledge the notification of a claim. On occasions, they can delay matters for a few months. It is not always clear which office to start corresponding with.

Once the claim has been acknowledged, each insurer will take a different view on how to deal with claims for vehicle diminution. Even different offices within the same insurance company might approach such claims differently to each other.

Many insurance companies will have in house engineering departments or have connections with external companies they use on a regular basis. They may ask their engineers to review the repair documentation and return to them with some advice.

Sometimes insurers will be prepared to make a settlement proposal at that stage. Sometimes they invite the disclosure of evidence to support the value of the claim. On other occasions, the insurer will dispute that diminution applies in the case or make an argument that any financial loss has not been sustained until the vehicle is sold.

If your vehicle has been purchased using a finance arrangement, the insurers may argue that any losses are owed to the finance company rather than to you.

Whilst the insurers may make other arguments also, it is important that you seek the opinion of an expert to see what can be done to make counter claims. Where vehicle diminution is concerned, the law does generally support a claim that can be substantiated with expert evidence.

This evidence is something that we are able to obtain for you. The costs of such a report are sought from the third party insurers and you will not have to pay for them.

Oakwood Solicitors are able to offer a free, no obligation assessment on the prospects of your case. If we can help you, then we can offer to act for you on a no win, no fee basis. So don’t go against the insurers alone. Contact the experts today.

Insurer Approaches to Diminution Claims

So your vehicle has been involved in an accident that was the fault of another driver. You are now worried that your car will have lost some value as a result of it sustaining damage and needing to be repaired.

Further reading

WHAT TO DO NEXT