Expert: Bennie719 - 7/12/2008

Question
I have a 2008 Mazda M3 that I bought in Jan 08.  It was involved in an auto accident Jul 08 and the other party was at fault.  The estimate to fix the vehicle is $4700 and there was structural frame damage (unibody frame).  I filed through my insurance company to fix the car and they will recover cost from the at fault party insurance.  I live in Georgia and have insurance for GA, but I am a Florida resident.  1.  Am I entitled to Diminished Value from my insurance company under Georgia law and if not, can I still go to the other party's insurance company for Diminished value?  If yes, what do I need to do and submit to them for that?  Also, my insurance company are refusing to total my car, is there a way to get them to do that or just have them repair it?

Answer
Hi Kiki,
Since you live in Georgia and have a Georgia insurance policy, you will be able to collect diminished value from your own insurance company.
This is the only state where such a law applies.

The burden falls upon you to prove the amount of diminished value.  You can hire a local expert to work with you in establishing the diminished value, or you can go to:
http://www.autocollisionclaims.com
and talk with that firm, which supposedly does business in all 50 states.

Since the dollar amount of damage to your car is so minimal compared to it's purchase price, I see no chance that you could convince an insurance company to total your car.

I hope that you find this information to be of help.
Your feedback by ration my answer will be appreciated.

Sincerely,
Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area