Expert: Ron Cercone - 5/14/2009

Question
I was in an accident where my car was damaged over $6000, I still owe about $9000 on it. Would it be fair to request at least this amount in my personal injury amount especially since when & if I ever want to trade my car in, I probably won't get the full value? Or should I expect an off of more?  My injury was from soft tissue damage & totals $1500.

Answer
Hello Shirley,

The insurer only owes the cost to repair or replace your vehicle, which ever is less. What you owe on it is not relevant. It means nothing to the insurance company or a judge if it went to court. You may get extra money for "pain and suffering" on the injury claim, but not on the car. What is the value of the car? Most insurers will call your car a total loss if the repair cost is 80% or more of its current market value. If the car is repairable, take it to a shop of the insurer's choice, so if there are cost overruns (supplements), the insurer won't be able to say "well thats your problem since you chose the shop."

As to "diminished value" on a car that has been repaired, I have never had an adjuster pay for that in my experience as a public adjuster. But hey, give it a try. There are websites advertising that it can be done. I'm not sure it would add over 10% to the settlement. If the car is a total loss and you get lowballed, you can get the best direction on how to handle this with the product entitled "TOTAL LOSS AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE CLAIM ADVICE AND HELP - FOR CLAIMANTS" at UClaim.com http://www.uclaim.com/products.asp .