If your insurance or the other driver’s insurance covers diminished value, you may be able to make a claim for the diminished value of your vehicle. You need to determine what insurance policy applies. If the other driver is at fault, their insurance may cover diminished value under their property damage coverage. If they don’t have insurance, your own uninsured or underinsured driver coverage may pay for the damage.
Once you know what insurance policy applies, you need to notify the insurance company of your claim. To make a claim, you need to have some information about the diminished value of your vehicle. You can look at sources like Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds. You can ask a car dealer for the vehicle’s trade-in value. A professional car appraiser can even give you an expert opinion.
Once you present your claim to the insurance company, they may agree to pay you the value of your claim, they may deny your claim, or they may try to negotiate a lower amount. If they don’t pay you an amount that you agree with, you can take your case to formal legal proceedings. The case proceeds like any other case that occurs when a person wants an insurance company to honor a policy fairly.