If you ever cause a car accident and have collision coverage, your insurance company will pay for the damages to your car. Not only will they pay the damages for repairing the car, but they may also cover any medical bills you have from the accident and the damages to the other driver involved. In addition, your insurance company might reimburse you for something that is called diminished value.
What Is Diminished Value?
Diminished value is a term that is widely common with auto insurance and accidents. It refers to the value of your car that was lost simply because your car was in an accident. When a person wrecks their car, this car will never be worth as much as an identical car that was never in an accident. In other words, a car's value decreases simply because of an accident. It does not matter if the car is completely repaired and looks just as good as it did before the accident. The car is still worth less money, and this is what diminished value represents.
Why Do Cars Lose Value from Accidents?
A car loses value from an accident for several reasons, but the main reason is that people do not want to buy cars that were involved in accidents. An accident can leave a car with problems that are not visible to the human eye. These are typically small problems, but they can turn into big problems later on. Because car buyers do not want cars that were wrecked, a wrecked car will never be worth as much money as one that was never wrecked.
How Can You Get Reimbursed for Diminished Value?
If you were in a wreck and feel that your car is now worth less money, you will need to talk to your car insurance company about this. Some car insurance companies recognize diminished value, but others do not. If you are certain your car will never be worth the same amount because of this wreck, you could even hire a car appraiser that specializes in diminished value. This is a great way to prove to your insurance company that you should be compensated for diminished value.
Being in a car accident is never a fun event in life, but it can be a lot easier to settle if you have good car insurance. If you currently do not have a good policy but would like one, contact an insurance company for a free quote.
To learn more, go to a website such as http://www.sldins.com.
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