State Farm Fire and Casualty State Farm Auto ECS Claims Deceptive Practices When Dealing with Diminished Value Claims Tempe, AZ Nationwide
I was party to a multiple (3 car) automobile accident in a Denver, CO suburb on 11/11/14, where I was rear ended by someone who was also rear ended and pushed into her. The driver who initiated the accident was insured by State Farm, and there began the trouble. My vehicle was "driveable", although in retrospect, I think I should have had it towed...the liftgate of the SUV had to be pried open by the fireman at the accident sight, and my rear muffler was smoking.
Immediately after the accident, I contacted the at fault party's State Farm office to begin the process to get my vehicle repaired, and was referred to an 800 number where someone would take all of the information and provide me with my options. I complied with all of State Farm's necessary steps to initiate repair, but because my muffler continued to smoke, my husband insisted that I get inspected to make the car was ok to drive, and this is where all of the problems began. Due to a major hailstorm in late September, the autobody shops were slammed and in phoning around, was told that it could possibly be late March or even April 2015 before they could begin repairs. I reported this back to my assigned State Farms claim representative, and was told she would set up a quick appointment where I could go by one of their Select Service shops to have the safety of my vehicle inspected and would be advised if safe to continue to drive, but in the mean time, they advised me to look further north or south of Denver to other body shops if I needed my repairs done more quickly.
Long story short, I ended up selecting one of State Farm's Select Service body shops in Colorado Springs, and my State Farm claim representative advised that she would reimburse me at IRS rates for my roundtrip down to Colorado Springs for damage assessment, and then for the second roundtrip when I took the car in for repairs, and the subsequent return trip home. I made note of her comments in the accident diary I started.
I had to drive my car for over two months before the vehicle went in for repair, and during that time I had my oil changed, where I was told by my mechanic that my car had developed several leaks that were not there prior to the accident. I contacted State Farm to let them know but they tried to claim that they were not resultant of the rear end impact. I did, however, let the rep at the Body Shop know of my concerns when I dropped the car off for repair.
Several days into the repair, I received a call from my rep at the Body Shop stating that they had found "some" frame damage and she would let me know what they found. I went out of town for a few days and upon return, was contacted again to let me know my vehicle was ready to be picked up. I did ask the rep to show me the frame/unibody measurement sheet, but the story changed and she said everything was fine.
I took possession of the car and immediately went in search of a diminished value appraiser to set the story straight, and it does appear that the damage report indicated frame/unibody damage and I was indeed a candidate to file a diminished value claim with State Farm. I tried submitting Diminished Value Reports and to work with State Farm in good faith on two separate occasions, yet they only offered me a lowball diminished value and less than half of the IRS mileage rate reimbursement. We are now $2300 apart for the amount of diminished value based on the diminished value appraisal which clearly shows opinions of six local auto dealers as to the amount of the repaired vehicle to them.
I now have no recourse but to file suit in small claims court against the person who hit me, but in reality it is State Farm's issue to resolve.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
STLUCIEAPPRAISAL
Fort Pierce,Florida,
Stata Farm, St. Lucie Appraisal Co. and Diminished Value
#2Consumer Comment
Thu, February 12, 2015
There are clearly differences between insurance companies and the procedures by which they handle automobile diminished value claims. Indeed, there can be distinctive differences within individual insurers in how they handle these types of claims from state to state. Our firm, The St. Lucie Appraisal Company, is the only independent appraiser that obtains six unbiased dealer quotes to establish the existence and amount of value a car has lost after being repaired. It is for this reason that we are responding as the person making the complaint is probably a customer. First, State Farm has been one of the companies that has generated the greatest number of negative feedback from our customers. Their unfair treatment of diminished value claimants is particularly bad in the western states. Second, The St. Lucie Appraisal Company provides diminished value reports that are both comprehensive and fair yet insurance companies continue to make it difficult for claimants to receive fair settlement amounts. One of the most common tactics that insurers use is stating that, since the vehicle was repaired back to factory standards, that no diminution of value exists.
When we send a completed appraisal to one of our customers, it is accompanied by a number of suggestions on how to obtain fair treatment from the insurance company.
If your late-model car was damaged as a result of the negligence of another party, you are entitled to make a claim against their insurance company for "inherent" diminished value. Inherent diminished value is a stigma loss whereby no consumer in his right mind would consider purchasing a previously repaired car for the same price as an identical car that had never been involved in an accident. In addition, you do not need to sell your car in order to claim diminished value nor do you even need to have it repaired. Unlike "repair-related" diminished value in which a vehicle has lost value due to improper or shoddy repairs, inherent diminished value claims do not necessitate a physical inspection by your independent appraiser. The car is already fixed and you aren't alleging any loss of value due to repair issues. Your car now has a bad Carfax, it is the result of the negligence of their policyholder and the insurer accepted their premiums in exchange for accepting responsibility for their actions. It is regrettable that filing a diminished value claim against not only State Farm, but many other insurance companies, automatically means that you've got a battle on your hands but that is, unfortunately, the fact of the matter.