Some people don’t know what a diminished value appraisal is, much less when it is required. To understand this, it is best you understand first what diminish value is.
Diminish value with respect to vehicles can be defined as the loss in value that occurs to your vehicle after it has been in an accident. It applies only when the car is not totaled and has been repaired and returned to working conditions. The loss in value becomes evident in the event that you want to sell the car in the future; a buyer will be less likely to buy a car that has been in an accident, and this might give him some bargaining strength. How then can you make sure that you are not the one to bear this risk?
When a Diminished Value Appraisal Is Needed
When your car gets in an accident, and the fault isn’t yours, you stand a chance to not only be indemnified for any repair cost you might incur on the car but also for any diminish in value that your car might experience.
This indemnification is, of course, paid up either by the party (ies) at fault or their insurance agencies. Either way, you want to make sure that you are getting your full due and thus you would need to have a diminished value appraisal carried out by a professional appraiser.
It follows that if you want to have a diminished value claim filed, then you would have to carry out a diminished value appraisal. It is best you be the one to employ an independent appraiser to render you this service and not rely on any appraiser that is sent by the insurance agency.
Carrying Out the Appraisal
In order for an efficient diminish value appraisal to be carried out, you might want to consider the following points.
Covering Every Detail
When carrying out an appraisal that would be your basis for a diminished value claim, everything is important and should be included in the appraiser’s final report. Whether its something as major as a shattered windshield or something as small as a scratch, everything. Only then do you stand a chance of getting the highest compensation you can.
Who Will You Work With?
You want to work with an appraiser that is not just experienced in appraising cars but appraising the ones that have been involved in an accident. This is important if you want all the damage done to your car to be documented so that you can be properly compensated. You thus shouldn’t refrain from spending some money in search of a professional appraiser. You need to see the bigger picture.
Another important point you need to consider when picking out an appraiser is only to select one that is usually successful in getting insurance companies to pay out such diminish value compensation. Insurance companies will try to avoid payment, and so you need a representative who knows how to get them to do just the opposite of that.
