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Hit by an Excluded Driver (cited and arrested) – Do I pursue Diminished Value against driver or owner?
I am hoping someone out there has SOME knowledge on this. My baby and I were hit by a street racing car that was driven by an "excluded" driver. I have over $14k damage to my car that my insurance company (Allstate) is paying for under MY policy, then the following items that I must pay for:
1. 6-8 weeks of RENTAL car to pay for and my car might STILL not be ready (parts, parts, parts),
2. everything in my car that was broken (an EXPENSIVE stroller) and stolen from the lot as the car was completely open post-accident (cds, dvds, beach items) [Allstate did buy a new carseat for my baby the day after the accident].
3. the loss of value/diminished value when I try to sell the car (according to online calculations it will be around $5,000)
4. my no-way-around-it raise in rate for being hit by an uninsured driver
How do I recoup on my out of pocket expenses? Small Claims court in CA is 7,500.00 – do I try to collect this way and do I go after driver or owner?
Thank you both! The online Loss Value calculator must not work in the "real world". I will check with my adjuster (who has been less than helpful – she told me my consolation should be that the driver’s license was suspended). If the driver drives w/o insurance, I am sure he is driving w/o a license. "Blood from a turnip" has been used a lot. Thx.
Having been an adjuster in CA for Allstate…..CA does not recognize dimunition of value claims so don’t even try it. Allstate will pursue the registered owner of the car that caused damage to yours to recover what they paid to repair your vehicle PLUS your deductible, but they can not pursue any out of pocket expenses for you.
Your Allstate policy has a Right of Recovery clause. YOU cannot do anything to jeopardize their right of recovery. If you sue the guy, you have to sue him in Civil Court (not small claims) & you have to sue for ALL the damages (cost of repairs, your deductible, your out of pocket)–you can not sue for just your out of pocket alone b/c if you do and you win you have barred Allstate from collecting back their money–and if you do this, they will come after YOU for what they paid and additional damages. It’s called breach of contract, and you do not want this to happen to you. I’ve seen it happen.
Don’t believe me? Read your policy and ask your claims adjuster.
BOTH. Obviously, the insurance isn’t going to cover the driver or the owner on this, but the owner is more likely to have assets that you can attach, after you get a judgement from them. If they didn’t file a police report of vehicle theft against the driver, then they gave permission for the person to drive, knowing they had no insurance.
But you’re probably not going to be able to recover for the stolen items.
Dimunition of value . . .I have NO idea where you’re coming up with that number. Not knowing what kind of car you had, usually dimunition of value is about 10% of damages. With $14K in damages, that brings DIV to around $1400..
Increase in rates for filing a claim – Well, you’re not going to win that one either, sorry. But don’t forget to ask for your deductible.
You’re looking at less than $7500, IMO, so small claims WOULD be the way to go – against BOTH PARTIES. BUT. Before you start on this, talk to YOUR ADJUSTER. See if they’ll be suing (via subrogation) the driver and or owner directly, and if you can ride in on their coat tails. It will save you a BUNCH of time and energy.
References :
agent, 21+ years
"Diminished value" is something almost impossible to prove unless you have sold the car and can document you got less as a direct result of damages. When your vehicle is fixed, it is fixed to the condition it was in at the the time of loss, or better, so where is there any diminished value? (Yes, I know, but I’m telling you what the insurance will say when you try to claim this).
If you have things stolen from the vehicle as a result of the lot where you had it stored not being secured, your claim there would be against the lot where it was stored, not the insurance company or the driver of the vehicle that hit you.
If this accident was not your fault, why would your insurance raise your rates? Even if they pay out, they will have a claim against the person who caused this damage, and that wasn’t you.
Of course anyone can sue anyone else for any reason, and the chances are you can find an attorney willing to take your money and file for you, but if this person didn’t even have insurance, does he have assets making it worthwhile to even try to recover from him? That’s a question only you can answer.
References :
Having been an adjuster in CA for Allstate…..CA does not recognize dimunition of value claims so don’t even try it. Allstate will pursue the registered owner of the car that caused damage to yours to recover what they paid to repair your vehicle PLUS your deductible, but they can not pursue any out of pocket expenses for you.
Your Allstate policy has a Right of Recovery clause. YOU cannot do anything to jeopardize their right of recovery. If you sue the guy, you have to sue him in Civil Court (not small claims) & you have to sue for ALL the damages (cost of repairs, your deductible, your out of pocket)–you can not sue for just your out of pocket alone b/c if you do and you win you have barred Allstate from collecting back their money–and if you do this, they will come after YOU for what they paid and additional damages. It’s called breach of contract, and you do not want this to happen to you. I’ve seen it happen.
Don’t believe me? Read your policy and ask your claims adjuster.
References :
Allstate Insurance
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