Vehicle claims
Two claims most drivers never make.
A repaired car is worth less than it was. A totaled car is valued below what it costs to replace.
- Both
- A repair and a write-off are two different claims
- At-fault
- Usually their insurer, not yours
- No lawyer
- Argued with an appraisal, not a filing
- Free
- To find out where you stand
What this usually looks like
A repaired car is worth less than one that was never hit, and that gap is real money you lose the day you try to sell. It is called diminished value, and whether an insurer pays it depends heavily on the policy, the state, and whether anyone pushes.
Total loss valuations have the same shape. The figure an insurer arrives at comes from a valuation report, and those reports rest on comparable vehicles, condition adjustments, and mileage assumptions that are frequently wrong in the insurer's favor.
Neither of these is a fight about whether you were owed something. It is a disagreement about an amount, and most policies contain a mechanism built specifically for resolving that.1
Your car was repaired and you were paid nothing for the loss in value
The repair was covered, but the car now carries an accident history that follows it to every future sale.
The total loss offer does not match what the car was worth
The comparables in the valuation report are older, higher-mileage, or in worse condition than the car you actually owned.
The adjuster's condition rating was wrong
A well-kept vehicle graded as average, or recent work like new tires and a replaced transmission left out of the number entirely.
How it works from here
Read the process for vehicle claims for the whole shape of it, or what financial redress means if this is the first you have heard of any of it.
Finding out where you stand costs nothing. There is an engagement cost when we take an advocacy file on, and that is the whole of it.
Questions people ask us first
Which of the two do I have?
If the car was repaired and given back to you, it is a diminished value claim. If it was written off, it is a total loss valuation. Both are disputes about an amount rather than about fault.
Whose insurer do I claim against?
Usually the at-fault driver's. Some states do not allow a first-party diminished value claim at all, so establishing which applies to you comes first.
How long do I have?
It varies by state, and the clock runs from the accident rather than from the day you noticed the loss. A settled repair claim does not stop you raising it.
Do I need a lawyer?
No. Both claims are argued with an appraisal and comparable sales, and most policies carry an appraisal clause built for this exact disagreement. Satisfy is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.
What does it cost to find out?
Nothing. Running the claim yourself starts at $49, and a specialist match is free.3
Free templates for these claims
- Diminished value demandThe letter that claims the lost value after a repair.
- Appraisal demandInvokes the appraisal clause when a valuation is too low.
- Claim denial appealFor a denial rather than a number you disagree with.
The whole library covers every service we take on, not just vehicle claims.
Why bring vehicle claims to an advocate?
Pursuing a dispute properly is a second job, and the business is counting on you not having the time for it.
You tell it once
You give us the story and the paperwork a single time. We do the repeating.
A straight answer
Where you actually stand, including when we do not think it is worth pursuing.
Our side is your side
You are who pays us. Not the business, an industry body or an insurer.
A lawyer when it needs one
If your situation needs an attorney we say so and hand off, and we take no referral fee either way.
Choose how to run your claim
See how we can help, from $49 to run it yourself, or tell us what happened and we'll match you with a specialist for free.
Disclosures
- 1.Satisfy is not a law firm and is not a licensed insurance adjuster or public adjuster. We prepare and pursue your file and correspond with the business on your behalf; a court filing or an insurance claim is made by you, or by an independent professional you engage, using the materials we assemble. We do not represent you in litigation, arbitration, or an insurance claim.
- A diminished value claim is usually made against the at-fault driver’s insurer. In some states a first-party claim, against your own insurer on your own policy, is not recoverable at all, and which rule applies where you are decides whether there is a claim to make. Nothing on this page is a statement about your own claim, and we do not guarantee that any route is open to you.
- 3.A specialist match is free to you, and Satisfy takes nothing from the specialist for the introduction.