Gina Walker says she was stopped at a traffic light when the driver behind her repeatedly hit her car. She adds, "I feel this bump, and it's hard enough for me for my head to go back like that." Walker says the driver hit her vehicle multiple times. "The third time he hit me, he pushed the car. So he just pushed the whole back-end in," Walker said.
She says the driver apologized, and the repairs to her vehicle were covered, but then her insurance adjuster asked if she had considered filing a diminished value claim. Walker says, "My insurance adjuster says, 'Oh, by the way, did you know anything about diminished value?' I said, 'No, what's that?'"
Under North Carolina law, a driver who was not at fault in a crash can file a diminished value claim for the loss in a vehicle's market value after it has been involved in an accident, even if the car is fully repaired.
Walker says her car was nearly new at the time of the crash. She adds, "I had only had this car for four months before this happened."
She filed a diminished value claim, but says she was repeatedly denied. She claims, "They said, no, they weren't going to pay that. No, they're not going to pay it. No no no no no." Walker says she hired a second adjuster, who prepared a report claiming her car had lost $5,675 in value after the accident.
The report was sent to Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. Walker says she still wasn't getting answers. "The adjuster says they won't even talk to me, and so he was frustrated. I was frustrated, and I said, " Okay, I know who to call. So I called you," Walker said to Wilson.
ABC11 Troubleshooter contacted Liberty Mutual, and a company representative stated, "We do not comment publicly on individual claims, but I've shared with our customer support team, who will reach out to Gina directly."
Walker says she quickly heard from the company. "I got a phone call right away. I think it was the same day, and the man was so apologetic, he said, 'Ma'am, I'm so sorry. You definitely deserve the diminished value," Walker said to Wilson.
Soon after, Walker received a check for $5,675. She said to Wilson, "Without you, it wouldn't have happened."
In North Carolina, drivers generally have three years from the date of the accident to file a diminished value claim. The crash must be someone else's fault, and claims are typically filed through the at-fault driver's insurance company, not your own. The exception is if the at-fault driver is uninsured and identified. In that case, your own insurance policy may cover it.