Auto Insurance Claims: percentage for diminished value, auto insurance claims, diminished value

Question
I read a reply of yours today on Auto Insurance Claims in response to person owning a mini cooper and you said that the total diminished valued could never be more than 10% of the car's total value.  Where did that come from?  Is that using the "17c" formula?
THX
Robin

Answer
I'm not sure if it's a reference to the 17c formula or not but it's generally proffered by the insurance industry as the maximum amount attributable to the mere fact that a car has been in an accident... assuming it was repaired "perfectly".

I have seen estimates as high as 18% from certain sources.  You could certainly argue that 10% number is arbitrary (and it probably is) but I'm not sure you'll get anywhere with that argument with an adjuster.  We're talking about very small dollars here - typically less than $1,000 - so the likelihood that you could challenge the carrier and litigate the matter for a few hundred dollars difference seems economically unfeasible.

Sorry if the original answer seemed to establish 10% as a "written in stone" starting pint - it's not, but that's generally the number used in the calculations you receive from the carrier.

But as with all things in this field - your mileage may vary < pun intended.

Best regards,

Ernest Ferraro