Diminished Value in Virginia
Virginia DOES recognize diminished value claims for up to five years and covers uninsured motorists. However, you cannot qualify for a claim if you are the at-fault party or if something other than a vehicle was the cause of damage.
AVERETT v. SHIRCLIFF 237 S.E.2d 92 (1977) In the event of an accident, the responsible party is forced to pay the difference between the pre-accident value and the post-accident value of the damaged vehicle. One caveat to this law is if the repairs to the damaged vehicle cost less than the value difference aforementioned, the property owner is entitled to these repairs.
According to Virginia Code, “Diminished value compensation’ means the amount of compensation that an insurance company pays to a third party vehicle owner, in addition to the cost of repairs, for the reduced value of a vehicle due to damage.”
