Legal Question in Insurance Law in California

What amount does the insurance owe me?

I crashed my 02 VW and it was less than 60 days old, didn't even have the registration of plates yet! This car had an msrp of 23.5k and the insurance wants to give me 19.2k out the door!

This car is brand new and I was wondering if there was a law or legal precidence that said my insurance company had to pay the whole value of the car as if it was within a certain number of days? When talking to the claims guy he said if i crashed the car the next day he would still only give me 19.2k. That is just screwed up man!

Please help me so I don't get screwed!


Asked on 11/04/02, 7:49 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Steven Murray Steven W. Murray, APC

Re: What amount does the insurance owe me?

Check your policy - does it contain the endorsement/language which covers this exact situation of damage to a brand new vehicle? If not, then the insurer only has to pay the fair market value of the car. What did you pay for the car - surely not the retail suggested price. What does the Auto Trader contain for comparables? What would the dealer charge for a demonstrator with the same amount of mileage? That is how to determine the value.

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Answered on 11/09/02, 11:14 am


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