Legal Question in Personal Injury in Georgia

Why is YOUR insurance company wanting you to do that when the other one is liable?

And yes you want damages for dimunition of value.

I assume that your insurer is paying because the other party has no insurance. Whether it is your insurer or the insurer for the opposite party the same rules apply re: calculation of property damage. The damage, under Georgia law, is not simply cost of repair as many think. It is the market value of the vehicle immediately before the wreck minus the market value immediately after the wreck but before any repairs are made. Even when the car is repaired it will not be worth the same as it was before the wreck. Why? Because it has now been in a wreck. To explain, suppose that you were looking to by a car at a car dealer and there were 2 identical cars on the lot, the only difference being that one had been wrecked and repaired and the other had never been wrecked. Which one would you buy? Obviously you would buy the car that had never been wrecked, proving that there is some further monetary damage beyond simple cost of repair. The insurer is trying to do the right thing by offering to pay more than simple cost to repair. Fill out the form and give it to the insurer. See what they offer for the diminution in value. Most of the time it is about 10% of the value of the car, sometimes more and sometimes less. Negotiate a resolution. Good luck.