Legal Question in Insurance Law in South Carolina

I'm struggling to understand your question. I assume it was the insurance company that told you the max would be $1,000 ???? That is important to know.

Then the insurance company sent you a release for $3,500, which is exactly what you wanted.

The best I can figure out, is you want to know if you sign a release in the amount of $3,500, will they send you a check in the amount of $1,000 ????

No offense, but I'm not following the logic here. If you requested $3,500, and they sent you a release in the amount of $3,500, then aren't you getting exactly what you wanted? Which brings me back to my first question. Who said you could only get $1,000 ?

A release is like a contract. Its binding. However, since I'm not sure I have all of the information necessary to answer your question, I think you need to have a lawyer look at the release, and I strongly advise you to do so accordingly.

Also, regardless of the value of the damaged property, diminished value is rarely a very high amount. I don't know, but its my assumption that you are referring to an auto accident. Diminished value does not often exceed 20% of the cost of repairs. So if you apply that here, if your repair costs are less than $17,500, then you are doing better than most. ($3,500 is 20% of $17,500)

I have not rendered any advise here, except that you need a lawyer to look at the release and advise you based on that and what ever questions he/she asks you.