What goes in a diminished value demand letter?

The claim and loss details, the van with its conversion, mileage, and purchase price, the repair total, the van's value before the crash and as repaired, the amount claimed, the appraisal and comparable sales behind it, a reply date, and a sentence reserving your other claims. Show the repair cost and the lost value on separate lines, as California's civil jury instruction on damaged personal property (CACI 3903J) does, which adds them and caps the total at the value before the harm.

When should I send the letter?

After the repair is finished, to the adjuster at the at-fault driver's insurer. The claim measures the van as repaired, so the final invoice and the appraisal come first. Write a reply date well inside your state's deadline to sue over damage to property, which the diminished value guide lists for four states.

Can I send this letter to my own insurer instead?

Usually it will not pay. The standard business auto form (CA 00 01 10 13) says the insurer will not pay for loss to a covered auto due to diminution in value, which it defines as a real or merely perceived drop in what the van would sell for. Read your own policy, because wording can differ, and see the diminished value guide for Georgia, where the rule is different.

How much diminished value should I demand?

The difference between the van's fair market value just before the crash and its value as repaired, backed by an appraisal and sales of comparable accessible vans. A 2023 NAIC journal article found no consistently accepted method. It quotes one practitioner who puts settled claims at about 10 to 20 percent of the repair bill, so a demand far above that range needs the appraisal and the sales to stand on.

What should I attach to the letter?

The shop's final invoice, the appraiser's report with both values, at least four comparable sales of accessible vans, a mobility dealer's written trade-in opinion, and the van's service records. The NAIC article recommends at least four comparables, priced by dealerships and not private sellers. Photos of the damage help, but leave out any that show a rider or a rider's belongings.

What if the insurer offers a formula figure?

Do not accept it without the details. Write back for the book value source, each factor applied, and any comparables used, and attach your appraisal. Georgia's 17(c) formula, the best known, takes 10 percent of NADA retail value and cuts it by a damage modifier and a mileage modifier between 0 and 1, which the NAIC article says counts mileage twice and never inspects the repaired vehicle.

Does this letter cover the days the van was in the shop?

No. Lost value after repair and loss of use during repair are separate claims, and each gets its own letter. The loss of use letter on this site covers the days out of service, and this letter says it does not give up that claim.

Diminished Value Demand Letter for a Commercial Van

This is the letter, ready to fill in. It claims one thing: the resale value the van lost because it now has a crash on its record, after the repair. Why the at-fault driver’s insurer owes it, and why a formula offer can come in near zero, are in the diminished value guide. The days the van sat in the shop are a separate claim with its own letter. Whether to go after the other driver’s insurer or use your own coverage first is in the not-at-fault guide. Here you get the steps before writing, how to set the figure, the letter, a reply to a formula offer, and the exhibits.

Before you send it

Send the letter once the repair is done and the final invoice is in hand. It goes to the adjuster handling the claim at the at-fault driver’s insurer. Run through these steps first.

Have the repair finished and the invoice final. The claim measures the van as repaired. The shop’s closing invoice and its list of work, with any floor, door frame, or ramp-mount repairs marked, are the base of the file.
Get two values in writing: before the crash and as repaired. An appraiser’s report gives both. A mobility dealer’s written trade-in opinion on the repaired van is a second voice, and a useful one, because BraunAbility says there is no mobility version of Kelley Blue Book.
Collect comparable sales. The NAIC’s journal article on diminished value passes on a recommendation of at least four comparable vehicles, priced by dealerships and not private sellers.
Get the other insurer’s name and the claim number. They are on the police report or the card exchanged at the scene. The Texas Department of Insurance tells a driver who was hit to file with that insurer and let their own insurer know as well. With no claim open yet, call and open one, then put its number at the top of the letter.
Check what your own insurer paid. If your collision coverage paid for the repair, your insurer will try to recover that money from the other driver’s insurer, as TDI explains. The business auto form passes your recovery rights to the insurer for amounts it pays and bars you from any act after the loss that would impair them (Section IV.A.5 of form CA 00 01). The same form refuses to pay diminished value (Section III.B.6), so ask your agent how its recovery and your claim for lost value should fit together before you sign a release.
Write down your deadline to sue. State law sets it for damage to property, and the table in the diminished value guide gives it for four states. Put the reply date in the letter well inside yours.
Send it two ways. Email the adjuster, then mail a copy with proof of delivery, the way the loss of use letter describes.

What figure do you put in the letter?

Claim the van’s fair market value just before the crash minus its value as repaired, shown by an appraisal and sales of comparable vans, not by a formula. California’s civil jury instruction on damaged personal property (CACI 3903J, 2026 edition) states the measure for a van that can be repaired but is worth less afterward: its value just before the harm minus its lower value after repairs, plus what the repairs reasonably cost, with the total capped at the pre-harm value. So the letter carries three numbers on separate lines: the repair cost, the lost value, and the total.

Example only, not a benchmark: a van worth $52,000 just before the crash and $49,200 as repaired has lost $2,800. With a $14,200 repair invoice, the letter shows $14,200 for repairs, $2,800 for diminished value, and $17,000 in all, well under the $52,000 the van was worth before the crash. The lost value there is about 20 percent of the repair bill. A practitioner quoted in the NAIC’s article puts settled claims at about 10 to 20 percent of the repair bill, so a demand far above that range needs the appraisal and the sales to stand on.

Do not build your own number on a formula such as Georgia’s 17(c), which the guide explains. If your insurer sends one, use the reply letter below.

The letter

Brackets mark what you fill in, and a slash inside them marks a choice.

Re: Diminished value claim

Claim number: [number]

Loss date: [date]

Your insured: [driver’s name], policy [number]

Location: [street or intersection, city]. Police report: [number].

To: [Adjuster name], [Insurer], [email and mailing address]

Dear [Adjuster name],

I am writing about the crash on [date] at [place], when a vehicle driven by your insured hit my [year, make, model] wheelchair van, owned by [company name]. [The police report puts the fault on your insured. / Your insured accepted responsibility on [date].] The van has been repaired, and I am claiming the amount it lost in market value because of the crash. That claim is separate from the repair cost, which [your company paid / my own insurer paid / I paid], and from my claim for the days the van was out of service, dated [date].

The van. [Year, make, model], VIN [number], plate [number]. Conversion: [converter and model]. I bought it [new / used] on [date] for $[amount] for the vehicle and $[amount] for the conversion. Odometer at the crash: [number] miles.

The damage and repair. [Shop name] repaired the van from [date] to [date]. The final invoice, dated [date], totals $[amount]. The work included [structural and conversion work, such as floor, door frame, ramp mounts, lift mounts, securement anchors, or airbags]. The invoice and the shop’s list of work are attached.

Value before the crash and after repair. [Appraiser name, license number, company] inspected the repaired van on [date]. The report puts its fair market value at $[amount] immediately before the crash and $[amount] as repaired, and it compares [number] sales of accessible vans of similar age, conversion type, and mileage. [It was prepared under the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice.] [Dealer name] also gave a written opinion, dated [date], that the repaired van’s trade-in value is $[amount]. The report, the sales, and the opinion are attached.

Amount claimed. Diminished value of $[amount], which is the gap between those two values. It comes on top of the repair cost of $[amount] [and my loss of use claim].

Please answer in writing by [date, roughly 30 days from sending]. Tell me the amount you will pay and when. For any part you decline, give your reasons and name the document that would change your mind. If your own number comes from a formula, include the book value it started from, each factor applied, and the comparable vehicles behind it. You can reach me at [phone and email].

Send me any release before you send payment. I will not sign one that settles property damage claims beyond the item being paid.

Nothing in this letter releases a claim. I may update these figures, and I will claim any further damages the crash caused.

Regards,

[Your name, title, company, phone, email]

If the loss was in Texas, add this paragraph. “Where damaged property is repaired, Texas lets the owner recover the reasonable cost of repair ‘with due allowance for any difference between the original value and the value after repairs’ (Restatement (First) of Torts section 928, quoted in J&D Towing, LLC v. American Alternative Insurance Corp., No. 14-0574 (Tex. 2016)). The Texas Department of Insurance’s Bulletin B-0027-00 says that on a liability claim the owner of the damaged vehicle may be owed for lost market value however complete the repair was.”

If the loss was in California, add this one. “Under CACI No. 3903J, when a vehicle can be repaired but will be worth less afterward, the damages are the difference between its value immediately before the harm and its lesser value immediately after repairs, plus the reasonable cost of the repairs, up to its value before the harm.”

For any other state, ask a lawyer or your state insurance department which authority to cite, and leave the paragraph out until you know.

If the insurer answers with a formula figure

Send this short reply the week the offer arrives, with your appraisal attached if it was not in the first letter.

Subject: Diminished value claim [claim number]: reply to your offer of [date]

Dear [Adjuster name],

I received your offer of $[amount] dated [date], and I do not accept it. Please send me, in writing: the source and date of the book value you started from, and whether it includes the wheelchair conversion; each factor or modifier you applied and how you chose it; the comparable vehicles, if any, you used; and whether anyone inspected the repaired van.

My appraiser’s report, attached, values the van at $[amount] immediately before the crash and $[amount] as repaired, from [number] sales of comparable accessible vans. The difference of $[amount] is my claim. Please reply in writing by [date]. This letter does not release any claim.

Regards,

[Your name, title, company, phone, email]

Which exhibits to attach, and which to hold back

Attach the exhibits that prove the two values and the repair, and skip anything that proves a different claim. Lost trips, profit, and rental costs belong in the loss of use letter, not here.

A. The shop’s final invoice and list of work, structural items marked. Leave out the estimates the final invoice replaced.
B. Photos of the damage before repair. Leave out any photo that shows a rider or a rider’s belongings.
C. The appraiser’s report with both values and the method. Agree on a flat fee before the work starts.
D. At least four comparable sales of accessible vans. Leave out private-party listings, which the NAIC article says can inflate values.
E. A mobility dealer’s written trade-in opinion on the repaired van, dated and signed. A verbal quote carries little weight.
F. Maintenance and service records for the van and its conversion before the crash, and none for other vans.
G. The price sheet from the purchase, with the vehicle and conversion prices. BraunAbility’s sample sheet lists them on two lines.

Once it is in the mail

When the reply date passes, follow up in writing. If a reply disputes the claim, ask for the insurer’s reason in detail and in writing, which is also the Texas Department of Insurance’s advice. If the insurer stops answering, write once more, then complain to your state insurance department through the NAIC directory. The loss of use letter has the same follow-up steps in more detail.

If the two sides stay apart on the lost value, North Carolina’s statute lets either side demand a written appraisal when coverage is not in dispute (G.S. 20-279.21(d1)), and the guide gives its thresholds. Elsewhere the next move is a lawyer or small claims court, and the NAIC article notes that these claims are often small enough for small claims court. Keep the claim file in the insurance claim log.

What an appraiser will ask about the van

An appraiser and a dealer will both ask how the van was kept before the crash. In HealthRide, each driver does a van check when the shift starts, in the driver app, and the fleet page keeps each van’s registration and insurance dates and reminds you before they run out. Keep the service receipts with the van’s file so the maintenance history is ready when you need it.

Treat this page as a template, not legal advice. If the insurer denies the claim, disputes the figure, or the amount is large, talk to a lawyer.

Diminished value demand letter for a crashed commercial van: the figure, the proof, and what to attach