Commercial auto insurance is designed to help you repair or replace a vehicle damaged in an accident, but the loss of resale value caused by the accident is not covered.
If one of your business’s vehicles is damaged, your business auto insurance policy will pay the cost of the damage if your policy includes collision or comprehensive (sometimes called “other than collision”) coverage.
If, after an accident, the repair cost of a vehicle is determined to be $5,000, the business’s insurance company would pay this cost (less the deductible). But say that, before the accident occurred, the estimated market value of the vehicle was $15,000. Since the vehicle’s record now shows it has been damaged in an accident, potential buyers perceive it as less valuable, and the current estimated market value is now $13,000. The insurance company will not pay you for the $2,000 decline.
In some cases, if another driver is liable for the accident, that driver’s auto liability insurance policy may pay the cost of the diminished value. If you find yourself in a value-loss situation caused by another party, you may seek compensation from them or their insurer.
