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You Can't Recover Diminished Value If You Lease. Is That True?

Of course not, but there are some enterprising claims representatives who will tell you that you can't recover diminished value if you lease your car. I heard that assertion repeatedly from claims representatives in Ohio until I presented a continuing legal education seminar and included a copy of the Ohio statue recognizing that a lessee can recover all damage caused to a lease vehicle. I haven't heard that argument from a claims agent in any state since.

It is sometimes difficult to find existing statutes on off-beat topics because they seem to end up in the strangest places. The Ohio statute showed up in the Certificate of Title chapter, not anywhere in tort sections or propertly loss.

Diminished Value and Leased Vehicles: Do Leased Cars Really Suffer Less from Collision Damage?

Who Gets Diminished Value?

If you have been involved in a car accident, your right to be paid diminished value may depend on whether you were the at-fault driver or the person who was hit. Some U.S. state laws, like Georgia, allow both to recover diminished value payments. Other states allow insurers to exclude diminished value payments for their policyholders and this results in only the person who was not at fault being able to claim and recover the decreased value caused to the car. Diminished Value: First Parties v. Third Parties