Colorado diminished value claims: what the law says
In Colorado you can claim diminished value from the at-fault driver. Whether your own policy pays depends on its exact wording. You have three years to sue over a car crash.
Written by Todd Whittington, Editor·Last reviewed Verified 2026-10-18
The short answer
Claim from the at-fault driver's insurer
Yes. You can claim the lost value from the at-fault driver's insurer.
Claim from your own insurer
It depends on your policy's wording. Some policies can pay it; others exclude it.
Deadline to sue
3 years from the crash to sue for damage to your car
If you were partly at fault
Your claim is cut by your share of the blame, and you get nothing if you were 50% or more at fault.
State insurance department guidance
The Division of Insurance says no Colorado insurance law addresses diminished value, so it can't enforce DV claims.
Claiming from the other driver's insurer
Colorado's Court of Appeals allows the reasonable cost of repairs plus the drop in market value of the property as repaired, citing an older Colorado Supreme Court car case.
“In addition to the reasonable costs of repairing the property, the plaintiff is entitled to the decrease in market value to the property as repaired.” — Airborne, Inc. v. Denver Air Center, Inc., 832 P.2d 1086, 1092 (Colo. App. 1992) (citing Trujillo v. Wilson, 117 Colo. 430, 189 P.2d 147 (1948))
Claiming from your own insurer
In Hyden v. Farmers (2000), a Colorado appeals court read a policy's promise to repair with parts of "like kind and quality" in the driver's favor, so it could cover lost value. A federal appeals court later upheld a policy that expressly excluded diminished value. It comes down to your policy's words. The Colorado Division of Insurance says no Colorado insurance law addresses diminished value.
“the insurer must provide the insured, through repair, replacement, and/or compensation, the means of acquiring a vehicle substantially similar in function and value” — Hyden v. Farmers Ins. Exch., 20 P.3d 1222, 1225 (Colo. App. 2000), cert. denied 2001
The deadline
You have three years to sue over property damage from the use of a motor vehicle.
“All tort actions for bodily injury or property damage arising out of the use or operation of a motor vehicle” — C.R.S. § 13-80-101(1)(n)(I)
If you were partly at fault
Modified comparative fault (50% bar). You get nothing if your fault was as great as the other driver's (50% or more). Below that, your claim is cut by your share.
“if such negligence was not as great as the negligence of the person against whom recovery is sought” — C.R.S. § 13-21-111(1), (3)
What this means when you're deciding
Not your fault? Ask the at-fault driver's insurer in writing with your repair invoice and listings.
Read your own policy. If it promises repair with parts of "like kind and quality" and has no diminished value exclusion, you may have a claim with your own insurer.
Partly at fault? At 50% or more, nothing; below that, cut by your share.
Deadline: three years to sue. Run your numbers through the diminished value calculator first. If the typical appraisal midpoint is under $500, it is rarely worth chasing.
Is a claim worth it on your car?
The calculator runs the insurer's formula on your car, shows what appraisals usually find, and tells you whether to skip it, ask yourself, or pay for an appraisal.
Insurance department guidance: Colorado Division of Insurance, Auto Insurance FAQ. Source.
We read every cited source on October 18, 2026. We cite statutes and court decisions, not law-firm or appraiser summaries. Anything we could not check against a primary source is marked "Not verified".