In Ohio you can claim diminished value from the at-fault driver, but the total is capped: repairs plus lost value can't exceed the drop from the car's pre-crash value to its damaged value. No controlling Ohio decision makes your own insurer pay. You have two years to sue.
Written by Todd Whittington, Editor·Last reviewed Verified 2026-10-18
The short answer
Claim from the at-fault driver's insurer
Yes, but capped. Repairs plus lost value can't be more than the drop from the car's pre-crash value to its damaged value.
Claim from your own insurer
No court or statute here says your own policy must pay it. Expect your insurer to say no.
Deadline to sue
2 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 more than half at fault.
State insurance department guidance
We found no diminished value guidance on the state insurance regulator's site.
Claiming from the other driver's insurer
Ohio appeals courts allow the leftover loss in value on top of the repair cost, but not more than the difference between the car's value right before the crash and right after it, in its damaged state. A 2024 appeals decision applied that cap strictly: if the drop in value isn't bigger than the repair bill already paid, there is nothing more to claim.
“the plaintiff may recover the residual diminution in value in addition to the cost of repair, provided that the plaintiff may not recover damages in excess of the difference” — Rakich v. Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield, 172 Ohio App.3d 523, 2007-Ohio-3739, ¶19 (10th Dist.); Hyden v. Anderson, 2024-Ohio-1578 (7th Dist.)
Claiming from your own insurer
We found no controlling Ohio decision on whether your own policy pays diminished value. A 2025 appeals decision denied a claim because that policy expressly excluded it. It depends on your policy's wording.
“Because Fincher's insurance contract with State Farm does not include diminished value coverage” — Fincher v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 2025-Ohio-1752 (1st Dist.)
The deadline
You have two years from the damage to sue over injury to personal property, including your car.
“an action for bodily injury or injuring personal property shall be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues” — Ohio Rev. Code §2305.10(A)
If you were partly at fault
Modified comparative fault (51% bar). You recover, cut by your share, if your fault was not greater than everyone else's combined. At 51% or more, nothing.
“if the contributory fault of the plaintiff was not greater than the combined tortious conduct of all other persons” — Ohio Rev. Code §2315.33
What this means when you're deciding
Not your fault? Ask in writing, but know the cap: you'll need to show what the car was worth right after the crash, damaged, not just after the repair.
Check your own policy for a diminished value exclusion before asking your insurer.
Partly at fault? Up to 50%, cut by your share; above that, nothing.
Deadline: two 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: none found. Searched the insurance.ohio.gov site search, the full ODI Automobile Insurance Guide, Ohio Adm. Code 3901-1-54 (claims handling), and a site-restricted web search.
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".