Erie Insurance diminished value claims in Michigan
Michigan is one of the few jurisdictions that does not allow the standard third-party diminished value claim, and that is true whichever carrier insured the at-fault driver. What remains against Erie Insurance is narrow, and it is set out honestly below.
Erie Insurance claims: (800) 367-3743
Filing deadline
3 years
Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.5805(2)
Small claims limit
$7,000
Your fallback if they refuse
Shared fault
Pure comparative negligence
How Erie Insurance approaches these claims
Not verified. No Erie policy language, DOI market-conduct finding, or court opinion establishing how Erie values third-party diminished value was located, so posture is unknown and confidence is low. Verified context: Erie writes personal auto in roughly a dozen Mid-Atlantic and Midwest states plus Washington, D.C., none of which has Georgia's Mabry-style mandate requiring DV to be assessed automatically. In Erie's footprint a DV claim is an ordinary third-party tort damages claim against the at-fault driver's liability coverage, which the claimant must prove; Erie has no duty to calculate it on its own.
Why Michigan is different
No. An insurer's obligation to 'repair or replace' does not require payment for post-repair diminution in value where the policy expressly limits coverage to the lesser of actual cash value or cost of repair. Driscoll v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 227 F. Supp. 2d 696 (E.D. Mich. 2002). Michigan collision policies carry that limitation.
What remains
Your options in Michigan
Read the rule first
Michigan does not allow the standard third-party diminished value claim, so the usual demand-letter route against Erie Insurance is not available. The routes below are what remain.Check the narrow routes
Michigan is the national outlier and the answer is essentially no. MCL 500.3135(3) abolishes tort liability for vehicle property damage; the only surviving route is the mini-tort, capped at $3,000 for accidents after July 1, 2020 and limited to damages 'not covered by insurance', your collision deductible or out-of-pocket repair cost, not inherent resale-value loss. No Michigan decision allows third-party DV, and first-party DV is foreclosed by Driscoll. Do not send a DV demand to the at-fault carrier expecting payment. Use the mini-tort for your deductible, file in district court small claims, and act within 3 years.Document everything anyway
If one of the narrow routes fits your facts, it will turn on documentation: the repair invoice, the history report, and a supported valuation of the loss.
FAQ
Erie in Michigan
Does Erie Insurance pay diminished value claims in Michigan?
Michigan is one of the few states that does not allow a standard third-party diminished value claim, against Erie Insurance or any other carrier. No. An insurer's obligation to 'repair or replace' does not require payment for post-repair diminution in value where the policy expressly limits coverage to the lesser of actual cash value or cost of repair. Driscoll v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 227 F. Supp. 2d 696 (E.D. Mich. 2002). Michigan collision policies carry that limitation.
How long do I have to file against a Erie Insurance driver in Michigan?
Michigan allows 3 years from the date of the accident for a vehicle property damage claim (Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.5805(2)). The deadline is on filing suit, not on sending a demand letter, and negotiating with an adjuster takes weeks, so start well before it.
What if Erie Insurance denies the diminished value claim?
Put the demand to the assigned adjuster in writing. If refused or ignored, ask by name for that adjuster's claims supervisor, then the branch claims manager. (800) 367-3743 option 5 reaches a rep about an already-reported claim; option 6 is customer care. The appraisal clause is not available to you as a third party. After the internal ladder: complaint to the insurance department of the state where the crash occurred, then small claims against the at-fault driver. Beyond the carrier's own process, you can file a complaint with the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS), and court remains available for the limited claims Michigan does recognise.
This page combines our researched profile of Erie Insurance (reviewed 2026-07-28, confidence low) with the Michigan rules table (reviewed 2026-07-28). Full sources and citations are on the Erie Insurance page and the Michigan claim page. It is general information, not legal advice, and practices change; verify before relying on it.
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