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When you raise a diminished value claim, many insurers reach for the '17c formula.' It produces a tidy-looking number that usually lands well below what your car actually lost. Here is how it works and why.
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The 17c formula is the capped method insurers use to value diminished value claims. How it works, and why it understates your loss. $50M+ recovered for clients.
What Is the 17c Formula?
The 17c formula is a widely used method for calculating diminished value. The name comes from an old Georgia case appendix, and most insurers apply some version of it. The point to understand is what it does to your number — it caps it, then shrinks it. It looks objective because it is a calculation, but every input is a choice, and the choices tend to favor the insurer rather than your specific car.
The Quick Takeaways
- It caps your loss. The formula limits diminished value to roughly 10% of a base value, no matter the facts.
- Then it cuts further. Mileage and damage-severity multipliers reduce that capped figure again.
- Its assumptions are arbitrary. The 10% cap is not tied to what your vehicle does in the real market.
- It is an opening offer. A 17c number is a starting position you can counter with a market-based valuation.
How the 17c Calculation Works
At its core, the 17c formula is a chain of multipliers applied to your car's value:
The 17c Formula
Base Value × 10% Cap × Mileage Multiplier × Damage Multiplier = Diminished Value
In practice it moves through three steps:
- Start with a base value. Usually a published market value for your vehicle.
- Apply a 10% cap. The formula caps the maximum diminished value at roughly 10% of that base — your loss cannot exceed this ceiling no matter the facts of the crash.
- Reduce for mileage and damage. Two multipliers then cut the capped figure further: one for your car's mileage, another for the severity of the damage.
| Step | Applied | Running Value |
|---|---|---|
| Base market value | — | $30,000 |
| 10% cap | × 0.10 | $3,000 |
| Mileage multiplier | × 0.60 | $1,800 |
| Damage multiplier | × 0.50 | $900 |
| 17c result | $900 |
A $30,000 car is capped at $3,000, then a mileage multiplier and a damage multiplier — each less than 1 — cut it to roughly $900. Meanwhile, the market may show the car actually lost far more.
Why 17c Shortchanges You
The problem is not your car — it is the formula's assumptions. The 10% cap is arbitrary and is not tied to what your specific vehicle does in the real market. The mileage and damage multipliers compound the reduction, and together they can turn a genuine five-figure loss into a few hundred dollars. The math feels neutral, but it is built on inputs that consistently produce a small result. That is why a number that looks precise can still be far below what comparable sales would support.
What to Do When You Get a 17c Offer
Treat a 17c figure as the opening offer it is. The stronger response is a market-based diminished value figure: a comparable-vehicle analysis that shows what cars like yours actually sell for, with and without an accident on record. That is a number built from evidence rather than a capped table — and it is what tends to move a low first offer toward a fair result. If you want to understand the underlying loss first, our plain-English guide to diminished value explains where the gap comes from, and our guide to filing a claim walks through how to put the demand together.
Personal Injury Laws by State — Colorado, Arizona, California & Kansas
Colorado follows a modified comparative negligence system under C.R.S. § 13-21-111, barring recovery if the plaintiff is 50% or more at fault and reducing damages by the plaintiff's fault percentage. Most injury claims: 2 years from the date of injury. Auto collisions: 3 years from the date of crash. Arizona applies pure comparative negligence under A.R.S. § 12-2505, allowing recovery regardless of the plaintiff's fault percentage — even a plaintiff 99% at fault can recover 1% of damages. Arizona's statute of limitations is two years under A.R.S. § 12-542. California also follows pure comparative negligence under CCP § 1431.2, with a two-year filing deadline per CCP § 335.1. Kansas mirrors Colorado's approach with a modified comparative negligence threshold of 50% under K.S.A. § 60-258a, but allows only a two-year filing window under K.S.A. § 60-513. These differences significantly impact case strategy — a plaintiff 55% at fault recovers nothing in Colorado or Kansas but retains a reduced claim in Arizona and California.
Common Questions
What is the 17c formula?
Why is the 17c formula bad for claimants?
Do I have to accept a 17c diminished value offer?
What's a better way to calculate diminished value?
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Colorado Crash Reality · 2024
By the Numbers
Behind each of these numbers is a person and a family whose year changed in an instant. We keep them in front of us because understanding how and where Colorado crashes happen is part of building a stronger case — and part of staying safer on the roads you drive every day.
Source: Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), 2024; NHTSA, 2024. Figures reflect the most recent full-year data published at the time of writing.
Injury Law at a Glance — CO, CA, AZ & KS
Three things shape almost every injury claim: how long you have to file, how fault is divided, and what the law lets you recover. They differ by state — here is where the four states we practice in stand.
Colorado
This page- Deadline to file
- 3 years
- C.R.S. § 13-80-101 (motor-vehicle injury)
- Fault rule
- Modified (50% bar)
- You can recover only if you were less than 50% at fault; your award is reduced by your share.
- C.R.S. § 13-21-111
- Damage caps
- Non-economic damages capped
- $1.5M for general injury claims accruing on or after Jan. 1, 2025; medical malpractice is capped separately and lower; re-indexed for inflation starting 2028.
- C.R.S. § 13-21-102.5 (HB 24-1472)
California
- Deadline to file
- 2 years
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1
- Fault rule
- Pure comparative
- You can recover even if you were mostly at fault; your award is reduced by your percentage of fault.
- Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975)
- Damage caps
- No general cap
- No cap on damages in ordinary injury cases. Medical-malpractice non-economic damages are limited by statute and increase each year.
- Cal. Civ. Code § 3333.2
Arizona
- Deadline to file
- 2 years
- A.R.S. § 12-542
- Fault rule
- Pure comparative
- You can recover even if you were mostly at fault; your award is reduced by your percentage of fault.
- A.R.S. § 12-2505
- Damage caps
- No damage caps
- Damage caps are prohibited by the Arizona Constitution.
- Ariz. Const. art. 2, § 31
Kansas
- Deadline to file
- 2 years
- K.S.A. § 60-513
- Fault rule
- Modified (50% bar)
- You can recover only if you were less than 50% at fault; your award is reduced by your share.
- K.S.A. § 60-258a
- Damage caps
- Injury: no cap
- No cap on non-economic damages in injury cases (Hilburn v. Enerpipe, 2019). Wrongful-death nonpecuniary damages are capped at $250,000.
- K.S.A. § 60-1903 (wrongful death)
General information, not legal advice — and deadlines can be shorter for claims against government entities or in special circumstances. Laws change; confirm the deadline that applies to your case with an attorney before relying on it.