Washington State Farm Mutual policyholders who were paid under underinsured motorist property damage coverage for an accident between January 13, 2019 and February 27, 2026 may qualify to claim a diminished value payment from the $8.82 million Hardy v. State Farm class action settlement, estimated at about $625 on average. Claims close December 14, 2026 and the Class Member ID from the mailed notice is required to file online.
Current Status
Claims are open. A claim form must be submitted online or postmarked by December 14, 2026; the notice gives the date only, with no cutoff time or timezone. The deadline to opt out or object is much earlier, September 30, 2026. The court has granted preliminary approval and scheduled the final settlement hearing for October 30, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. before Judge Ricardo S. Martinez in Seattle. No final approval order has been entered and no payment date has been announced. If you received a notice from Kroll, the step to take now is to answer the three questions on the claim form, sign it and submit it before December 14.Free settlement alerts
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What Changed Recently?
Kroll Settlement Administration mailed notices and pre-printed claim forms to the people on State Farm's class list, and the claim portal at the official settlement website is accepting submissions. The settlement resolves Hardy v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, Case No. 2:25-cv-00072-RSM, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington on January 13, 2025 and amended on March 19, 2025 to add a second named plaintiff. The parties signed the settlement agreement in late May 2026.The lawsuit alleges that when a car sustains structural or body damage, it cannot be restored to its pre-accident condition and loses market value, a loss known as diminished value. The plaintiffs claim State Farm's Washington auto policies owed that loss under underinsured motorist property damage coverage, called UMPD, and that State Farm failed to pay it or paid too little, a breach of the insurance contract. State Farm denies the allegations, says it paid the full and appropriate amounts for diminished value where applicable, and settled without admitting any wrongdoing.
This is the second Washington diminished value settlement involving a State Farm company. The earlier one, Sanith v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, paid $2.09 million to claimants in July 2025 for accidents from March 2012 through February 2024; our coverage is on the State Farm Fire and Casualty diminished value page. The Hardy settlement covers State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company policies and a later class period, and it has its own claim form.
Who Qualifies?
The settlement class covers State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company insureds with a policy issued in Washington whose vehicle damage was paid under underinsured motor vehicle property damage coverage for an accident with a date of loss from January 13, 2019 through February 27, 2026, where all three of the following are true:• The repair estimates on the vehicle, including any supplements, totaled at least $1,000.
• The vehicle was no more than six years old, meaning the model year plus five years, and had fewer than 90,000 miles at the time of the accident.
• The vehicle suffered structural or frame damage, deformed sheet metal, or required body or paint work.
Leased vehicles and total losses are excluded, along with the assigned judge and the judge's staff and family. Claims limited to glass, tires or a sound system, or any combination of those three, are not eligible for payment. The class list is drawn from State Farm's own claim records as of February 27, 2026, and the agreement makes that list controlling. Someone with two or more qualifying accidents received a separate claim form for each and must submit each one.
How Much Can You Get?
The notice estimates that the average payment for a qualified claimant will be in the range of $625. That figure is an estimate; the actual amount depends on your repair cost and on how many valid claims are filed.The fund is defined as the number of claims on the class list multiplied by $800, minus a $3,757,160.17 credit for diminished value State Farm has already paid to class members, and it is capped at $8,822,039.83. Those figures work out to roughly 15,700 claims on the class list. Attorneys' fees of up to $1,890,584.96, costs of up to $10,000 and service awards of up to $10,000 for each of the two class representatives come out of the fund first. What remains is divided among eligible claimants in proportion to each claimant's UMPD repair payment against the repair payments of all claimants, so a larger repair bill draws a larger share.
Three adjustments can reduce a payment. A claimant whose vehicle was in an earlier accident, either by their own answer on the claim form or by State Farm's records, receives one-half of the formula amount. Any diminished value State Farm already paid on the claim is subtracted; the agreement's example is a $2,000 formula result reduced to $1,500 by a $500 prior payment. And where State Farm applied a comparative fault percentage to the original UMPD payment, the same percentage applies to the settlement payment. If valid claims exceed the fund, every payment is reduced pro rata.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
No receipts, estimates or photos are required. The online claim form opens with the Class Member ID printed on the notice Kroll mailed, so filing online is gated on that identifier. The pre-printed paper form can be mailed instead. Either way, the claimant must answer three questions under oath, whether the vehicle was in another accident while they owned it, whether it was in an accident before they owned it, and whether it was leased, and must print and sign their name. A form with a missing answer, name or signature is deficient; Kroll will send a deficiency notice within 30 days after the deadline and the claimant gets 60 days to cure it.State Farm then has 60 days after receiving the valid claim forms to challenge any claim it believes is ineligible, for example a leased vehicle, a total loss, a repair estimate under $1,000, mileage over 90,000, or a claim already released. Class counsel and State Farm have 30 days to resolve a challenge, and the court decides any that remain.
What Is the Deadline?
December 14, 2026, for both online submission and mailed forms, which must be postmarked by that date. The notice states no cutoff time or timezone, so only the date is published here. Requests for exclusion and objections must be postmarked by September 30, 2026, which is also the deadline for a notice of intention to appear at the hearing. The agreement gives State Farm the right to walk away from the settlement if five percent or more of the class opts out.How Do You Take Action?
File online at the official Washington UMPD settlement website using the Class Member ID from your notice, or complete, sign and mail the green paper claim form that came with the notice. Answer all three questions, including "I don't know" where that is the honest answer, and keep your contact information current so the check reaches you. Filing is free, and there is nothing to upload.What Happens Next?
The final settlement hearing is set for October 30, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. at the federal courthouse in Seattle. If the court grants final approval and no appeal is filed, the settlement becomes effective 30 days later. Payments follow the claim review described above: State Farm funds the approved payments within 30 days of the administrator's final tally or the effective date, whichever is later, and Kroll mails checks within 21 days after that. Checks are valid for 180 days. There is no cy pres recipient; an uncashed check is forfeited and the money returns to State Farm. Service awards to the class representatives are paid within 30 days after the effective date.Sources and Verification
• Official Settlement Website: Washington UMPD Settlement, administered by Kroll Settlement Administration LLC• Notice of Class Action Settlement (PDF) — Hardy v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, No. 2:25-cv-00072-RSM (W.D. Wash.)
• Stipulation of Settlement and Settlement Agreement, signed May 2026, with the claim form, proposed final order, individual notice and proposed preliminary approval order attached as Exhibits A through D
• Class Counsel: Law Offices of Stephen M. Hansen, P.S. and Law Office of Scott P. Nealey
• Open Class Actions — Sanith v. State Farm Fire and Casualty diminished value settlement
Questions
What is diminished value, and why does State Farm owe it?
Diminished value is the loss in a vehicle's market value after a collision that structural or body damage cannot fully repair. The plaintiffs allege that State Farm's Washington auto policies owed this loss under underinsured motorist property damage coverage and that State Farm failed to pay it, or paid too little. State Farm denies the allegations and says it paid the full and appropriate amounts as part of its regular claim adjusting. The settlement resolves the dispute without any finding that State Farm did anything wrong.
I did not get a notice in the mail. Can I still file a Washington UMPD claim?
The class is built from State Farm's own claim records, and Kroll mailed a notice and pre-printed claim form to every person on that list. The online form opens only with the Class Member ID printed on the notice. If you believe you qualify but never received a notice, the official settlement website is the place to ask the administrator about your status; a paper claim form can also be mailed without the ID, but the administrator still has to match you to the class list.
Why would my State Farm diminished value payment be cut in half or reduced?
Three adjustments can lower a payment. A claimant who answers yes to either prior-accident question on the claim form, or whose vehicle State Farm's records show was in an earlier accident, receives one-half of the formula amount. Any diminished value State Farm already paid on the same claim is subtracted from the payment. And if State Farm applied a comparative fault percentage to the original UMPD payment, the same percentage is applied to the settlement payment.
Is this the same as the earlier State Farm Washington diminished value settlement?
No. The earlier case, Sanith v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, covered a different State Farm entity and accidents from March 2012 through February 2024, and its $2.09 million in payments went out in July 2025. Hardy v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is a separate settlement covering State Farm Mutual policyholders with losses from January 13, 2019 through February 27, 2026, and it has its own claim form and December 14, 2026 deadline.
When will State Farm Washington UMPD settlement checks be mailed?
No payment date has been announced. Under the agreement, payments go out only after the settlement becomes effective, which is 30 days after final approval if no appeal is filed, and after State Farm has had 60 days to review the valid claim forms and any eligibility disputes are resolved. State Farm then has 30 days to fund the payments and Kroll has 21 days to mail checks. Checks are valid for 180 days, and an uncashed check is forfeited rather than redistributed.
