Sometimes it's not easy to determine whether a car is a total loss or just severely damaged.
The car total loss determination starts at the accident scene. After that, the insurance company must inspect your vehicle and determine whether the damage was substantial enough to declare a complete loss.
Most insurance companies will want to inspect the vehicles themselves. In most cases, insurance companies have approved body shops to write estimates. These shops usually write estimates and receive payment from the insurance company based on that estimate.
However, when there is potential for a car total loss, most insurance companies want their own insurance adjuster to inspect the vehicle.
The reason for this is the conflict of interest that arises from the arrangement between the insurance company and the body shop. Body shops are in the business of fixing cars. They have a vested interest in quoting the repairs so the car can be fixed and not declare it a car total loss. Therefore, it will be an adjuster inspecting and dealing with the negotiation.
Below are the best steps you should follow to assure a fair settlement and estimate of your damages:
Instructions
1. Wait a few days -- but not too many. It takes two to three business days for a body shop to do a repair estimate. If the claim adjuster or the field representative has to inspect and write their own estimate, then you will be waiting three to five more days to for an adjuster to get to the location of your car.
2. Ask the adjuster for the preliminary value of your car. Before the adjuster goes out and inspects, she/he will submit all pertinent information about your car (year, make, model, and mileage) to a third party company. This company usually is CCC Information Services Group, Inc. CCC will do a preliminary report to determine what the fair value of your car is so the adjuster knows what the insurance company would be looking to if there is a total loss.
3. Check your state law for total loss thresholds. Depending on your state law and the specific insurance company, there will be a car total loss when the insurance company believes that the cost to fix the car reaches 70 percent, 80 percent or even 90 percent of its total value. It is always a good idea to ask the adjuster what the threshold is. What is the percentage of value they look at to determine a total loss?
4. Look at the estimate by the car total loss adjuster. This individual will be looking at the condition of your car. They will note how "clean" the vehicle is, what is the exact mileage, and what equipment and options the car has. All of this information will be reflected in the final evaluation of the vehicle. Make sure it is accurate. If your car was in "perfect condition" before the accident, make sure the adjuster notes that.
5. Ask for the adjuster's initial report. After the adjuster's initial inspection and report, he/she will submit that report to CCC. CCC will send a final report showing comparative prices for the vehicles in your local market. They will establish what the fair market value of the car is and what a fair offer of settlement would be.
6. Do your own research to determine correct and dispute that report if necessary. Find links in References that will help.
7. Make sure a letter of guarantee is send out. If you have a loan, then the insurance adjuster will request a letter from the bank (a letter of guarantee). This letter is an agreement between the bank and the insurance company in which for the exchange in payment of X amount, the bank will release the title of the car to the insurance company directly. This process usually takes four to five days.
8. Double check that you are not upside down on your loan. If the amount you owe for the car is less than what the insurance company will pay for the car total loss, then the insurance company will pay the loan amount and then issue you a second check directly. If the loan amount is higher than what the car total loss offer, then you will be upside down on your loan. You will be required to continue making payments on the balance even though the car title will be transferred to the insurance company.
Tags: insurance company, total loss, insurance companies, loan amount, what fair
