If you have car insurance and a totaled vehicle after a car accident, you may be wondering how to get the most money from insurance from a totaled car. You may be wondering about things like how to deal with your insurance company, what the actual cash value of your car is, how much will your insurance pay, what the fair market value of your car is, how to make an uninsured motorist coverage claim, etc.
If you don’t have gap insurance and your car loan isn’t paid off yet, this information could be particularly important to you.
This article will go into depth regarding the process behind obtaining the most money possible for your totaled vehicle.
When Is Your Car a Total Loss?
In general, a totaled vehicle, also known as a total loss, is a vehicle which costs more than its value to repair or is damaged beyond repair.
However, “totaled” is defined differently in different states. California considers vehicles totaled when the vehicles’ estimated repair costs are in excess of 75% of the vehicle’s pre-accident value.
Vehicles do not have to look like they’re demolished in order to be considered totaled. Sometimes, damages won’t be outwardly visible. In order to determine if vehicles are totaled, car insurance companies will have adjusters inspect vehicles to evaluate damages and determine if vehicles are repairable or total losses.
Maximizing Your Insurance Payout When Your Car Is Totaled
In order to maximize your insurance payout from a car insurance company for your totaled vehicle, you will want to:
- Conduct independent research
- Provide supporting documents
- Get a third party appraisal
- Hire a lawyer
- Use proper negotiation strategies
Conduct Independent Research
If you’re wondering “how much will insurance pay for my totaled car,” the first step towards determining your totaled car value is to conduct independent research.
In order to figure out how much an auto insurance company might pay you, you should look for comparable vehicles being sold in your area. Go to websites like cargurus.com, carsforsale.com, cars.com and autotrader.com and look up cars that have similar mileage and features as your car. Print the information for these cars out and give them to your insurance company to serve as supplementary material.
You should obtain a Certified Collateral Corporation (CCC) report. This is an itemized list of your car’s features which insurance adjusters will use to determine your vehicle’s market value. Be sure to look this report over and make sure that the trim level and features of your vehicle are correctly listed.
You could even take your car to different car yards to see the value they’d give to you.
Provide Supporting Documents
Despite any efforts you put into performing pricing research on your own, your insurance company might not give you a better offer. Your chances can be improved if you provide documents which support a bigger offer. Provide any and all documents which are relevant, such as maintenance records, insurance policies and accident reports. Providing these documents will help to establish the condition your vehicle was in prior to the accident, supporting your claim in the process.
Get a Third Party Appraisal
Adjusters who aren’t affiliated with the insurance company or you will be capable of giving unbiased opinions regarding the value of your car if someone considers your car totaled. Once these adjusters determine the condition of your car, you can give this information to your insurer to add credibility to your claim, making your attempts at negotiation less feeble.
Hire a Lawyer
If your accident was somebody else’s fault, especially if you’ve been injured in that accident, you should hire experienced lawyers. Not only can they help recover compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, pain, suffering and more, but they can help you recover compensation for your totaled vehicle, making sure the insurance company pays you a fair value for it.
If the at-fault party is insured, a lawyer can make sure their insurance company pays you fairly from their collision coverage. If the at-fault party isn’t insured, a lawyer can make sure you are paid fairly by your new car replacement insurance, new car replacement coverage or uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.
We have been helping accident victims recover compensation for their totaled vehicles since 1990 and we have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of our clients. We have the experience and resources to make sure you are fairly compensated for the full value of your vehicle.
Call us today for a free consultation if your vehicle was totaled in an accident which wasn’t your fault and in which you or a loved one were injured. We won’t charge you any fee until and unless we win your accident case.
Negotiation Strategies
If you’ve had your car totaled in an accident which was due to something like a driver not yielding the right of way or a fatigued driver, it could be frustrating and complicated to negotiate with an insurance company. However, these negotiations are essential for recovering as much money as possible for your totaled vehicle from an insurance company.
Tips for negotiating effectively include:
Understand your policy: Read through it to understand any relevant details such as exclusions and coverage limits. Make sure you understand how much compensation you are entitled to in the event of a total loss.
Provide documentation: Print copies of any and all interactions with your insurance company. This includes phone call logs, letters and email conversations. Also, write down any and all elements of discussions with your insurance company and any promises your insurer makes you.
Exercise persistence and patience: You won’t be able to finish negotiating within one day or even one week. You need to be persistent and patient with the efforts you make. It might require numerous meetings and phone calls to come to an agreement.
Stay polite and calm: One working strategy is to stay polite, respectful and calm through the entire negotiation process. You should avoid losing your temper as this can damage your case and delay negotiations.
Make your intentions clear: It is helpful to make sure you clearly state the settlement amount you prefer while negotiating. However, you should provide evidence and reasoning which support this position. As an example, bring receipts of aftermarket accessories, your policy document, an appraisal report from an independent source and the latest valuation report.
Talk to a manager: If you are not making progress with the first representative you speak to, ask to speak to a line manager. They may have additional authority regarding making decisions.
If your attempts to negotiate fail, ask for an appraisal by a neutral third party regarding the market value of your vehicle. An unbiased appraiser can help to establish the market value of your car and prove your total loss was undervalued by your insurance company.
Your insurance company might improve your offer in order to avoid time and expenses related with getting an unbiased appraisal.
Making a Counter-Offer
Compare your insurance company’s offer with values found during independent research and given by a neutral appraisal. If the values are all similar, the price you’ve been offered is likely reasonable. However, if you think you’re being given a low ball offer, come up with an appropriate counter-offer and present it to your insurance company. Email your insurance company with all info and documents you have compiled in order to establish your offer’s credibility.
FAQs
How Do Insurance Companies Determine the Value of a Totaled Car?
Insurance companies will consider numerous elements when they determine your vehicle’s pre-accident value. To compare your vehicle with other vehicles in the market, insurance companies look at car model, make and year.
Their exact criteria includes:
Severity of damage: The extent and nature of damage are considerations which are essential as insurance companies determine if vehicles are repairable or total losses.
The age of the vehicle: An essential element when evaluating total losses is age. It can be difficult to find replacement parts for older vehicles. This means that if an auto repair shop can’t find these parts, the vehicle may be declared totaled.
Trim level, model and brand: The value of your vehicle is significantly influenced by its trim level, model and brand, and insurance companies use this and the vehicle’s age in order to determine your vehicle’s worth.
Recoverable costs: How much money the insurer will receive after salvaging the car is taken into consideration. If an insurance company can collect more money by selling your vehicle to a junkyard, your vehicle is a lot more likely to be declared totaled.
Can I Keep My Car if It Is a Total Loss?
Yes, you can, but keeping a totaled vehicle involves numerous key considerations and a structured process. You need to navigate requirements your insurance company sets forth. This might include getting a salvage title officially designating your vehicle as totaled. Once you secure this, you can explore the options you have.
While you may wish to keep a totaled car for many reasons, like alternative uses or sentimental attachment, potential drawbacks exist. A vehicle that has a salvage title might have resale value and future insurance coverage limitations. A salvage title signals to future purchasers that your vehicle has been damaged significantly and that this could affect performance and safety.
Should I Hire a Public Insurance Adjuster?
Public insurance adjusters may be a helpful option to go to if you feel your insurance company isn’t handling your claim correctly or that your insurance company’s behavior is unreasonable. However, you should only hire one after having been given a chance to see how much money your insurance company is willing to pay you.
Before you sign a contract involving a public adjuster, it may be wise to consult with a lawyer.
Who Gets the Insurance Check When a Car Is Totaled?
Before making payments, insurance companies consider numerous factors, such as if the vehicle is wholly owned, financed or leased. Then, insurance companies will pay as follows:
- If you own the car, you will be paid directly as the policyholder.
- If you lease the car, the leasing company will be paid.
- The insurance company may also engage you in order to determine the proper person to send payment to regarding a financed car.
How Long Does It Take to Get an Insurance Check for a Totaled Car?
While insurance companies are required my law to investigate and resolve claims in a reasonable time frame, it can often take a long time for your claim to settle. The amount of time it will take depends upon numerous factors, such as the at-fault party’s willingness, documentation and how much money is involved.
Completion of the process may require several months. Insurers need to pay all claims promptly within a reasonable time frame. However, what time frame is reasonable and prompt will vary with every claim.
Certain claims require thorough investigations and may take longer to complete. Policyholders can expedite claims by giving accurate info and providing complete accounts of how accidents occurred.
When to Contact an Attorney
If you or a loved one have been injured or killed in a car accident, call us today for a free consultation so we can help you recover compensation for your totaled vehicle as well as compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain, suffering, wrongful death and more.
We won’t charge a fee to handle your car accident case until and unless we recover compensation for you, meaning our only fee is a percentage of what we recover for you and you won’t owe us any upfront fees or out of pocket fees.
If you can’t afford to have your car accident injuries treated then we can get you to doctors who won’t charge you for treatment until your case is over.
We’ve been helping car accident victims recover compensation for their injuries and totaled vehicles since 1990, having recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for clients.
Call us today for a free case evaluation.
Jeffrey Nadrich
Jeffrey Nadrich is a nationally-recognized California plaintiff’s personal injury attorney. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Hastings College of the Law. He has successfully represented thousands of injury clients over the last 40 years.
