It is important for you to make an insurance claim that would guarantee you getting all the coverage that is necessary if you have a car that has been totaled and it is also very important that you do not make large payments out of your pocket. Most people think that a totaled car means a car that can no longer be driven but there is a different definition that insurance companies makes use of. It is important to learn how to fight an insurance company totaled car decision that you are not okay with and this article is here to guide you
Insurance companies define a totaled car as a car its cost of repair has exceeded the present cost value of the car on the market but whatever the case you are having with an insurance company over a totaled car might be, you have this article at your disposal to guide you on the steps and ways that you can learn how to fight an insurance company totaled car decision. Insurance company can also refer to a totaled car as a total loss as well.
How To Fight An Insurance Company Totaled Car
If your car has been involved in an accident then it is up to the insurance company to determine if your car is now a totaled car or not. They generally believe that if the cost of repairing a car is about fifty percent of the vehicle’s present value on the market then it should be considered as a total loss or totaled car. However, there are insurers that might also extend their own limitation to eighty percent and not fifty one percent but this is dependent on state insurance regulators so it varies from one region to another.
Determining The Value Of Your Car
Knowing the value of your car is very important or vital in determining if the damages that it has incurred is enough for it to be considered as a total loss or a totaled car. The question here is how do you determine the value of your car and it has come to the notice of many that the way insurers determine the value of a car is just by simply consulting their database of values.
These values are made bearing profits in mind and if your car gets declared as a totaled car, you are paid the value of your car excluding deductibles. They end of scraping the car and selling off its part which enables them to keep back whatever money they might make that way. However, it is also very possible that you can get to keep your car despite the fact that it has be declared as a total loss or a totaled car. This is dependent on the state laws and most insurers must follow the “made whole” doctrine.
This doctrine simply means restoring you to your initial financial position before you were involved in the accident which is truly the point of buying insurance. So if you are to keep a car that has already been totaled by your insurer then you are going to pay some amount of money which they would have realized from selling off some of the parts.
How To Fight Bad Appraisal
The fact that insurance companies make use of their database when determining the value of a car simply tells you that they are likely to make a mistake with their figures. If you think that same mistake has been made with your car then the best way of contesting their appraisal is getting yours. You can get your own appraisals from garages and body shops and if you decide to take this route then make sure your inspection details are done in writing so you can easily present them to your insurance company.
If your own appraisal isn’t persuading them to change their mind then your next line of action is turning to the local department of insurance. They will appoint a state representative who will conduct his own investigation to find out the value of the car that has been totaled and also to figure out if the insurer has been acting in an unjust manner. However, if this approach doesn’t turn out in your favor then your next action should be arbitration and litigation. These methods are less likely used when settling disputes relating to insurance.
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