How is a car that has been in an accident determined a "total loss" ?

Question

I was recently in an accident. The other party has admitted fault and their insurance is paying for everything, however, I would just rather the car be considered "totaled" and start all over. I've determined through internet research that is worth about 21,000 at the most and 16,000 at the least. The insurance adjuster informed me that there are $9,000 + worth of damages. How do I get them to write it off as a total loss?

Answer 1

To answer your question, you have to find damage due to the accident the insurance company overlooked and call it to their attention. Get your own body man to locate that damage for you.

Also you have to insist on a quality repair using correct components under the argument that safety is compromised if it is not repaired correctly: you do not want to risk an accident because of their inadequate repair. Again, your own independent body man will assist you there.

Answer 2

Insurance companies have a way of telling, and they aren't open about sharing it. Basically they look at the dollar amount it would take to repair the vehicle, and the age and mileage of the vehicle. It it would cost more to fix than the worth of the vehicle, only then would they decide to total it. In your case with $9,000 damage on a vehicle worth at least $16,000, why would they give you $16,000 to total it when it could be fixed for 9? Not likely they will total it.

Answer 3

The insurance company will not total out the vehicle because the damages did not reach the threshold of 75 to 80% of the market value of that vehicle for the area you live in. The estimate the adjuster has done is preliminary, and if your vehicle is still in the repair process it can still be totalled because when the shop breaks down your vehicle they may find additional damage and at that point they will call the auto damage adjuster to go reinspect the car and if the additional damages put the damages over the threshold then the adjuster may total it out.

Answer 4

At this point, it doesnt matter what the mechanic says. The claims adjuster is going to look at the vehicle and asses the damages. If it will cost more to fix than replace, than yeah, the adjuster will total it out. They arent going to give you how much you owe on the car either. They will give you ACV (actual cash value) for your vehicle. If you have Gap insurance, that Gap will pay your loan company the difference between the loan and the value assesed. EXAMPLE: $20,000 Loan.... $15,000 ACV... That's a $5,000 diff that you would owe the loan company. Gap insurance would cover that difference... It will not be paid to you. And dont forget about your deductible. You can check the Blue Book Value and the NADA value and even the Edmunds value. Get the average of the three. You can use that to try to get the most you can from the Insurance company.

Answer 5

Well, let me ask you a question: if the vehicle is 'totaled', do you want $21,000.00 or will you accept $16,000.00? A vehicle is considered a 'total loss' when cost to repair exceeds the value or a percentage of the value set by the state (usually 75 to 90%). If you think your car is worth 21K then repair costs are appx 43% of the value. No company in their right frame of mind will total a vehicle under these circumstances. No amount of demanding, threatening or lawyering will convince them otherwise. Just have it repaired at a first rate collision repair shop and chalk it up to another of life's lessons.

Answer 6

most insurance company's say a car is totaled when the damage is 75% of the cars retail value some times the % is more check with the insurance company . you might consider selling the car smashed to some body shop or someone who can fix it ,so if you keep the insurance check for the repair and whatever you want for the car you might make out OK good luck

Answer 7

You don't.

A vehicle is normally totalled when the cost of repairs exceeds about 80% of the fair market value of the vehicle. If the value is $16,000 then repairs would have to exceed about $12,800 for the insurance company to write it off.

Since the damages are only $9,000 there's no way that they'll total it.

Answer 8

Totalled is usually any damage over 80 to 85% of the cost to replace. I don't think you will have much luck getting the adjustor to write the vehicle off with the figures you have shown.

Coming from experience as my father-in-law owns and runs 2 autobody shops. I have seen some pretty messed up vehicles that they actually repair!

Answer 9

When the cost to repair exceeds the value of the car, it's a total loss.

Answer 10

Insurance companies have a scale of value to measue against. If the damage to your car excedes roughly 70% of its value it is usually totaled. That percentage varies acording to year and value. but usually about 70%.