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 Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 10:13 am Post subject: How is my car determined to be a "total loss"? |
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How is my car determined to be a "total loss"?  |
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saveassolution
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| Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 10:22 am Post subject: |
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| Normally, if the cost of repairing the car reaches around 80% (varies with the states though) of the actual cash value of the car, it'd be declared as totaled. But without additional information its difficult to give more concrete answer. |
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jeorge
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| Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 12:25 pm Post subject: |
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ACV-minus salvage value is the MOST they can spend to repair it...also as simon stated many states have a percentage rule as well..
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Lori
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| Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 12:50 pm Post subject: |
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Hi saveassolution,
Welcome to our forum.
If your car damaged badly. When your auto insurance company inquiring for car status. If your car repairing value is going more than 80% of new Car in Market. In This Case Insurance Company not paying to you.
This situation is called "Total Loss".
Thanks & regards. |
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DanielC
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| Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 1:00 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | If your car repairing value is going more than 80% of new Car in Market. In This Case Insurance Company not paying to you. |
Sorry Daniel but you are way off....these are inaccurate statements.
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Lori
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| Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:24 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | If your car damaged badly. When your auto insurance company inquiring for car status. If your car repairing value is going more than 80% of new Car in Market. In This Case Insurance Company not paying to you. |
What???   Have we learned how to make complete sentences that people can actually understand?
Thank you Lori...
InsTeacher  |
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InsTeacher
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| Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 12:34 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | What??? Have we learned how to make complete sentences that people can actually understand? |
apparently not, but the parts i COULD understand could NOT be MORE wrong!
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Lori
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| Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 3:35 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | ACV-minus salvage value is the MOST they can spend to repair it...also as simon stated many states have a percentage rule as well.. |
Not sure this statement is entirely accurate either. I have repaired vehicles that have had 75 percent damage but the salvage value may have been 30 to 40 percent of the acv if the insurer would have taken bids on the damaged vehicle. In essence, the insurer would have spent more than the acv minus salvage to repair. It would have been more accurate to just have said the most an insurer can spend by policy language or state statute, is the states mandated threshold before a car must be totaled.
Most policies ,if not all, give the insurer the option to total well before it reaches the magical threshold in any state regardless of not including air bags, tires, sales taxes among other items, which would keep it well below the threshold. Theoretically, the insurer could total the car with 10 percent damage if they thought they could recover 90 percent of value in salvage. The contract of insurance gives most, if not all, leverage to the insurer. The insured must invoke the appraisal clause if it is in the policy to exhaust all remedies or to dispute the insurance company investigation on the property loss value.
I currently have a vehicle in my shop that was totaled and the owner retained the salvage. It was below the threshhold but this way the insurer doesn't pay storage, towing, or any other overlooked items and bares no liability for the repair since they totaled it. The owner and shop that repairs it is liable for quality, completeness, and safety of the repairs at that point. I can't fault the insurer at this point as it is just smart business on their part. The vehicle owner by virtue of the contract of insurance can not force the insurer to repair their vehicle and bare all the liability for that decision if it appears that repairs would exceed the acv.
I have also seen insurers wind up spending more on insured's and claimant's cars than they should have. When forwarned that the claimant will upon completion of the repairs or before repairs commence notify of their intent to collect on the loss of value as part of the loss, most insurers will force the repairs upon a party that would prefer the total loss of their vehicle because of the severity of damage and the likelihood of a huge loss in value at trade in time or resale to the public with disclosure of the repaired damage.
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mike o' the ozarks
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| Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 3:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Thanx Mike, that was very helpful |
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saveassolution
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| Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 5:19 am Post subject: |
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Confusion... 
Lori wrote:
| Quote: | | ACV-minus salvage value is the MOST they can spend to repair it...also as simon stated many states have a percentage rule as well.. |
Mark wrote:
| Quote: | | Most policies ,if not all, give the insurer the option to total well before it reaches the magical threshold in any state regardless of not including air bags, tires, sales taxes among other items, which would keep it well below the threshold. |
Which statement to be taken as true? |
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RupertWBradson
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| Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 11:13 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Not sure this statement is entirely accurate either |
it is in YOUR state..  As Mike stated the percentage laws in MO (anyway), also require that you remove all airbag parts and labor as well as sales tax from the estimate of repair...so the 80% (MO's magic number the law changed about a year ago from 75-80 )...is kind of not an acurate number (since you have to pull airbags and tax)...however the economic total loss you do not remove them... | Quote: | | I have repaired vehicles that have had 75 percent damage |
75 isn't 80 mike... | Quote: | | if the insurer would have taken bids on the damaged vehicle. |
Here in may lie the difference all companys handle their salvage differently the company I work for takes bids..however many companys have contracts for a certain percentage based either on the ACV or the year of the vehicle....so in theory at least I could call and get a bid of 1k for salvage, and another company may have a contract that gives them 500 or 1500... | Quote: | | It would have been more accurate to just have said the most an insurer can spend by policy language or state statute, is the states mandated threshold before a car must be totaled. |
ok i'll bite on that...and say further than any adjuster that spends more to repair a vehicle than it would've cost to total has not done their job... | Quote: | | The contract of insurance gives most, if not all, leverage to the insurer. |
agreed... | Quote: | | The insured must invoke the appraisal clause if it is in the policy to exhaust all remedies or to dispute the insurance company investigation on the property loss value. |
agreed.
They both are Rupert...
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"Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way." Martin Luther King Jr. |
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Lori
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| Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 6:51 am Post subject: |
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| Hi, see..your insurance company would definitely consider it a total loss once the repairs exceed 75% of the car worth. That's why many of us would simply ask the carrier to retain the car with it's salvage title. This would certainly reduce a small amount from your check. I'd never try to fix it if it's damaged that bad...rather I'd choose to buy another car. Steven |
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steven
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| Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 9:32 am Post subject: |
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well, my country don't have such rules as car totaled.
Our insurance company set a rules on paying lesser if the damage cost is more than certain percent of the car current market value. No matter how much is the car damage, they are still paying according to the paying categories table set on the policy. |
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eddielkk
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| Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 3:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | so in theory at least I could call and get a bid of 1k for salvage, and another company may have a contract that gives them 500 or 1500... |
I think it's better to take bids rather than relying on contracts while handling salvages. The percentage mentioned in a contract may or may not be worthy of the different market conditions.
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anonymous00
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| Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 11:36 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | I think it's better to take bids rather than relying on contracts while handling salvages |
It's really not a chose, if the ins company an adjuster works for has a salvage contract then they have to go by that..the company I work for has had these contracts in the past but currently (lass three years or so) we are required to get a bid for the average salvage recovery for same type of vehicle with similar damage.
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"Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way." Martin Luther King Jr. |
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Lori
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