How to cash auto insurance claims checks?

by flamak25 » Sat Sep 06, 2008 09:20 pm

The procedure of cashing out a check may vary from one company to another and if you are cashing out a check you may call the issuing company to ask what their requirement is to cash the settlement check.

Here are few steps you may follow:
  • You may call your lien holder or the bank and let them know that you have received the check for insurance settlement and that it is payable to the policy holder and the company.
  • Get your check endorsed and ask the company to endorse their check too. You can find out from the lien holder which department you need to send their check to. After getting it endorsed the company will send back the check to you. If there are any other payees on the check they must get the check endorsed too, even if it is your spouse.
  • After the lien holder and other related people have endorsed the check you must deposit it in your bank account.
  • Wait for clearance and then you may issue your personal check to your lien holder who you owe money. It may be your auto repair shop or the contractor who has got your home repaired or any other related person or company.
  • If your check amount is large some banks may require you to produce a report for insurance loss and also the bid placed by a contractor or a body shop for which you need to make the payment.

Is it difficult to cash an auto settlement check if your car is repoed?

Not if the check is in your name and the lien holder's. But if the insurance company has put the check in the name of the lien holder you might have a little difficulty in getting the balance amount back. They might give you a proposal to get the car repaired and use up the balance amount you think you deserve. If this is the case, you may contact them and ask them what procedure they follow after you have endorsed a check and mail it to them.

What are your rights when your car is repossessed?

If your car is repoed, you may contact the lender and try to negotiate a payment option. Repossessing your car is not the best option for your lender since they lose out thousands of dollars doing this. So, usually they would like to work out a payment plan with you and try to prevent their loss.

When you sign an agreement document with your lender you must first go through the terms mentioned in the document. It is supposed to have rights you possess in case you default on a payment or if your car is repossessed. Make sure you know your rights and be aware to not be fooled in to any action taken against you that is not legal.

Related Readings

i had my vehicle repoed before I could fix the small damages and the lein holder has closed out the account with the account stating paid-closed credit line , but i have a balance of 900.00$ left owe to the lein holder , can i take my 2300.00$ automobile insurance claim checks (it's made out to ,me and the leinholder ) and pay off the balance and keep the rest , or will they take the whole check ? can i get into trouble if i cash it with the leinholder ?thank you very much for your response..

Total Comments: 61

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 09:04 pm Post Subject:

I don't know that its as simple as that. If the loss was on the car that was repo'ed, they'd keep the funds. Question is... is this all the same account to the lien holder. I think the OP would have a very good argument that they can't keep the money but this does not mean the lien holder won't see it differently or at least try to keep the money. If I was the OP, id call and discuss it beforehand. If they say they will keep the money, id make arguments against it and start filing complaints. If they say they won't keep the money id get that persons name and document all info.

Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 04:37 am Post Subject:

It would be unlawful to take the money intended for repairs and divert it to a loan payment (or arrearage).


I stand by this statement. Obviously, the insurance is intended to protect the lender's security interest in the vehicle. But if they use the insurance money to pay a past due loan payment, how is the vehicle going to be repaired?

Will they attempt to sell it in less than running condition? That invites an argument on the part of the OP that the sale price of the vehicle in a restored condition could have satisfied his unpaid obligation to the lender, but they deliberately sold it in a diminished value condition in order not to extinguish his debt.

The lender can use 100% of the money to restore the vehicle to its precollision condition and sell it as a repossessed vehicle in order to obtain the best offer from a new buyer. That is a fiduciary responsibility of the lender. If the sale of the vehicle fails to satisfy the balance of the unpaid loan, they can continue to pursue legal action against the OP for his unpaid debt.

The lender cannot do it the other way around without inviting much legal trouble on itself. Guaranteed. This is a well-settled principle of contract law. Banks were once famous for taking money without authorization from a depositor's checking or savings account to pay unpaid debt obligations (loans, credit card balances, bank charges), until the courts began to enforce the "conversion" principle and estopped the banks from doing so in the future.

Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 09:55 pm Post Subject: insurance check for a sold car

I have an insurance check made out to me and the lien holder. I recently traded in the car. Will the insurance company issue me a check in my name If the car was paid off By the dealer?

Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 12:43 am Post Subject:

If you have proof that the loan on the vehicle was paid off, you can send that and the uncashed check back to the insurance company for a replacement check.

BUT! make sure you talk to someone at the insurance company about that first, and send the check to them by name (or to whomever they tell you specifically to whose attention you address your letter). You also pay the $5 to send it Certified Mail,. Return Receipt Requested to make sure it was delivered.

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 07:58 pm Post Subject: another insurance claim check

Hi,
I'm waiting on one based on independent estimate I sent in. I also have lien on car. Will I be able to use some of the money towards rental car deposit? I'm fixing car asap. Insurance covers most of rental. I believe I'm expected to let them run a certain amount on credit card,then release it.
Thanks Lisa

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 08:45 pm Post Subject:

If you get an insurance check from the company in your name only, you may do with it as you please.

Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 07:21 pm Post Subject: insurance check for a vehicle totalled

after the insurance company mails a check to me for a car totalled can they come back and ask for the check back if they are now saying the car is not totalled. and now they want to repair the car?

Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 09:59 pm Post Subject:

and now they want to repair the car?



They can ask. I don't see _any_ obligation to comply. Tell them as far as you are concerned they paid what they felt the owed under the terms of the policy and you consider the claim closed. _They_ stated the vehicle was a total loss and then went as far as to issue payment. What information has changed since then? I'm guessing that they just realized that they handled it incorrectly. Well, they had ample opportunity to realize their error and correct it but they _chose_ not to. So the mistake is their problem not yours.

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2013 01:22 am Post Subject:

can they come back and ask for the check back if they are now saying the car is not totalled. and now they want to repair the car?


In all actuality, this makes absolutely no sense. When the insurance company totals a vehicle, they become the owner and normally will dispose of the vehicle. They rarely would be interested in repairing it. If you don't have the vehicle, they would not be coming back to you asking for the money back. It just makes no sense.

You seem to be asking a question based on retaining ownership of the vehicle after it has been declared a total loss. If so, the insurer will have negotiated a salvage price, and you will, in effect, have bought the vehicle back from them, and the amount you are paid reflects the residual salvage value you "paid" to retain the vehicle. The have no further interest in the vehicle and would not be inclined to want it back. They certainly would not want to repair it after that.

If anything, they would be more likely to fire the adjuster who misvalued the damage and caused them to total an otherwise restorable vehicle. But, having declared it a total loss, they will probably do nothing other than send it to salvage.

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 03:22 am Post Subject: cash my check

hi i was wondering what can i do if the insurance company mailed a check to me for my vehicle.. but it is under the previous owner and i cant cash it..

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