What Happens If My Car Is Totaled And It's Not My Fault – Since Jimmy Glaser founded Jim Glaser Law in 1996, he has dedicated his life to providing the best legal advice to his clients. His dedication has earned him recognition as one of the 100 most influential advertising attorneys in the country by the National Trial Lawyers A-List. Glaser founded The Dial a Lawyer Network, a network of trusted personal injury attorneys in all 50 states, demonstrating his commitment to helping injured individuals obtain reliable legal assistance.
Property damage often occurs after serious car accidents. In some circumstances, the insurance company may consider your car a “total loss.” Insurance companies determine that a car is a total loss if the cost of repairing the vehicle exceeds the value of the vehicle. This mostly happens to older vehicles, but new vehicles that have been in serious accidents can also be considered “totaled.”
What Happens If My Car Is Totaled And It's Not My Fault
In some situations, insurance companies will consider totaling the vehicle, even if the vehicle is worth more than repairing it, but repairing the vehicle is not very practical. Some insurance companies typically have a fixed percentage of 75 percent used — meaning if more than 75 percent of the car’s value is used for repairs, the car will be totaled.
Assessment Of Car Value After Rear End Collision
Handling a serious case like this may require the services of a car accident attorney to ensure that the insurance company performs an accurate and correct assessment of your vehicle.
Losing your car in an accident can be devastating. You need to immediately find alternative transportation to get to work, to appointments, or to take children or other family members. This can be very stressful.
In Massachusetts, if your car is a total loss, your insurance company will cover the liability. Because Massachusetts is a state that has no fault insurance.
The insurance company will give you the actual cash value of your vehicle. It determines this value by considering the following factors.
Totaled Car And Total Loss: Everything You Need To Know
If your vehicle is classic or antique or restored, you should have it appraised before insuring it so your insurance company knows exactly how much the vehicle is worth in the event of an accident.
If the payout is greater than the value of the car, it will be difficult to get the value of the vehicle after the accident. In most situations, you will still have to pay your car payments after the vehicle is totaled.
Even if your vehicle is deemed a total loss, you must continue to pay insurance premiums until you return the license plates to the Register of Motor Vehicles. If you do not have plates because they were lost or stolen, you must go to the Registry of Motor Vehicles and produce a receipt for the lost or stolen plates. If you provide this receipt to your insurance company, you can stop paying premiums and cancel your policy.
Once your car is declared a total loss and they pay you its actual cash value, your insurance company may have the option to take ownership of your car. The insurance company is entitled to the residual value of the vehicle. If you want to keep your vehicle, you can negotiate with the insurance company to purchase the car.
What To Do If Your Car Is Totaled
What happens to your car after a serious accident can be confusing and frustrating. Sometimes, involving an experienced car accident attorney can help. Call Jim Glaser Law today at 781-689-2277 or fill out our online form to request a free case evaluation. If the insurance company decides the vehicle is too damaged, then the repair costs will be higher than they actually are. If there is any value, the vehicle is declared a total loss. Just because a car is “totaled” doesn’t mean it can’t be driven again.
Most vehicles are stripped of their usable parts and sent to scrap car crushers. Each state sets its own laws and regulations covering the entire vehicle, however, some are repaired or rebuilt, get a new title and return to service – and not always in a legal manner.
In some states, the title of a totaled vehicle is labeled as a “salvage” or “flood” — or “junk” vehicle. However, other states do not provide such warnings, so unsuspecting buyers may not realize they are purchasing a totally damaged vehicle. Additionally, because state laws vary widely, a vehicle totaled in one state may have a clean title in another state with looser regulations. This is called a “title wash” and is often used by consignors to sell flood-damaged properties.
Hurricanes, tornadoes and other major storms damage thousands of vehicles in total, but many are repaired and given certificates in other states that do not reveal the fresh coat of paint that hides past damage and evidence.
When Is Your Vehicle A Total Loss?
On the legal side, some wholesale vehicles are sold with titles that identify them as “salvaged” or “restored” and usually command a bargain price compared to vehicles with an impeccable history.
However, insurance companies may not cover these costs or charge high premiums because they are not sure that the insurance is safe and sound. Some lenders are unwilling to approve loans based on their history.
To protect used car buyers from fraud, the National Insurance Crime Bureau offers a free service called VINCheck, which verifies a car’s Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to determine whether the insurance company has suffered a total loss or stolen. Most major insurance companies participate in this service, but not all totaled vehicles are covered.
Services such as Carfax and AutoCheck and the National Vehicle Ownership Information System also offer vehicle history reports (for a fee) that search insurance and public records to report whether a vehicle has totaled or major damage.
Can You Repair A Totaled Car?
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What Happens When Your Car Is Totaled?
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Depending on your circumstances and whether you or another driver was at fault in the accident, damage to your car may be covered by your insurance policy or by the other driver. If you file an insurance claim, your insurance company (and the other driver’s) will assign a claims adjuster to your case. It is the adjuster’s job to determine how much their company will pay on the claim.
Your Car Repair may be totaled or determined to be a total loss if it is not repaired or repaired. Insurance companies have their own formulas for determining this. For example, if repairs to your vehicle cost more than 80% of its value, the insurance company may call your vehicle a total loss. If your car was worth $15,000 at the time of the accident, an 80% deductible means repairs will not be allowed if the cost is more than $12,000.
How Do Car Insurance Companies Calculate Total Loss Value?
Claims against other drivers are covered under their policy’s property damage liability coverage. If your policy covers damage to your car, it will be added to your collision coverage or comprehensive coverage if you have it. Collision coverage is comprehensive protection for damage to your car caused by an accident with another vehicle, fire or other things such as falling trees.
The easiest way to deal with a wrecked car after an accident is to let the insurance company pay you.
If you choose to pay off and still owe money on your car loan, the insurance company will issue a check to you and your lender. After paying off your loan, the remaining money is yours. However, if the amount paid by the insurance company is less than the amount you owe
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