Accidents happen, we know that. But have you ever wondered what happens when an insurance company tells you your vehicle is totaled?
Why is it totaled?
If you are in an accident and the total damage to your vehicle is over 70-75% of the total value of the vehicle the insurance company may deem it a total loss.
A total loss means that the insurance company is not going to pay to repair the vehicle they are going to give you the value of that vehicle plus tax.
The Process
During the appraisal/claim process hopefully you are driving a rental vehicle because you carried Rental Reimbursement Coverage. But once the insurance company decides that it is a total loss, they will set a time frame for you to mail in a signed title so that they can send you a check for the full value of the vehicle.
This will allow you a few days to prepare and look for a new vehicle.
Once the check is mailed and received they will cut off paying for a rental vehicle, so don’t wait on looking for a new vehicle until after receiving the money.
What is I want to fix it anyway?
At times the damage to your vehicle might be major but it also might just be cosmetic. An example of this is a major hail storm damaging the entire exterior of the vehicle.
There is an option for you to buy back the vehicle from the insurance company where you can use the money they gave to try and repair verse trying to replace it.
After getting it repaired, you will be required to get what is called a Salvaged Title. This shows proof that the vehicle was once deemed totaled.
It is harder to get insurance coverage on a vehicle with a salvaged title and it is almost impossible to get coverage that includes Physical Damage Coverage.
What’s Next?
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