When you’re involved in a car accident, getting made “whole” again may take a bit of time. After tending to your health to make sure everything checks out okay, focusing your efforts on the insurance claim on your car is the next step. From the moment you alert your insurance company the wheels will start turning regarding your settlement process. When it comes to recuperating money for your vehicle, your insurance will weigh the total cost of repair versus the actual cost value to determine whether your car will be a total loss.
After a mechanic approved by your insurance company inspects the damaged vehicle from top to bottom, they will write up an estimate of how much it will cost to rebuild your car to the condition it was prior to the accident. Not only will they use their eyes and knowledge to determine the expense, sophisticated computer programs now assist in this process. They will provide that estimate to the claims agent.
The claims agent will review the paperwork to get the full scope of the situation and then do research to determine the Actual Cost Value (ACV) of your vehicle. The ACV is determined by comparing your vehicle to similar vehicles on the market. Your insurer may have software from an independent provider that gauges the car’s value or they may rely on methods such as gathering information from their network ofauto dealers, private parties or recent sales history documentation.Finally, the car repair estimate is compared with the ACV and if the cost of repairing the damage is more, then your car will be declared a total loss and you will be compensated.
Consider this scenario. A driver of a 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid in good condition with 125,000 miles could expect to get around$4,675 for the trade-in value of the vehicle. If that car is involved in an accident that would require $5,000 worth of repairs and the insurer would cut their losses and provide you with that value instead.
Car insurance policy levels forcomprehensive, collision, rental reimbursement, medical payments and the like fluctuate from provider to provider and are based on the amount of coverage you purchase.
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