WS6chick

My boyfriend lost control in the rain with my TA on mother's day and ran into the curb and a sign pretty hard. He has allstate insurance so we filed the claim under them even though my car is insured under me with State Farm. They have had my car at the shop since May 12th and just called me today and told me that they are totaling it out! The thing that confuses me is that they are only supposed to total it out if the damage is more than the cash value. Well, my damage is 14,197 for parts, labor and everything and they said my cars actual cash value is 15,125 which is more than the parts. But Allstate says that they have to add the amount for the rental car fees (since I have had the rental car while my car sat in the shop) and storage fees from the tow company since my car was non drivable from the scene because the rear axle was broken. Personally I think Allstate is scamming me. They have had my car at the shop for almost 3 weeks and just told me tonight that they are totalling it out!! I am so pissed. I dont think that the rental and storage has anything to do with it. It is only supposed to be totalled out if the total damage is more than the car is worth. Can anyone PLEASE HELP me to know if I am right?

avengedws6

iTrader: (15)

do u have any pics of the car, I know some bodymen.

THE BLACK WIDOW

iTrader: (9)

if it had that much damage i wouldn't want it back........JMO

whitehooptie

iTrader: (2)

Generally, it is if the damage is 2/3 or greater the value of the car and it's toast.

Manic Mechanic

iTrader: (3)

What the insurance is telling you and doing is normal. And if that's the damage repair cost, the car is well beyond totaled to any insurance company I can think of. I had to get a wrecker company to lower their bill, provide evidence of a Firehawk Trans Am's superior value over a standard Formula, and buy many of my own parts to keep our Firehawk from being totalled a couple years back after my wife got into a fender bender. Then after I finally got the repair check going the shop pulled the bumper cover off to find the damage wasn't nearly as bad as they all predicted. So I applied the now extra money to a complete repaint after repairs. But AAA and many other companys total them after 80% of the cars value (their conservative estimates) has been reached. Towing and storage all apply as do rentals I suppose. So choose your after collision actions carefully, get a complete estimate from the towing company or use a tow plan from another source (AAA, cell phone, etc.) Store it on your property if possible, and don't ask for a rental unless it's necessary. Life's not all rainbows and unicorns you know. It's everyone for themselfs.

Vernon

SLV_WS6

iTrader: (48)

Typically if it 75% of the value they total it, correct me if I am wrong but that seems like alot of money in parts, oh and wtf thats like the 3rd TA down in May from Tech...sucks

LeadfootDuramax

iTrader: (6)

I was told after my wreck last year that it was 60% of the value because they assume they will find more damage when they get it apart.

X2 on the pics. If there is really that much damage, I wouldn't want it back either. What shop is it at? A dealer?

viper9403

iTrader: (14)

As stated above if its more then 75% of the value they will total it out.

SLV_WS6

iTrader: (48)

And if the air bags deploy I dont think it matters on the value than..

twitchtwice

iTrader: (12)

yeah i heard if its pass and driver airbags that deploy then its totaled.

LeadfootDuramax

iTrader: (6)

Apparently that is a common thought / rule of thumb. My mom and Stepdad wrecked their Deville a year ago and the body shop and insurance adjuster immediately said it would be totalled because both airbags deployed. They called me because it seemed strange since the bumper took most of the impact. It only needed a bumper, hood and some paint other than the airbags and windshield. After they did some calling to find out why the insurance company told them it wasn't totalled and it was a poor judgement call on the rookie adjuster. It cost some $$$ to fix, but not nearly enough to total it.

Jon05CTSV

75% of the value is state law, regardless of if the airbags deployed or not. Some insurance companies total cars at 70%, but the law is 75%. Over that, they have to be retitled as a salvage vehicle.

WS 666

iTrader: (12)

My WS6 didn't look that bad but there was a lot of unibody damage hence why it was totalled.

The minimum for insurance on property damage is 20K now. I don't think your storage fees and everything will come out above 20K. So I would assume they shoudn't be pulling the fees from storage and rental from the value of the car. Maybe I mis understood what you were saying but they should be able to go up to 20K.

RAMAIRTA18

not state law it is up to the insurance company, once vehicle has reached 75% of the acv, it is considered a total loss, if you can prove the value is higher than what the acv is they will repair the vehicle regardless if the air bags are deployed or not. you are legally required to contact the state with an email advising the vehicle is a total loss within 24 hours of determining the vehicle is a total, if not you risk getting fined by the state.The only way that a vehicle is deemed a total loss automaticlly is if the vehicle is burned, flooded, or sustains severe frame damage and the only way to repair is to replace the frame. if you do not agree with the value you have the option to take the claim to arbitration and hire an independent adjuster to inspect and evaluate the vehicle, once this is done, the mediator makes the final decision on the value of the vehicle.

the acv is the base vehicle value with standard options, other options on the vehicle will add value to the acv making the value of the vehicle higher, when i write claims using pathways i have run into issues where it hit the threshold, but the vehicle was not a total loss, i ran the value with all options and mileage and condition ratings and the value has come back considerably higher, therefore not deeming the car a total loss.

in the instance the car would have been considered a total loss at 10647 75% of the acv which is 15125

if you have any questions on how to settle the total loss feel free and give me a shout,

<-----insurance adjuster

T

SETc6

you are correct, if someone backs into you at a parking lot and your bags go off. You can Total it due to "Possible Malfunction of airbag replacement".