How to Get a Fair Value for My Totaled Car

You've been in a serious accident and your car was totaled. As a matter of course, your insurance company will do its own research to find out the fair market value of your totaled car and will most likely come up with a settlement figure much less than you'd hoped for. It's possible they'll limit their scope to lower-priced car listings that don't fall under current market conditions, so they could save themselves some money, hoping that you'll just accept their first offer and move on. You know your car was worth a pretty penny before it crashed, so learn here how to negotiate and get a fair market value for your totaled car.

Things You'll Need

• Insurance policy
• Insurance company report
• Kelley Blue Book trade-in value
• Internet
• Telephone

Instructions

1. Ask your insurance company for a copy of its report or worksheet of the research it performed to come up with the fair market value of your totaled car. Don't accept their first offer without doing your own homework. Arm yourself with information before even attempting to negotiate with them.

2. Search the Internet for cars for sale that are exactly like your totaled car. Be sure to match the make, model, year and unique features exactly. Keep a list of the prices you find and calculate an average.

3. Log on to Kelley Blue Book (kbb.com) and find out the trade-in value for your totaled car. Insurance companies are not required by law to offer you the Blue Book value of your car, but you should tell them what the Blue Book value is anyway to reinforce your position.

4. Find out the fair market value of your totaled car with and without the features your car has and make note of the differences. Highlight significant features and bring them to your insurance company's attention before giving in to an unreasonably low offer. Your insurance company may not be aware that your totaled car had a sunroof or heated leather seats, but that's important information for them to know. Fancy features, low mileage or brand new tires on a totaled car could easily drive up the fair market value.

5. Compare the research you did with the report or worksheet the insurance company sent you. Chances are the prices you found on the Internet won't even match what their report reveals. Make note of and attempt to verify any listings in their report that are outdated, too far away or unavailable, and make sure you point those out to your insurance company.

6. Mail, fax or email your insurance company a copy of your research and back-up information to reinforce your position. Encourage them to study your findings and compare them to their report. Politely ask them to increase their offer for your totaled car based on what you found. Include a strong yet courteous letter if you're having a particularly hard time getting results from a claims adjuster.

Tips & Warnings

• Hire an independent appraiser from a local body or car repair shop to assess the fair market value of your car and get it in writing.

• Read your auto insurance policy to determine if you have an "Appraisal Provision," which will take care of the cost of an appraisal.

• Take your insurance company to small claims court if they refuse to budge on their low offer.

• Consider arbitration or mediation if your insurance company won't pay what you consider a fair amount.

• Car listings that are over 75 miles away from your geographic area shouldn't be considered when determining fair market value because they're not in your local market.

References

• LegalMatch: Dealing with Your Insurance Company When Your Car is Totaled
• The Basics: What to Do if Your Car is Unfairly Totaled
• Understanding Your Options for a Totaled Car

Resources

• Insurance Consumer Advocacy Network (I-CAN)
• Kelley Blue Book
• Edmunds: Tips for Filing a Claim After a Serious Car Accident