After Accident Total Loss: Check Settlement Process & Value Calculator
After Accident Total Loss: A disastrous collision or bumping an animal and other such severe acts are included in a total loss auto accident. A total loss accident do involve vehicle repair but in total it’s very much complicated. Here we will discuss on insurance total loss payout and car value calculator.
A total loss claim needs to follow many steps. In order to get your claim money really fast you need to know the steps you should follow. Below are some steps one should follow after total loss auto accident in order to get your claim money fast:
One should report the claim to the insurance company as soon as possible: You cannot wait for total loss auto claim to get processed slowly. Sometimes it can take more than a month to finalize and close the claim. The speed in which the claim is processed not only depends on the insurance company but it also depends on you. So it is always better to claim as soon as possible so that insurance company can start its procedures soon too.
You should tow your vehicle to the preferred shop of your insurance company: You should get your vehicle towed to the preferred body shop of your insurance company if you feel there is good chance of your vehicle being totaled up. Usually all the companies have few appointed shops and working with them speeds up the claim process. Even if you do not like the body workshop of the company still take your vehicle towed there as no repairs are going to be done and only this will speed up the claim process. On the other hand taking your vehicle to towed company’s lot will be chargeable as it imposes a storage fees. In genera the preferred body workshop will not charge anything for storage.
Get ready with Title: Most of the times, titles seems to be missing when we need them the most. When you are sure that your vehicle is in total loss, you should know where your title is. If by any means you have lost your title, file for it at DMV. One needs to sign the title over to their insurance company.
Make sure how much you owe and if you have loan on your vehicle: when you know how much you owe, you remain ready if your current value of your vehicle is lower than your auto loan. If you have too much loan, it is better that you either have gap insurance or loan lease pay off on your car insurance. Total claims are paid on the basis of cash that you have in hand and not what you owe.
Determine value of your vehicle: It is not very much needed to research value of your vehicle. But doing so will let you know lot about your insurance company, whether or not it is ready with the full amount figure. You can find the value of your vehicle by following means:
- First of all check Kelly Blue Book for figures mentioned o your vehicle. However, the insurance companies do not pay you the exact amount but at least it helps you to value your vehicle. Kelly Blue Book acts as a convenient tool especially when you are totally unaware of the prices.
- You can also check similar vehicles in your own area. Generally, insurance claims adjusters follows the same process by going through newspaper, websites and dealerships.
- You should also collect all the recent receipts of main improvements as this affects your final payment.
Be quick and mail all your paper work as fast as possible: one needs a lot of paperwork at the time of total loss auto accident, in case you have loan on your vehicle you have to sign power of attorney that will transfer the ownership of the vehicle to insurance vehicle after the loan is paid.
Some tips to follow for total loss paperwork
- While signing the power of attorney, maintain the same signature as on title.
- Also confirm whether you can fax the documents from the agent’s office to the insurance company.
If you wish a smooth insurance claim then you need to communicate. Taking one step at a time, try to work in sync with your claims adjuster. Be sure that the insurance company has your easily available contact number and contact you whenever needed. Read more article son rozyjos.
More Related Queries:
- after accident total loss
- total loss accident settlement/car value calculator