Hello everybody, I'm looking for some advice on whether it’s worth pushing back on an insurance total loss decision.
I drive a 2023 Toyota Venza, and the ACV is around $30k. The repair estimate from a State Farm partner shop came out to about $18k, which seems pretty far below the car’s value, so I’m confused why they’re calling it a total loss. The accident itself wasn’t that severe and was concentrated on the front-side corner. Airbags didn’t deploy, and the car was still drivable afterward.
I'm from Arizona and from what I understand, insurers usually total a car when repair costs get close to a certain percentage of the vehicle’s value, so this doesn’t quite add up to me. Has anyone successfully challenged something like this? Is it worth getting a second estimate or independent appraisal, or am I missing something about how these decisions are made?
Any input or similar experiences would be really helpful. Thanks!
Worth trying to reverse car total decision?
byu/MeloMelo32 inInsurance
Posted by MeloMelo32
2 Comments
An $18,000 estimate can quickly become a $25,000+ repair once supplements are submitted.
You can of course ask the adjuster for clarification, but would you rather: have the vehicle totaled now, OR, would you rather have it torn down with supplements submitted, find out 3 weeks from now that it should have been totaled, OR, would you rather repairs start, then supplements are submitted showing the vehicle should have been totaled, but since repairs started, the carrier says to proceed with repairs since it’s so far gone and now you have a vehicle that should have been totaled?
It’s not just about the estimate. There is a salvage bid that they would subtract from the ACV to determine if it would cost more to fix than to total. If they got a salvage bid that says the vehicle would be worth more than $12,000 to the scrap yard, your vehicle is a total based on the repair estimate that will likely go up with supplements.