Were You Fairly Compensated in the Vehicle Total Loss Process?

If you filed a total loss claim after a car accident, you may not have received all of the compensation you should have. In some states, insurance companies are expected to cover costs beyond just the fair market value of the car, but in some cases, they don’t.

Car accident fees and charges can pile up quickly, and policyholders should be assured that they will receive compensation to cover them.

In 2015, J.D. Power conducted a study into the vehicle total loss process, noting that severe claims including total loss car claims were on the rise. This finding was coupled with the fact that severe claims had an effect on policyholders’ satisfaction with the vehicle total loss process as a whole.

Now, lawyers are launching an investigation into cases where insurance companies failed to pay additional costs like taxes and fees to their policyholders whose vehicles were a total loss.

About Total Loss Car Accident Claims

Total loss car accident claims are insurance claims made after a vehicle was totaled. The term “totaled” refers to a car that has been so damaged in an accident that the value of the car itself is less than what it would cost to repair the damage, according to Value Penguin.

Whether or not a car was totaled is determined by the insurance adjuster. In many cases, a policyholder is then given the fair market value of the car after they file a successful claim.

However, other costs associated with totaling a car and then acquiring a new car are not always covered. Some other fees that a policyholder may incur during the vehicle total loss process are sales tax, title transfer fees, tag transfer fees, and more. Injuries and lawsuits are a completely different matter.

As they are expenses incurred as a result of an accident, in the case of many policies, they may be covered under a total loss claim. However, some insurance policies may only cover the fair market value of the car, even though state law may require them to cover more. Consumers may not be getting all they’re owed after a total loss car accident.

Total Loss Car Accident Lawsuits

GEICO and State Farm are two car insurance companies that have been accused of short-changing policyholders. Some policyholders have taken action and have filed lawsuits against their insurance providers for allegedly not compensating them for additional costs related to a totaled vehicle.

In a total loss lawsuit against GEICO, policy holders argued that fees beyond the fair market value of the car are included in the “actual cash value” covered by the policy.

To support their argument, the policyholders who field the GEICO total loss lawsuit argued that expenses like sales tax and title fees are unavoidable to customers who go through the vehicle total loss process and therefore should be covered.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.