If the damage to your vehicle is severe as a result of a collision, costs to repair and restore your car may exceed its actual worth. In situations like this, the insurance company may decide to classify your vehicle as a total loss.

The criteria used in determining what constitutes a total loss can vary from insurance company to insurance company. Some state laws state that if repair costs exceed a certain percentage of the vehicle’s value, then it must be declared totaled. This is known as the total-loss threshold, which is 80% in Florida.

If this total-loss threshold is reached, the insurance company has a responsibility to pay the vehicle’s owner the actual cash value (ACV) of the vehicle.

Problems arise in total loss cases when it comes to the insurance company deciding the ACV of your vehicle. People rarely challenge the figure the insurance company offers because they either do not realize their vehicle has been undervalued, or they do not know how to go about challenging that valuation. When you own a luxury or high-end car, the difference can be thousands of dollars.

This is where the skills and experience of The Collision Lawyer can benefit you. The Collision Lawyer has been challenging insurance companies for many years, and frequently obtains significant increases in offers to clients.

Insurance companies use various methods to decide on their ACV offer: comparable valuation, information from industry databases, and values from local auto dealers. Yet, as anyone who has bought or sold a high-end car knows, prices can vary substantially.

Once we have details of the ACV the insurance company is offering, we scrutinize their valuation and decide whether it is a fair offer. If we feel they have undervalue your vehicle, then we challenge it with our valuation based on similar factors and
methods.

With the cost and values of many luxury cars, the difference we can make to your final payment can be significant.

Insurance companies tend to calculate low ACVs. If your vehicle is a total loss and you want to ensure the offer made is fair, then fill out our form questionnaire for a free claim assessment. In most cases we only charge a fee if a recovery is made.