Clear Lake Car Wreck - What is my car worth? Insurance Unreasonable

There is nothing more frustrating after a Clear Lake car wreck that wasn't your fault than to find out that you are without a vehicle and cannot get answers to your questions from the insurance adjustor.  This blog will answer the questions most people have about handling and settling their property damage disputes.  Future blogs will discuss other questions you may have about your car wreck case.

There are 2 things that can happen to your vehicle in a wreck, either it is damaged and can be repaired, or it is declared a total loss.  The general rule of thumb in determining whether a vehicle can be repaired versus declared a total loss is whether the cost to repair is less than 60% of the fair market value of the vehicle.  If it is, the it will be repaired.  If not, then it will be totaled.  Additionally, if there is frame damage or engine compartment shift, the it will very likely be declared a total loss, regardless of the cost. 

What Choices Do You Have if Your Vehicle Can Be Repaired?

Under Texas law, you have the choice of where to get your vehicle repaired.  Don't let the insurance adjustor force you to have the vehicle repaired at the insurance company's approved body  shop.  However, beware because you may be causing yourself future headaches by not going with an approved body shop.  The most common issue I see with the body shop choice deals with rental cars.  If you have your vehicle repaired at an insurance company approved body shop, the insurance company will pay for the rental for as long as it takes to repair the vehicle, no matter what.  On the other hand, if you choose your own body shop, the insurance company will only pay for your rental car for the period of time that they think is reasonable to perform the repairs.  In my 13 years of practice, handling thousands of injury claims, I have only had a few situations where the rental bill was covered 100% when my client chose their own body shop and it was not on the insurance company's approved list. 

How Does the Insurance Company Value My Vehicle if it is Totaled?

If your vehicle is declared a total loss, you should arm yourself with as much information as possible about your vehicle's value so you do not get taken to the cleaners.  Legally, the insurance company has to pay you the fair market value of the vehicle as of the moment before the impact.  Fair market value is difficult to determine and most insurance companies use very low values. 

There are several ways to arm yourself with information.  There are 3 websites I use on a regular basis, but one seems to be the most accurate.  www.edmunds.com; www.kbb.com; and www.nada.com.  Each of the sites require you to input specific information about your vehicle in order to come up with average, clean, and excellent trade and retail values.  www.nada.com provides 2 values, clean trade and clean retail, which generally gives me the parameters of pricing to confirm the insurance company's value.  The insurance adjustor will tell you that they do not use any of these sites, but it is hard to argue against them. 

Another valuation method I use is to take the year, make, and model (with extras) of your vehicle and compare it to similar vehicles within a 50 mile radius of your zip code on www.cars.com and www.autotrader.com.  If you find vehicles on those sites that are similarly priced, with similar features and mileage, you can use that in your negotiations with the adjustor. 

Remember, the insurance adjustor is not working for you.  He is working for his employer, trying to save the insurance company money, however he can.  Why do you think insurance companies run multi-million dollar advertising campaigns trying to convince you that you are in good hands, or that they are like a good neighbor???

I am a Clear Lake car wreck attorney.  I am Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.  I only help people who have been injured by someone else's negligence or that of a corporation.  Call me if you want to talk about your case.  There is no obligation to hire me or my firm.