If you were in a car accident in East Point and your car was declared a total loss, you do not have to accept the insurance company’s initial valuation of your vehicle. After all, they may have a financial motivation to undervalue your car because it helps them minimize the payout in your case.
An East Point car accident lawyer from Kaine Law can help you get the full value for your car, giving you maximum buying power when you get back in the market. If you decide to keep the car and repair it yourself, getting the most money possible from the insurance company, as well as the proper value for your vehicle, can pay the cost of repairs. In either case, you have the right to fight for maximum value for your vehicle.
How Can an East Point Total Loss Lawyer at Our Firm Help You?
Dealing with insurance companies can be a challenge because they are always watching their bottom line, while you naturally want the highest value possible for your property. Kaine Law’s total loss attorneys have been helping people in East Point and all over Georgia recover the compensation they deserve for multiple decades. Examples of how a total loss lawyer from our firm can help you include:
- Fighting for the maximum valuation and countering unreasonably low insurance company valuations made in bad faith.
- Researching your car’s market value through a variety of sources (e.g., Kelly Blue Book, current for-sale listings)
- Getting estimates on the costs of repairing your vehicle (if you want to go the salvage title route)
We will also run point for you with the insurance company and represent you throughout the process. We will manage the phone calls and emails and negotiate the value of your vehicle or the total loss check.
This work can be stressful for accident victims under the best circumstances but even more difficult if you have accident-related injuries. If you do, our East Point personal injury lawyers can represent you in a personal injury claim as well.
For a free legal consultation with a total loss lawyer serving East Point, call 404-214-2001
Why Are Cars Declared Total Losses After Accidents?
After an accident, the insurance company will send an adjuster out to assess the damage to your vehicle and the cost to repair it. If the adjuster estimates the cost of repairing your vehicle exceeds its fair market value, they will declare it a “total loss,” and instead of paying repair costs, they will cut you a check for its full market value.
This can become an area of contention between insurance companies and car owners because insurers can use different formulas to calculate repair costs and vehicle value. Of course, you want the most money possible for repairs or total value, but the insurer may want to do the opposite and give you the minimum amount possible.
What Determines a Car’s Fair Market Value?
Several distinct factors go into determining the fair market value for your vehicle. Some of them include:
- Model year (usually newer cars are worth more unless you had a “classic” car)
- Mileage (Cars depreciate with mileage and time, so the less mileage is on your car, the higher its value is likely to be)
- Condition
- Desirability (Some cars are more sought after by car buyers)
East Point Total Loss Lawyer Near Me 404-214-2001
What If You Disagree That Your Car is a Total Loss?
There are several reasons you may disagree with the insurance company’s decision to declare it a total loss. The car may have sentimental value to you because it’s been in your family for a long time. Alternatively, it may be a rare vehicle that would be very difficult to replace on the open market. In any case, you do have the option to reject the insurance company’s declaration of your vehicle as a total loss.
If you go that route and keep the car, then the insurance company may make a settlement offer. Bear in mind, however, that this settlement offer may not be enough to make the repairs necessary to get your car back on the road. With that, you would have to pay any repair costs above the insurance company’s offer by yourself.
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What If You Accept the Total Loss Declaration?
If you accept the insurance company’s declaration that your car is a total loss, they will write you a check for what they estimate as its full, fair market value. Then, your vehicle will be towed away from the body shop (or your home) and taken to a salvage yard, which sells the usable parts from the vehicle. Selling these usable parts from the vehicle may allow the insurer to recoup some of the cost they paid in cutting you the total loss check.
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What About Rental Car Coverage?
If you have rental car coverage as part of your insurance policy, or the negligent driver’s insurance company is paying your rental car costs, they will usually stop paying for the rental car within 24-48 hours or make a settlement offer.
In most cases, they will not pay for “extra” time in the rental to facilitate you looking for another car or arranging to repair it on a salvage title.
Hire an East Point Total Loss Lawyer at Our Firm Today
If you have been involved in a car accident in East Point and the insurance company wants to declare your vehicle a total loss, you have options. You don’t have to accept their estimation of the vehicle’s fair market value. The same thing applies to their settlement offer for your vehicle.
Even if you’re not sure which direction you want to go, contact our firm for a free case evaluation. Unlike the insurance company, which is worried about their bottom line, Kaine Law is only worried about your best interests. We would love the chance to fight for you or just give you our professional opinion about your case. Don’t hesitate to call us about your total loss case.
Call or text 404-214-2001 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
