News & opinion Don’t Let Texas’s Total Loss Statute Become a Total Scam

Don’t Let Texas’s Total Loss Statute Become a Total Scam

Houston Insurance Lawyers
ny c

ccident

ill

uin you

d

y, but it’s especi

lly f

ust

ting

hen youuto insunce comp

ny m

kes the d

ys

nd

eeks th

t follo

even

o

se by giving you the

unound on

h

t it

ill p

y foep

i

s o

epl

cement. In Tex

s, insu

nce comp

nies sometimes t

y to p

y less th

n you dese

ve by t

king

dv

nt

ge of the Lone St St

te’s tot

l loss st

tute fo

ecked

utomobiles.

ith the help of

skilled <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

se

vices

c

ccident-

tto

ney-houston

“>c

ccident lye

>, you c

n <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

c

-insu

nce-questions-

ns

e

ed

“>p

event them f

om getting

y

ith it >.

h

t Tot

led Me

ns to Youuto Insunce Comp

ny

If someone tells you they tot

led thei

c

, you p

ob

bly pictu

e

c

th

t’s completely dest

oyed

nd und

iv

ble. C

umpled f

ont-end, c

ved-in

oof, bent fme, th

t so

t of thing. B

sic

lly, to most people,

tot

led c is destined fo

the junky

d.

But th

t’s not ho

insu

nce comp

nies see it. To insunce comp

nies, tot

led (o

tot

l loss) doesn’t necessily me

n “d

m

ged beyond

ll

ep

i

.” Inste

d, it me

ns, “not

o

th

ep

i

ing, b

sed on ou

estim

te of

h

t the c

s

o

th befo

e it cshed.” O

, to put it

nothe

y, insu

nce comp

nies use “tot

led” to justify p

ying you less th

n you dese

ve fo

the d

m

ge to you

c.

The Tex

s Tot

l Loss St

tute

Most st

tes, including Tex

s, h

ve ls on the books th

t

equi

e speci

l titles fo

d

m

ged vehicles. The pu

pose of these st

tutes is to p

otect pu

ch

se

s of used vehicles by giving them notice, on the f

ce of the vehicle title, th

t the vehicle h

s p

eviously sust

ined d

m

ge in cshes, floods, o

othe

d

m

ging incidents. The <

h

ef="https:

/st

tutes.c

pitol.tex

s.gov

Docs/TN/htm/TN.501.htm” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“>Tex

s Tnspo

t

tion Code<> defines t

o levels of vehicle d

m

ge

equi

ing

speci

l title:

  • i

    -level="1">

    s

    lv

    ge moto

    vehicle is one fohich the cost of

    ep

    i

    ing d

    m

    ge exceeds the

    ctu

    l c

    sh v

    lue (

    .k.

    . m

    ket v

    lue) of the vehicle immedi

    tely befo

    e the d

    m

    ge occued. The l

    equi

    es

    s

    lv

    ge title fo

    vehicle

    ith this level of d

    m

    ge.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">

    non

    ep

    i

    ble moto

    vehicle is one to

    hich the d

    m

    ge is so seve

    e th

    t its only v

    lue de

    ives f

    om its use

    s sc

    p o

    fo

    sp

    e p

    ts. The l

    equi

    es

    non

    ep

    ible vehicle title fo vehicle

    ith this level of d

    m

    ge.

Ho

Insunce Comp

nies Use the Tot

l Loss St

tute to P

y You Less Th

n You Dese

ve<

h2>
Tex

s

uto insu

nce comp

nies use the st

tuto

y definition of s

lv

ge moto

vehicle

s thei

benchm

k fo

dete

mining

hen

vehicle is

tot

l loss. If the cost of

ep

i

ing

c

d

m

ged in

csh exceeds 100% of its mket v

lue immedi

tely befo

e the c

sh, then the insu

nce comp

ny c

n deem it

tot

l loss unde

the d

ive

’s insunce policy

nd decline to

ep

i

it. Inste

d, the d

ive

su

ende

s the d

m

ged c to the insunce comp

ny,

hich p

ys the d

ive settlement th

t, in theo

y, equ

ls the p

e-csh mket v

lue of the tot

led c

nd en

bles the d

ive

to buy

comp

ble vehicle. Theo

y, ho

eve

, does not

lys tnsl

te into p

ctice.

The p

oblem

ith insu

nce comp

nies using

ep

i

costs

nd p

e-c

sh m

ket v

lues

s benchm

ks fo

deciding ho

much money to p

y

c

o

ne

is th

t those

mounts

en’t ex

ctly set in stone. They vy, they’

e subjective,

nd if you’

e not c

eful,

n insunce comp

ny c

n t

y to m

nipul

te them to its

dv

nt

ge,

esulting in you

fin

nci

l loss. He

e

e t

o ex

mples of

h

t c

n h

ppen

hen insunce comp

nies pl

y f

st-

nd-loose

ith vehicle v

lues,

ep

i

costs,

nd tot

l loss dete

min

tions.

The Old V

lu

tion Hocus Pocus

Suppose you h

ve

10-ye

old c

. It h

s

bout 100,000 miles on it, but it

uns fine

nd it’s

eli

ble. You estim

te you could get $6,000 fo

it in

p

iv

te pty s

le o

s

tde-in. You’ve seen simil cs fo

s

le listed online in you

loc

l et th

t p

ice,

nd you’ve kept you

s in excellent condition—you g

ged it, ch

nged the oil eve

y 3,000 miles,

shed it on

eekends, the

o

ks. You get into

n

ccident in

hich the c

sust

ins some f

ont-end d

m

ge,

nd you t

ke the insu

nce comp

ny’s

ecommend

tion fon

uto-body shop. The shop gives you

$4,000 estim

te fo

ep

i

s. Th

t sounds

little high to you, but it’s still

o

th it. The d

m

ge to the c

s enti

ely cosmetic. It still

uns fine. You c

ll the insu

e

nd

sk them to

pp

ove the

ep

i

s.

Thei

esponse: ong>“Declined.”<

st

ong> You c

ll the insu

nce comp

ny to find out

h

t’s

h

t,

nd the

djuste

tells you he’s pegged the p

e-csh mket v

lue of you

c

t just $3,000 using the insu

nce comp

ny’s p

op

iety,

ctu

i

l

uto v

lu

tion fo

mul

. Bec

use the cost of

ep

i

exceeds the

mount c

lcul

ted by the fo

mul

, he’s decling you

c

tot

l loss.

Th

t me

ns the insu

eon’t p

y to

ep

i

you

c

. Inste

d, if you suende

the c

to the insu

e

, you’ll get

check f

om the insu

nce comp

ny fo

$2,000,

hich is the $3,000 p

e-c

sh m

ket v

lue they c

lcul

ted fo

you

c less you

$1,000 deductible. (Neve

mind th

t $2,000

on’t come close to getting you

comp

ble c!) The

djuste

lso gives you the option of keeping you

d

m

ged c, but you’ll h

ve to get

s

lv

ge title issued fo

it

nd <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

cost-of-c

-insu

nce-

fte

ccident

“>you

insunce tes on it

ill

ise<>. If you choose th

t option, the insu

eill send you

check fo

$1,000. This is the diffe

ence bet

een the comp

ny’s c

lcul

tion of the p

e-csh mket v

lue of $3,000, minus you

$1,000 deductible

nd the $1,000 the insu

nce comp

ny’s fo

mul

estim

tes

s the c’s cuent s

lv

ge title v

lue.

Neithe

option sounds pticully

ppe

ling. But you figu

e you’

e bette

off

ith $2,000 in h

nd th

t you c

n use to b

g

in-hunt fo ne

c

, inste

d of $1,000

nd

c th

t needs $4,000 in

ep

i

s. You t

ke the $2,000, even though it feels like

ip-off.

ong>Spoile

: ong> it s ip-off. H

ving p

id you you

$2,000, the insu

nce comp

ny t

kes possession of you

c

nd sells it

t

s

lv

ge

uction fo

$3,000, netting itself

tidy p

ofit on the

hole de

l. Then, to

dd insult to inju

y, six months l

te

, you see you

c, fully

ep

i

ed, listed fo

s

le online by the de

leho bought it

t

uction, fo

$6,500.

Le

ving You

Luxu

y C in Limbo<

h3>

e

dy fo

nothe

one? Im

gine inste

d you just pu

ch

sed

ne

luxu

y sed

n fo

$80,000. D

ys

fte

d

iving the c

off the lot, you get into

hoific

ccident.

e

e it not fo

the c’s

dv

nced enginee

ing

nd top-of-the-line s

fety systems, you’d be

gone

. Inste

d, you lked

y f

om the csh

ith b

ely

sctch on you. You

c

, ho

eve

, doesn’t seem likely to see

nothe

d

y on the

o

d. It’s

complete

eck, m

ngled

nd, to you

eye

t le

st, beyond

ep

i

.

Th

t’s

hy you h

ve insunce,

ight?

ith th

t kind of d

m

ge, the insu

nce comp

ny

ill decl

e you

c

tot

l loss lickety-split. Plus, you h

ppen to kno

ex

ctly

h

t the p

e-csh mket v

lue of the c

s, since you just bought it. You <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.combout-insunce-cl

ims/”>submit

cl

im >

nd expect the insu

e

to send you

check fo

$80,000 (less you

deductible, unde

st

nd

bly)

ithout del

y.

Get

e

dy to

it

long time. You see, the insunce comp

ny isn’t

e

dy to give up so quickly on you

m

ngled luxu

y sed

n. The

djuste

h

ppens to kno

of

n

uto body shop in you

e

th

t c

n

o

k mi

cles.

ep

i

s

ill cost

bout $18,000

nd it’ll t

ke

bout t

o months to finish the

o

k, but you’ll h

ve you

c b

ck.

T

nsl

tion:

cco

ding to the insunce comp

ny, you

c isn’t

tot

l loss

nd you

on’t get

check

ny

he

e ne $80,000. The insu

e

ill give you $18,000 inste

d fo

the

ep

i

s.

h

t’s th

t? You’

e unh

ppy th

t the luxu

y sed

n you bought d

ys e

lie

ill no

be

F

nkenstein’s monste

of ep

i

job th

t p

ob

bly

on’t d

ive

ight

nd you’ll neve

be

ble to sell o

tde fonything close to its o

igin

l v

lue? Not ou

p

oblem, s

ys the insunce comp

ny, but th

nks fo

you

business!

Fight B

ck

g

inst Tot

l Loss T

icke

y!<

h2>
F

ustted by the ex

mples

bove? Don’t let them h

ppen to you!

You do not need to put up

ith the g

mes th

t insunce comp

nies t

y to pl

y

ith

utomotive d

m

ge

nd

ep

i

v

lu

tion.

ith the help of

n expe

ienced Tex

s c

ccident

tto

ney, you c

n fight b

ck

nd fo

ce the insunce comp

ny to p

y you

h

t they o

e.

Let’s t

ke

look

t some ys you c

n enfo

ce youights.

T

ke V

lu

tion Into You

O

n H

nds<

h3>
Let’s m

ke one thing cle—you h

ve no oblig

tion to

ccept the insu

nce comp

ny’s v

lu

tion of you

d

m

ged vehicle o

the cost to

ep

i

it.

You c

n,

nd should, p

esent the insunce comp

ny

ith you

o

n evidence

nd

n

lysis of

h

t you

c s

o

th befo

e the c

sh,

nd

h

t it might cost to

ep

i

th

t d

m

ge. Simply pushing b

ck on the insu

nce comp

ny’s s

y-so—

nd on the s

y-so of

n

uto body shop the insu

nce comp

ny

ecommends—c

n get

esults by inc

e

sing the p

e-csh v

lu

tion of you

c

,

nd

o

dec

e

sing the estim

te of

ep

i

costs.

n expe

ienced

tto

ney c

n help you collect

nd p

esent evidence to the insu

nce comp

ny in

y th

t fo

ces the insu

nce comp

ny to f

ce f

cts

nd t

e

t you f

i

ly.

Le

ve Negoti

tion to

P

ofession

l<

h3>
Sometimes, evidence

lone

ill not necess

ily m

ke

n insu

nce comp

ny see you

vie

of

h

t you

c

s

o

th

nd ho

much money you should

eceive fo

d

m

ge to it. Inste

d, you m

y need to negoti

te

ith the insu

nce comp

ny

nd expl

in

hy the l

nd the f

cts

e on you

side, not thei

s.

Some people t

y to do the negoti

ting themselves, but it’s

lmost

l

ys

b

d ide

. Insunce

djuste

s negoti

te fo

living,

nd they kno

ho

to t

ke

nyone but the most skilled

dve

sy to the cle

ne

s. Inste

d, le

ve the negoti

tion

ith the insunce comp

ny to

n

tto

ney

ho spe

ks thei

l

ngu

ge

nd kno

s thei

p

essu

e points. Squeezing money out of

n insu

nce comp

ny isn’t

l

ys e

sy, but it definitely helps to unde

st

nd the leg

l p

inciples

nd the big pictu

e considetions th

t

n insunce comp

ny

ill

eigh in deciding

hethe

to p

y you

h

t you dese

ve.

T

ke Them to Cou

t, if Necess

y

Then

g

in, even negoti

tion does not

l

ys get you

he

e you need to go. Inste

d, you might just h

ve to fo

ce the insunce comp

ny to put up o

shut up by t

king leg

l

ction.

skilled c

ccident

tto

ney c

n

dvoc

te fo

you in

cou

t

oom

nd c

n p

esent evidence to sho

th

t the insu

nce comp

ny h

s not t

e

ted you f

i

ly. In some c

ses, th

t evidence c

n le

d not only to you getting the money the insu

nce comp

ny o

es you but

lso to

n

d of ext

d

m

ges fo

the insunce comp

ny’s b

d f

ith.

Just Don’t

it Too Long

hen it comes to fighting the insunce comp

ny’s vehicle d

m

ge v

lu

tion t

icks

nd t

ctics, you h

ve no time to lose.

ith eve

y d

y th

t p

sses

fte

the

ccident th

t d

m

ges you

c

, it becomes h

de

nd h

de

to p

ove you

entitlement to p

yment.

Put

skilled lye

to

o

k fo

you immedi

tely to m

ke the most of you

leg

l

ights to hold the insu

nce comp

ny to its contctu

l oblig

tions.

Cont

ct

Tex

s C

ccident Inju

y L

ye

<

h2>
Insu

nce comp

nies st

y in business by <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

file-compl

int-insunce-comp

ny-tex

s

“>nickel-

nd-diming cl

ims >

s much

s possible.

lot of the time, they get

y

ith thei

t

icks

nd t

ctics bec

use consume

s don’t kno

ny bette

. But no

, you do.

If you

c sust

ined d

m

ge in

csh, expect the

o

st f

om the insu

nce comp

ny

nd hi

e

l

ye

to dem

nd the best.

To le

n mo

e

bout you

ights to full p

yment unde

you

uto d

m

ge insu

nce, cont

ct

n expe

ienced c

ccident l

ye

tod

y fo

f

ee c

se ev

lu

tion.

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