Guide
Total loss appraisal guide
A total loss claim turns on one figure: what your vehicle was worth just before the loss. This guide explains how insurers reach that figure, how to check it, and what you can do if it looks wrong, from correcting the report yourself to an independent appraisal or your policy’s appraisal clause. Rules vary by state and by policy.
These guides go deeper than our service pages. If you already know the offer is too low and want a valuation of your own, start with total loss appraisals from Autoloss.
Learn
How a total loss claim works
How the decision is made, what the valuation report says, and the order of events from accident to payment.
Learn
How insurers decide a car is totaled
Thresholds, the total loss formula, and who makes the call.
Learn
How to read an insurer’s valuation report
Each section of the report, and what to check in it.
Learn
Total loss claim timeline: accident to payment
What happens, in what order, from the accident to the check.
Compare
Disputes, related claims and side issues
The appraisal clause, challenging comparables, diminished value, keeping the vehicle, and loans.
Compare
How to invoke the appraisal clause, step by step
Written demand, two appraisers, an umpire, and who pays for what.
Compare
Disputing comparables and condition adjustments
The common problems with comps and deductions, and the proof for each.
Compare
Total loss vs diminished value: which claim applies
Repaired vehicles and totaled vehicles lead to different claims.
Compare
Keeping a totaled car: owner-retained salvage
The salvage deduction, title brands, and what follows.
Compare
Gap insurance and your loan balance after a total loss
Owing more than the car is worth, and what gap coverage does.
Decide
Deciding what to do with the offer
What to verify before you accept, and how the three ways of disputing an offer compare.
Related
Tools and reference pages
Service
Total loss appraisals
What an independent total loss appraisal is and when it helps.
Guide
Total loss settlements
What a settlement is made of: actual cash value, taxes and fees, loan payoff.
Glossary
Valuation terms
Actual cash value, comparables, salvage, umpire and other terms, defined.
State law
Oregon total loss claims
Oregon’s rules on valuation reports, undisputed amounts and appraisal costs.
Not sure whether an appraisal will help?
The claim review is free: we look at your situation and tell you whether an appraisal is likely to help. The appraisal itself is a paid report. We help from start to finish, including a custom demand letter, and our support staff is a phone call away throughout the process.