Before you accept a total loss offer: a checklist

What you need in front of you

• The insurer’s full valuation report and the settlement breakdown.
• Your window sticker, build sheet or purchase contract.
• Service records and receipts for tires, major repairs and added equipment.
• Photos of the vehicle from before the loss.
• Your policy, including the physical damage section.

The checklist

1. Trim and options. The report names your trim level and lists your factory packages.
2. Mileage. The mileage in the report matches the odometer at the time of the loss.
3. Comparables. Each one is the same year and trim, with similar mileage, from a market you would shop in.
4. Condition deductions. Each deduction refers to something identifiable on your vehicle.
5. Additions. Recent tires, major repairs and aftermarket equipment you can document have been considered.
6. Taxes and fees. Sales tax and title or registration fees are included where your state requires them.
7. Deductions from the total. Your deductible is correct, and any salvage, prior damage or other deduction is explained.

The first four are worked through in detail in how to read the valuation report. This page is the short version for the day the offer arrives.

If you owe money on the vehicle

Compare the settlement with your lender’s payoff figure before you agree. If the settlement is lower, find out now whether gap coverage applies and what it leaves out. See gap insurance and your loan balance.

Read what you are asked to sign

Total loss paperwork usually includes several documents, and they do different things.

If a release covers more than the vehicle, for example injury claims, or you do not understand its scope, ask an attorney before signing. Autoloss is not a law firm and cannot advise you on a release.

What accepting usually closes off

• The valuation dispute. Once you sign a release and accept payment as full settlement, reopening the value is difficult.
• The appraisal clause. A policy’s appraisal process is meant for an open disagreement about the amount of loss. Demand it before you settle. See how to invoke the appraisal clause.
• Keeping the vehicle. After the title transfers, the vehicle goes to salvage. If you want to keep it, say so first.

If you need more time

Tell the adjuster in writing that you are reviewing the valuation and when you expect to respond. Ask whether the insurer will pay the amount it does not dispute while the rest is reviewed. Some states require that, and Oregon is one; see our Oregon total loss claims page. Ask too when rental coverage ends, since it often stops soon after the offer.

If something on the checklist fails

One or two clear errors can usually be fixed by sending the adjuster the document that proves them. Wider problems call for a choice between disputing it yourself, an independent appraisal and the appraisal clause, which we compare in total loss options compared. Our total loss appraisal page describes the report, and the claim review is free.