Total Loss in Spokane – Consumers Beware of This Process

March 3, 2014 Héctor E. Quiroga Immigrants in History

When will an insurance company declare your vehicle a total loss in a Spokane Washington?

Is your vehicle a total loss in Spokane or you are going through this process nearby? Every county has the same requirements for the entire state (in this case, Washington). However, every county, including Spokane county, have differing practical ways to approach the total process.

You know the story, you’re driving on I-90 when a careless driver forgets that the snow and ice will make the roads slippery and that slowing down is the prudent thing to do. He loses control and collides with your vehicle. I could never really understand why we forget that driving in the snow is dangerous. It seems that the first snow of every year takes its toll when it comes to vehicle collisions. They are sure busy during this time.

This is only the beginning of what a can quickly become a pain in the neck. Quite literally. If your vehicle is an accident during the winter times, Spokane County vehicle repair facilities may be operating at their maximum capacity. This is no different for the handful of vehicle rental companies that may or may not have a proper rental vehicle for you.

Insurance companies and their adjusters are no different. They will be busy to answer their calls, go inspect your vehicle, and write an estimate of damages. If the insurance company does not declare the vehicle a total loss, then how do you know the vehicle is really totaled? We don’t, until they inspect it.

I know this sounds silly. In many vehicle collisions, it is obvious that you will not be able to fix or otherwise put the pieces together so your car is safe and reliable again. However, the total loss process begins the moment the insurance company decides that the vehicle maybe in the threshold of being a complete loss. When the adjuster reaches the vehicle, it will do an inspection and it will write an estimate of repair.

The adjuster will get a warning if the estimate of repair is too high or reaches the guideline which will indicate to the adjuster that it will be cheaper to paid you for what they believe the fair market value of the is. They will also take into account the expense of a rental car, you have that coverage, and your car is going to be repaired.

Total Loss in Spokane | The Real Evaluation of the Value of Your Car

What is most irritating for consumers is that adjusters will not disclose what carrier believes to be the fair market value of the vehicle; at least not at this point. They would tell the consumer that they will hire a third party independent company to do the proper fair market value evaluation. They typically hire a company referred to as CCC. They will do a fair market evaluation of your vehicle and that’s the value they will release to you. The issue is these independent companies are not that independent. They work for the insurance industry. If they tender low values then they would get more work. Who will refer them the most amount of work? Insurance adjusters, of course!

That CCC report will not be processed and released to the consumer until may be a few weeks later. Thus, when the insurance adjuster inspects the vehicle and writes an estimate, the CCC report has not even been ordered. In other words, how can do we know that the vehicle’s value is less than what the cost of repair is going to be?

I am not sure, but they do know, and they don’t have a very good explanation to this preconceive value. They know the minute data investigating your claim that they will save any money they can by trying to goad the cheapest route for the insurance company. It is a business decision; it has nothing to do with the real value of your car or whether or not your car will be safe to drive again.

After the insurance company notifies you that your vehicle is a total loss in Spokane (or anywhere in Washington), they will not be responsible to provide you for a rental car for more than three (3) days after that date. It doesn’t matter that you have for coverage, or that you have rental coverage, or that he wasn’t even your fault. You are supposed to get a new vehicle within three days. I should also mention that he does not matter if you were even injured and cannot go car shopping.

It is as important to note that the insurance company does not even have to make you an offer of settlement or even tell you what they believe what the value of the vehicle maybe. All they have to tell you is that the vehicle is a total loss, and this allows them to only pay only for three days of rental.

Most of the time, total loss vehicles are moved to our local salvage yards, but the biggest one and most common in Spokane is COPART salvage yard. This is where the vehicle will be auctioned off.

This is an unfair process, and you have to be wary of the estimate, the vehicle evaluation report, and of any other documentation the insurance company will use to support a settlement offer.

If you have been injured in a vehicle accident and your vehicle is a total loss, please contact the Quiroga Law Office, PLLC at (509) 927-3840. We can assist you in this process.