Finance

My Car was Totaled after my wreck. What Does that Mean?

The term “totaled” is an insurance industry expression. It is short for “total loss”, and they use it to refer to vehicles so damaged that the cost of repairs plus its salvage value would be more than the current value of the vehicle, resulting in a substantial financial loss for the insurance company. The car insurance policy holder usually gets a choice: take the monetary amount offered and hand over the vehicle, or accept no money and keep the wrecked car. If the policyholder keeps the car and rejects the money, the insurance company usually will not reinsure the car after restoration. Normally, insurance companies pay the cheaper cost of buying a replacement vehicle instead of paying to repair the old one.

Once the car insurance company has the totaled vehicle in their possession, they can sell it to the public, to auto dealers, auto brokers, or auto wreckers. If the damage to the vehicle is minor to moderate, the company may have it restored to its original condition before selling it. Before going back out on the road, the vehicle must endure a government-approved inspection ensuring its safety. If the damages are too extensive to repair safely, then the insurance company has it sold for parts or scrapped totally.

How to Make a Fire Insurance Claim

Claiming fire insurance is also a tricky thing. Like in flood damage here too damage is not visible sometimes. As a result you will make your claim on the visible damages but damages to your electronic equipment will be noticeable only after some time. Though you cannot assess the damage to your electronic equipment an experienced insurance assessment company is able to do that. Get such a company to do the assessment and make the insurance claim on your behalf. When the loss assessors visit you, you are ready with all the details; hence the loss adjusters cannot cut down value of your claim.