What to do if your car is totaled

What to do if your car is totaled

Uh-oh…your car is totaled. Or is it? “Totaled” is a word that gets thrown around a lot when it comes to car accidents, but the term actually has a very specific definition. It is only used in insurance when the damage to the car falls under a particular set of circumstances set by your insurance.

It’s not the driver’s responsibility to determine if the car is totaled. That falls onto the driver’s insurance adjuster and the car insurance company. Being more informed about total losses and how insurance companies handle them can help drivers feel more prepared if their car ever suffers severe damage.

What does “totaled” mean?

So what does it actually mean, and when is a car considered “totaled?” Insurance companies typically designate vehicles as a total loss when the cost to fix the damage is more than the car’s value or if the car can’t be repaired at all for some reason or another.

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