Financial Information
Is it normal for Car Insurance Companies to take your car after filing a claim?
Basically I was in a car wreck, I filed a claim against the other driver’s insurance company, they agreed to pay me the face value of the car instead of repairing my vehicle. Today they called and are talking about wanting to pick up the car and the title for my car in exchange for the payment. . Is this normal? They never mentioned that I would have to give them my car.
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#2 written by David M 1 year ago
If your car was declared a total loss (which from your description it sounds like it was), then yes, it is normal for the insurance company to take possession of the vehicle in exchange for them paying you the actual cash value of the vehicle. Whether or not you can keep the car may depend on the salvage laws in your area. Some allow you to keep the vehicle after it has been declared a total loss. If so, this is something you would need to work out with the insurance company.
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#4 written by Sunidaze 1 year ago
They’re paying you for the value of the car…essentially meaning they decided it was a total loss…if you accept the settlement, the car is now their’s and the money is your’s. I’ve two cars in recent years and they were both relatively new vehicles and after I accepted the settlement offered, they (State Farm) towed the vehicles to one of their places.
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#5 written by Victoria S 1 year ago
Does not sound normal. Why don’t you call your own insurance and ask them if this is a legal issue? You need to be in contact with someone that has dealings with these kind of issues. Sounds kind of fishy to me, that they wouldn’t give you anything besides take your car. I would look into it fast before they are at your door.
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Yes, if they total your car, and give you the value of your vehicle at the time of loss, they have bought your vehicle and own it. They want to take it to a junk yard and sell parts off it to recoup their losses somewhat. If you want to keep the car you may be able to buy it from the insurance company for salvage value, which they will deduct from your settlement and allow you to keep the vehicle if that is your desire.
Keep in mind though that most city governments have a law on the books against keeping an unlicensed junk car on your property unless you store it out of sight inside your garage.