[Wichita-SCCA] Jeeps Cause Pain

[Greg Laws]

Hi Dave,

Ned is correct, almost.  In a situation where the owner of the vehicle "retains salvage" the actual agreement between the insurance company and the owner(s) is strictly a financial one.  The salvage value is subtracted from the ACV and the remainder (plus appropriate local sales tax and fees) is then paid to the owner(s).  The actual title does not change hands nor is it disturbed in any legal sense ... at least that was the way things were done until two or three years ago when a new state law went into effect.

Things still are handled in the same old way for older cars now.  I think that the break between older and newer is 1992 or maybe 1993 at present.  It changes one model year every calendar year.  The newer cars now get a replacement title branded "Salvage" that replaces the original.  That's assuming that there is a paper title to begin with.  The state only issues a paper title now when there is no lien.  If there is a lien on the car then no actual title exists because the state keeps the title record only in the computer database. All the owner(s) gets is a notation on his vehicle registration.

In the event of a total loss involving a lien, the lien holder gets paid first which hopefully will be sufficient to pay off the loan and thus release the lien.  Only the remaining balance, if any, would go to the owner but he would get a clear title branded "Salvage" if he elected to owner-retain salvage.  It gets more complicated than that if the owner(s) is upside-down in his loan.  

See why old retired adjusters are so cranky?  It's because they constantly have to sort through all this legal crap and paperwork just to get to what should have been common sense all along!   

  a.. Oops!  Sorry.  Political statement from a cranky old retired adjuster is now completed.   
Anyway, there are only two good pieces of advise that I can give anyone regarding insurance anymore.  The first is to always buy gap insurance if you buy a late model car and especially if you buy a new domestic car.  The second is to shop around for coverage every year or two.  All insurance companies sell the same policy for auto coverage because the basic language and coverage all has to be approved by the state Insurance Commissioner.  The policy language is thus almost identical between companies and so are the premiums pretty much, although the underwriters continue to surprise upon occasion with their radical ups & downs in pricing due to their astute tea leaf reading -- oops, there I go again.  Anyway, don't stay with a company for loyalty because they seldom would have loyalty for you if there were to be a claim.  Unless you're rich of course.  Oops!  It seems there's no controlling my political statements tonight.  It's far too late and I'm getting cranky again.  Time for bed.

Signing off,
Greg Laws


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: AeroNed at aol.com 
  To: wichita-scca at wichitascca.org 
  Sent: Sunday, March 18, 2007 9:29 PM
  Subject: Re: [Wichita-SCCA] Jeeps Cause Pain


  A couple years ago, I hit a deer with a Corvair that I had just finished restoring. I had much more invested in that car then it was worth. I also had 'regular' insurance on the car, not antique or stated value. The deer collision was covered by collision, my agent called it "an act of God."

  Anyhow, the adjuster totaled the car for $1600 worth of damage. After a small amount of negotiation, we settled on the value of the car and the salvage value. I told my agent that I wanted to buy back the car. No problem, got a check for the value minus the salvage value. The title never left my hands. What happened to the car after that is another story...

  Ned





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