The Paperwork After the Offer

Accepting a total loss settlement is not the end of the process. There is a defined sequence of documents, and each missing one delays your payment.

What the insurer needs from you

• The title, signed over, if you own the vehicle outright. If you cannot find it, start the DMV duplicate title process immediately, because it takes time and nothing moves without it.
• Lienholder details if there is a loan, so the carrier can obtain the payoff amount directly.
• Both sets of keys, usually. Missing keys can reduce the salvage value and can hold up settlement.
• A signed settlement or power of attorney document depending on the carrier's process.
• Odometer disclosure where required.

What you must do for yourself

1. Remove everything from the vehicle. Once it goes to salvage, it is gone. Check the trunk, the glovebox, under the seats, the garage remote, the toll transponder and any child seats.
2. Take your license plates unless instructed otherwise, and follow the DMV's guidance on what to do with them.
3. Notify the DMV as required for a vehicle that has been totaled, and follow the current instructions on their site — the salvage certificate process is theirs, not the insurer's.
4. Do not cancel your insurance until the settlement is complete and, if you are replacing the car, until the new one is covered. A gap in coverage is a lasting and avoidable cost.

Where the money goes

If there is a lienholder, they are paid first from the settlement and you receive whatever remains. If the payoff exceeds the settlement, the shortfall is yours unless gap protection applies. If you own the car outright, the payment comes to you.

Keeping the vehicle

Some carriers allow an owner retention, where you keep the wreck and the settlement is reduced by its salvage value. Think carefully. The vehicle will carry a salvage brand, returning it to the road requires meeting California's inspection and revived-salvage registration requirements, and physical damage coverage afterward may be limited or unavailable. It can make sense for a mechanically sound car with cosmetic damage. It rarely makes sense otherwise.

Timing

Once the paperwork is complete, payment normally follows within the timeframes the Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations set out. If it does not, ask the adjuster in writing what is outstanding.

When the replacement car arrives, send us the VIN and we will have coverage ready before you drive it home.