 TITLE: What Happens if Your Car Is Totaled? CONTENT: What Does It Mean When Your Car Is Totaled?\n-------------------------------------------\nA standard auto insurance policy normally won't pay to fix your car if it's been totaled. When your car is totaled, the insurance company has decided the repairs would cost more than the car is worth, or that the car is simply beyond repair. So, if needed repairs would cost $15,000 but the vehicle is valued at $13,000, the insurer is likely to declare it a total loss. In some states, an insurer might be required to total your car if repair costs would exceed a certain percentage of the car's value.\nOnce a car is totaled, your insurer might then owe you the actual cash value of your car, depending on what your auto insurance policy says. Your insurer will figure out the actual cash value of your totaled car by considering the following information about the vehicle:\n*   Make and model\n*   Age\n*   Mileage\n*   Condition\n*   Resale value of the parts and metal (known as the salvage value)\n*   Possibility of unseen damage (leaks, alignment issues, etc.)\n*   How in-demand the vehicle is in your local auto market\nActual cash value refers to the sale price the car could have reasonably fetched on the open market before it was crashed. It differs from another term you may have heard regarding auto insurance: replacement cost value. Replacement cost refers to what it would cost to purchase a brand-new car comparable to one that's been totaled. Not all auto insurance policies offer replacement cost as an option.\nKeep in mind that your auto insurance premium will be higher if you go with replacement cost value coverage instead of actual cash value coverage. END