6 When the adjuster has finished his or her work, he or she will inform you how much money you’ll be given. However, if you don’t agree on the amount, you can ask for an appraisal based on the appraisal clause found in most policies. (Be sure to check if it’s in yours!) An insurance company can also request anappraisal. If there was an accident, the adjuster will look at the first party (you) and the third party(ies) (anyone else involved). One factor reviewed will be comparative negligence . This is the percentage of fault the involved parties have. Another factor is negligence — not being careful enough while driving. The adjuster will also look at the actual cash value , your car’s worth before the accident. He or she may look at the book value , as well. This is the average sale investment for your car if it were in good condition and just serves as a guide. Of course, this person will also have to investigate how much value your car lost because of the damage. This is called appearance allowance . If fixing your car costs more than it’s worth, it’s considered a total-loss claim — in other words, your car’s been “totaled.” Make sense? I hope so. One thing I want to make clear is that this is the place where your premiums can change. For example, if you cause an accident, your rate per unit will possibly go up. If you go a long time without any accidents or tickets, your rate may go down.Much of this depends on your insurance compan y. TERMS TO KNOW ABOUT CLAIMS Next up, I want to go over the terminology involved with claims. A claim is the official request you give to the insurance company to ask that you be reimbursed for a loss. A claims adjuster (also known as an insurance adjuster ) is the person who will confirm the loss and figure out how much money the company will pay you.
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