total loss News

Survey: How Communication Affects Satisfaction in Auto Claims Process

Drivers who have had their car declared a total loss are noticeably impacted by how carriers communicate them. That’s according to survey of U.S. policyholders that shows drivers’ emotional state and their overall satisfaction with their carrier are affected by …

5th Circuit Rejects Class-Action Suit that Alleged Autosource Software Undervalued Total Loss Claims

A federal appellate court reversed a trial court’s decision to certify a class of plaintiffs in a lawsuit that alleged State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. undervalued total-loss claims by Louisiana claimants. A panel of the 5th Circuit Court of …

Divided Appellate Panel Upholds Total Loss Valuations Using CCC Software

An insurer that used CCC Intelligent Solutions software to determine the payout for a claimant’s vehicle did not violate a Florida law that sets forth only three methods that auto insurers may use to determine actual cash value, a divided …

Detroit Apartment Building Fire Injures 11, Displaces 20

DETROIT (AP) — About a dozen people were hurt in an apartment building fire early Friday morning on Detroit’s west side. Twenty people were displaced and 11 people suffered injuries including smoke inhalation, bumps and bruises, Fire Chief James Harris …

Bangladesh Owner to Get $22.48M After Ship Explosion in Ukraine

Insurers are about to pay state-owned Bangladesh Shipping Corp. (BSC) $22.48 million for its vessel that was hit by a missile during fighting in Ukraine, two officials involved said on Tuesday. The expected settlement is one of the first shipping …

Tesla, Insurers Take Different Paths to Deal with Expensive Repairs

Tesla Inc’s electric vehicles are expensive to repair – so much so that the automaker and insurers are addressing the issue in sharply different ways. Chief Executive Elon Musk says Tesla is making design and software changes to its vehicles …

Fire a Growing Risk to Shipping Because of Lithium-ion Batteries, Allianz Says

Fire has always been a peril for shipping, but the advent of lithium-ion batteries has elevated the risk to the point that it now is the most expensive cause of loss for the industry, according to a new bulletin issued …

8th Circuit: Insurer Owes for Total Loss Despite Payment for Previous Damage Claim

In March 2019, a fire damaged Craig and Katie Shaw’s house outside the hamlet of Adams in rural southern Minnesota. Two months later—before the Shaws made repairs—a second fire burned the house to the ground. Farm Bureau Property & Casualty …

What Does it Mean to ‘Total’ a Vehicle?

Nowhere is the difference between “knowing” something and “understanding” something more evident than when it comes to the relationship between “totaling a vehicle” for insurance purposes and the concept of salvage vehicles under state law. Everybody knows what it means …

Viewpoint: Riots Expose Serious Deficiencies in Property Insurance Policies

The riots that took place in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area during the George Floyd protests caused serious damage to many buildings. Several building owners, to their dismay, found their property insurance policies failed to properly respond to the debris removal …