I bumped my total loss payout by over 5 grand

[u/fffadedev]

Guy backed out into the entire right side of my Tesla Model 3 in a parking lot. Total loss. Insurance hit me with an initial settlement offer of $22,212, ACV of $21,258.
My car was only a 2020 sure, but it was Red Multi-Coat, White Interior, 19" Sports Wheels, and literal permanent FSD. Not only that but I kept my car in great conditio, park away from other people, never eat in it, wash it regularly at self serves, you get the picture. Base-spec model 3s in my area (Columbus, OH) literally start at ~$23,000, so I knew this valuation was total bogus.

I didn't sign. I asked for the full valuation report.

Combed through the entire thing line by line and found glaring issues:

1. Their initial comps were NOT in my area at all. They selected a few vehicles all outside of Ohio over 150-200mi away, including PA.
2. None of my factory options like exterior paint and Full-Self Driving were accounted for.
3. They rated the interior/exterior condition as "Private Average" across the board with descriptions of "Few body dents and dings" and "Few scr*tches and burn marks on headliner".

I didn't get angry, yell at the adjuster, or get emotional. I set a firm boundary and sent over photos disproving their condition assessment; I pointed out that their comps were not accurate to my actual local market and handed over new ones; and I stated they missed major vehicle options.

At first, they tried to get me to hop on a phone call but I outright refused, saying I wanted everything on written record.

16 days later, after several back-and-forth emails, revision attempts, citations of Ohio Administrative Code, and a literal ODI (Ohio Department of Insurance) complaint filed, they finally came back with a reasonable revised report:

• Base value went from $21,258 to $26,107 (+$4,849)
• Sales tax increase of $387
• Total payout after $1k deductible: ~$27.5 grand

I'm not saying that this process will work for everyone; it's highly dependent on your actual vehicle case and what market data you can provide. And I'm sure not everyone's increase is going to be as massive as mine.
But I genuinely believe the software and adjustment process is designed to undervaluate your vehicle by default, and that it's absolutely worth fighting, especially if there are obvious discrepancies.

I don't see it as negotiating but rather correcting what I was owed.

Curious if anyone else here had a similar experience with a total loss...

Original vs New Letter: https://imgur.com/a/insurance-bump-5k-yKhTI7X

[u/ChumChumz]

I mean you submitted comparables for review, thats really how to do it.

You backed it up with fact not everyone does, most just say no my car is worth more and are unreasonable with it lol

[u/superman24742]

I work as an Insurance Adjuster. Teslas are a little harder because you have to get build sheets every time and make sure you get all the proper options. I would venture a guess that the most value was added by getting the correct options selected.

Depending on local market, most insurance companies won’t use private sales and radius for the company I work for starts at 75 miles then works it way out if comps aren’t available.

If you have a valuable car with lots of options, a rare packaged vehicle, or a very high end vehicle this can really help. If you have a Honda civic or Toyota Camry or Hyundai sonata, still get the report and make sure it’s correct but even if options were missed you won’t likely get near this much.

[u/fffadedev → u/superman24742]

I figured Teslas were a pain compared to most cars, for example, I don't believe White Interior is a common option yet alone one that costs factory money- same with FSD
And I definitely agree $5k is a bit of an edge case, but even just a simple comparable re-submission if the ones provided seem off can probably bump most people's valuations

In my specific case
+$1,960 was added for FSD
+$1,242 was adjusted upward for condition
and the rest was market/comparable adjustments

[u/Delicious-Witness-85]

You said it. It’s not an actual negotiation, but rather if there are issues with the valuation, contact your adjuster and let them know. This is especially true on vehicles that have several options or trim levels available.
I will say though this could have been resolved by way of a phone call.

[u/Insurance-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Trolling, being needlessly rude or insulting. We get that you don’t like AI but you at least try to address the issues.

[u/New-Strawberry2497]

Current adjuster here, looks like you made a valid argument with actual comps instead of just being "my car is a Tesla, its worth a lot". Good on you for getting a bit more from the insurance!

I'm just gonna explain how CCC One values vehicles, if it was done through them, since most carriers use it anyway and not many people have an understanding of it. Might help you understand your valuation a bit more!

The way CCC values vehicles -> Usually within a 50 mile radius and will try to pull comps with similar options or mileage. Unless the adjuster selects "Full self driving" when running the valuation, it won't account for that option. There is a 3 stage paint option we can select for estimating purposes, but I have found it doesn't really do much for the value.

Even though a lot of people will argue that their tri-coat red is an option that they paid extra for, including the white seat options, and the 19 inch wheels (I get it you pay more for the extra goodies), CCC only has options for 20 inch wheels or greater when it comes to selecting wheel options, or hypersilver options on like older classic vehicles. Same thing with white seats, there isn't an option to select for that unless it comes a package that we can select.

I've personally called CCC and have asked on their reasoning behind all this and the idea is that not every one wants a three stage red car, or white interior, or bigger wheels. They call these "preference items", as some may not want white interior due to difficulty of cleaning or bigger wheels since you get worse range. As so, some of the options people opt for aren't really factored in.

Same thing applies for any aftermarket modifications on the vehicle that are not endorsed, even with receipts of purchase, not every one would want 20inch wheels or a big, noisy exhaust, so they would be preference items and wouldn't add any value to the car.

For the condition adjustments, you got very lucky or the adjuster got tired of hearing from you, so they made that change to excellent from average private lol. That adjustment usually requires a manager approval. Insurance assumption for average private means even though somewhat well taken care of, it will still have some signs of wear and tear, whether it be light pitting on the windshield from road debris, tirewear, headliner becoming dirty, etc. Unless you can prove that the vehicle was literally put into dealer sale condition recently, by detailing/paint correcting the outside or a full detail of the interior, it's usually very difficult to change conditions unless you have photos that can prove that the seats/interior are spotless and for sale condition (90% of cars don't really meet this criteria in my opinion).

Lastly, market adjustments will be made if the adjuster does feel that the vehicle may feel undervalued after reviewing actual nearby comps that are rated "fair", once again with manager approval.

Sorry for the long explanation and congrats on getting actual cash value for your vehicle!

[u/Read_Red2596]

I was in similar situation with my model y however it had 100k miles on it so I didnt even try to negotiate. Woulda been a headache

[u/fffadedev → u/Read_Red2596]

Could be, but I've also heard of some people getting small increases simply for trying (e.g. send in a couple photos and ask for above average condition)- so it couldn't hurt to give it a shot

[u/JustAnotherGeek12345]

Are they required to share the full valuation report? 

[u/fffadedev → u/JustAnotherGeek12345]

I believe they legally are, yes, but I also think they provide it by default

[u/Last_Pomegranate4086]

this is a good example of why it pays to actually read the valuation report. asking for everything in writing and backing it up with photos seems way better than just accepting the first number they give you.

[u/Independent-Edge-857]

I bet the adjuster loved handling that claim…..

[u/AnnieO-Onymous → u/Independent-Edge-857]

As an adjuster who settled total losses, I never minded when people disputed the value of the vehicle because I know those evaluations can be flawed. I just didn't care for when people couldn't back up their counteroffer.

[u/AnnieO-Onymous]

As someone who settled total losses for years, this is the way to do it. IMO, most of the total loss evaluations I've seen are fair, but there are cases where they are flawed and can be adjusted. Do your own research and remember that your policy likely has an appraisal clause. What that means is if you dispute the value of the vehicle, you can get your own appraisal done and if you can't come to an agreement, a third party adjuster will act as the umpire to decide what's owed.

[u/Kooljazzed]

You've done well! I had a similar experience with my insurance company a few months ago. I took a similar approach and my payout was increased by 2K. My car was a 2015 Q50. The most difficult part of my experience was that the adjuster was not listening to me or address my concerns. Once a new adjuster was assigned, all issue were successfully resolved in less than 20 minutes.

[u/ShadowShogun]

When I worked as a subrogation rep reviewing the other insurer’s total loss reimbursement demand, I was shocked how often the other carrier’s total loss was wrong. We’re talking wrong sub model and packages and even the odometer reading not matching the valuation report. That’s not even things like taxes or fees being left out that would’ve been owed.

It really is worth paging through your vehicle’s valuation report to see what is or isn’t there and be comfortable asking questions if there’s something that doesn’t quite make sense.

[u/nuclearsquirrel2]

Shouldn’t you get the deductible back?

[u/q81101 → u/nuclearsquirrel2]

He probably use his own insurance, they'll subrogate, eventually he'll get deductible back.

[u/fffadedev → u/nuclearsquirrel2]

I will, I'm already in the process of directly asking the third party insurance for it so I don't have to wait on subrogation

[u/nuclearsquirrel2 → u/fffadedev]

That’s what I figured. It only took Progressive about a month after giving me the settlement check to recover my deductible.

Thankfully I didn’t have to deal with a low evaluation. I had already done my research and looked at comps and they came in above the average of the top three.

[u/SECdeezTrades]

You're still under by about 5 grand.

Permanent FSD is worth a lot on its own

[u/fffadedev → u/SECdeezTrades]

As much as I would love to try for that amount, I don't think it would be realistic on a used vehicle lol- at best, I'd have a hard time proving it with market data