Just went through the whole "car totaled" thing, and learned a trick—keep calling your adjuster every couple days. Sounds annoying, but it sped things up for me. Anyone else got tips to speed this up?
Had mine totaled last year, and honestly, the best thing I did was get everything documented upfront. Photos, receipts for recent repairs, even screenshots of similar cars for sale nearby. Sent it all in one go to the adjuster—saved a ton of back-and-forth. Also, if you feel they're lowballing you, don't hesitate to push back with your own comps. Insurance companies bank on people accepting the first offer, but a little polite pushback can speed things up and get you a fairer payout. Worked for me anyway...
"Insurance companies bank on people accepting the first offer, but a little polite pushback can speed things up and get you a fairer payout."
Good advice overall, but I'd caution against assuming pushback always speeds things up. When mine was totaled a couple years back, I did exactly that—sent comps, receipts, the whole nine yards. It definitely got me a better payout, but it also added about two extra weeks of waiting. Worth it financially? Sure...but just be prepared that challenging their offer might slow things down rather than speed them up.
Good points, but honestly, sometimes pushing back doesn't even get you a better payout. Had a buddy who went through the whole hassle—comps, dealer quotes, everything—and after nearly three weeks of back-and-forth, they barely budged on the offer. He ended up taking it just to move on. So yeah, pushback can help, but it's definitely not a guaranteed win...sometimes it's just extra stress for minimal gain.
