The actual car value will be determined by using many sources such as dealer survey, online sites, private party sales and guide books. Not only this, the insurance company will also add registration, title and sales tax of the replacement vehicle. A word of advice here is that the insurance company is trying to give you as less as possible and so get involved in the evaluation and do some search on the actual value of your car. Especially, if you have a special edition car, trim or color then its value is more then what insurance company is telling. If you were not at fault, police report confirms that, witnesses are present then you have a strong case and chances of wining so the insurance company will not want to fight in the court. By law they are required for providing a fair price of the car. Present your case and try negotiating the value of your car. The point is that more the actual cash value bigger will be the check you are going to get. Check in your policy if you are allowed to get appraisal provision. If yes than you can also find an independent appraisal to calculate the cash value of your car.

Agree upon a fair evaluation of the damage

Auto insurance companies have to see the damaged car for estimating the price of the repairs. Although it is better to have the car at a workshop because people there can tell damages that you and the appraiser cannot see. Point out all the things that appraiser doesn't mention. If they see too much damage then they can declare the car totaled and that may be good if you want to switch to a new car to forget the past experience associated with the current car or may be bad if you have developed affiliation with your car.

Total Loss

It is defined as if the repair costs of the damages, the spare parts, loss in resale value, rental payment expenses all combined together are more than the actual cash value minus the amount you get after selling the wrecked car to the junk yard.

Getting your car fixed

Once the claim process is approved then the body damages will get repaired by sending the car to a pre-approved workshop. In many states you can choose where the car should be repaired. The choice of the body shop is also very important because some workshops are not highly experienced. At the time of signing the policy you should not agree to get your car fixed in case of an accident from a shop that is company's choice. Unless the workshop referred to is very good or you don't want to search for collision shops after the accident. Ask people, family even the appraiser which is a good shop. Don't ask the collision shop to cover a spare part from the deductible. Ask them to make a complete itemized estimate of the work that needs to be done.