To make your draft letter
to the automobile insurance company
more consistent
with the laws of West Virginia,
vet and edit your draft letter
against the laws of West Virginia
that I copied and pasted below.

In the “What I would do today” module
of wasyourcartotaledorstolen.com,
I told you that,
if I had not yet agreed
to a valuation amount
for my total-loss vehicle,
then I would write a letter
to the automobile insurance company.

In that letter:

I would find fault
with the valuation methodology
that the automobile insurance company’s
valuation-services vendor
used to produce their valuation
of my total-loss vehicle.
If the automobile insurance company
sent me a deeply flawed
market valuation report
like the CCC market valuation report
that Travelers sent to me
or like the CCC market valuation report
that Maria’s insurance company
sent to her, then I might argue
that the valuation services vendor
had motive, means, and opportunity
to generate an unfair, inaccurate,
low valuation for my total-loss vehicle.
I would reject
the automobile insurance company’s
valuation offer.
I would propose
that the automobile insurance company
value my total-loss vehicle
at my total-loss vehicle’s
J.D. Power Buy from Dealer price.
I would argue
that the J.D. Power Buy from Dealer price
for my total-loss vehicle
is a fair and unbiased calculation
of my total-loss vehicle’s
actual cash value.

Some parts of my letter would be different
depending on whether my total-loss claim
was a first-party claim or a third-party claim.

Then, in the “Let’s get to work” module,
I offered you
polite and muscular model letters
in docx format that,
if you wish to do so,
you can use as the starting point
for your letter
to the automobile insurance company
if you have not yet settled
your total-loss claim.

I suggested that you edit your draft letter
to make your letter consistent
with your total-loss vehicle’s
J.D. Power valuation,
make your letter consistent
with the CCC market valuation report
or other market valuation report
that you received
from the automobile insurance company,
and, if your total-loss claim
is a first-party claim,
make your letter consistent
with what your automobile insurance policy says.

Now I take you through another way
in which you may wish
to edit your draft letter.

The laws that regulate
how automobile insurance companies
are required to value total-loss vehicles
and settle total-loss claims
are different in different states.

Hence, if you are using
my model letters
as the starting point for your letter
to the automobile insurance company,
then you or the attorney with whom you meet
will need to vet your draft letter
against the laws of your state.

You or the attorney
will need to edit your draft letter
to make it fully consistent
with the laws of your state.

To make it possible for you
to vet and edit your draft letter
against the laws of your state,
I have copied and pasted below
what I believe to be
the most relevant and useful provisions
of the laws of West Virginia
that regulate
how automobile insurance companies
that do business in West Virginia
are required to value total-loss vehicles
and settle total-loss claims.

If you read through the excerpts
of the laws below,
you may be able to make
some of the required changes,
modifications, and deletions
to your draft letter yourself.

Where you are not sure what changes,
modifications, or deletions to make
to your draft letter,
you may want to leave them
for the attorney to make
when you meet with her or him.

If you have not done so already
(and you wish to do so),
download one of my starter documents.

If your total-loss claim is a first-party claim, download
Marlow_First_party_Not_yet_settled_letter.docx.

If your total-loss claim is a third-party claim, download
Marlow_Third_party_Not_yet_settled_letter.docx.

If you have not done so already,
in your word-processing software,
use “Find and replace” ➞ “Replace all”
to replace the specifics
of my fictitious total-loss claim
with the specifics
of your total-loss claim.

Print the draft document.

Your draft docucment
will be easier to work with
if you print it on only one side
of the paper.

Follow the instructions
that I embedded in the draft document.

Depending on whether your total-loss claim
is a first-party claim
or a third-party claim
and depending on whether you choose
to work with my polite model letter,
to work with my muscular model letter,
or to blend the two model letters;
you need to know or need to find
or need to ask an attorney
the answers to one
of the following sets of questions:

Questions for a first-party claim.

Questions for a third-party claim.

vet_your_draft_letter_against_your_state_s_lawsChapter

If your total-loss claim
is a first-party claim,
then, to adapt
my first-party model letters
to the laws of your state,
you need to know or need to find
or need to ask an attorney
the answers to these sets of questions.

In my polite model letter
and in my muscular model letter,
I suggest that you add, leave in,
or take out certain sentences
depending on what your state’s laws
say about a particular aspect of the law.

To decide what to do
if you are using either of my model letters
as the starting point for your letter,
here are the questions
that you need to know or need to find
or need to ask an attorney
the answers to.

FIRST-PARTY total-loss claim.

I’ve included these questions
in the docx model letters
just before each letter.

In your printout of the docx document,
underneath each question,
you will find Yes ( ) No ( ) check offs.

FIRST-PARTY total-loss claim.

When, in a section of the law,
you find the answer to a question,
you may wish to download a PDF
of that section of the law.

To do so,
at the end of that section of the law,
click “Verify statute or Download PDF.”

You may wish to print those PDFs.

On each printout,
next to the paragraph of the law
that answers a question,
you may wish to write down
the question that the paragraph answers.

(Do not write down
just the question number because,
when you edit your starter document,
the question numbers will adjust
to your changes.)

If you follow this procedure,
then those marked-up PDF printouts
may facilitate your conversation
with the attorney with whom you meet.

FIRST-PARTY total-loss claim.

questions_of_law_for_first_party_total_loss_claimsChapter

To adapt
my polite first‑party model letter
to the laws of your state,
you need to know or need to find
or need to ask an attorney
the answer to this question.

If your state’s laws mention N.A.D.A. Guides
as an approved source
of valuations of total-loss vehicles,
then, most likely,
your state’s commissioner of insurance
has approved J.D. Power
as an authorized source of valuations
for total-loss vehicles.

In 2015, J.D. Power acquired
NADA’s Used Car Guide
and www.nadaguides.com.

The company has rebranded
NADA Guides as J.D. Power
and rebranded www.nadaguides.com
as www.jdpower.com.

Whether your state’s laws
mention N.A.D.A. Guides or not,
to be sure of the correct answer
to this question,
ask the attorney with whom you meet.

Does your state’s
commissioner of insurance
approve J.D. Power
as an authorized source
of valuations for total-loss vehicles?

FIRST-PARTY total-loss claim.

questions_of_law_for_first_party_polite_letterSubchapter

To adapt
my muscular first‑party model letter
to the laws of your state,
you need to know or need to find
or need to ask an attorney
the answers to these questions.

In many states, state law says that,
for a comp vehicle to qualify
as substantailly similar
to a total-loss vehicle,
the comp vehicle must be
the same make, same model,
same model year, same trim level,
same major options,
and have similar mileage.

In some states, state law goes on
to limit the mileage difference
between a comp vehicle
and a total-loss vehicle.

For example, the New Jersey
administrative code that governs
automobile physical damage claims
says:

“ ‘Substantially similar vehicle’ means
a vehicle of the same make, model, year
and condition, including all major options
of the insured vehicle. Mileage
must not exceed that of the insured vehicle
by more than 4,000 miles.”

Do your state’s laws say that,
for a comp vehicle to qualify
as substantially similar or comparable
to a total-loss vehicle,
the comp vehicle’s mileage
must be similar
to the total-loss vehicle’s mileage?
Do your state’s laws go on
to limit the mileage differences
between total-loss vehicles
and substantially similar
or comparable vehicles?

FIRST-PARTY total-loss claim.

In most states,
courts have decided that the state’s
automobile insurance regulations
take away
a first-party claimant’s right to sue
his or her automobile insurance company
for punitive damages
(also called exemplary damages)
if his or her automobile insurance company
not only acts in breach of contract
but also engages
in reprehensible bad-faith misconduct.

These court decisions typically argue
that only the state’s
commissioner of insurance
can fine or otherwise punish
an automobile insurance company
for engaging
in unfair claim settlement practices
and in reprehensible misconduct.

In a few states, however,
the laws that regulate
how automobile insurance companies
that do business in the state
are required to value total-loss vehicles
and settle total-loss claims
explicitly give total-loss claimants
the right to sue
his or her automobile insurance company
for punitive or exemplary damages
if his or her automobile insurance company
not only acts in breach of contract
but also engages
in reprehensible bad-faith misconduct.

Do court decisions in your state
take away your right to sue
your automobile insurance company
for punitive or exemplary damages
if your automobile insurance company
not only acts in breach of contract
but also engages
in reprehensible bad-faith misconduct?

Most likely, you will need
to pose this question
to the attorney with whom you meet
because the answer to this questions
depends on court decisions.

Or do the regulatory laws of your state
explicitly give you the right to sue
your automobile insurance company
for punitive or exemplary damages
if your automobile insurance company
not only acts in breach of contract
but also engages
in reprehensible bad-faith misconduct?

You may be able to find
the answer to this question
in your state’s laws below.

FIRST-PARTY total-loss claim.

In many states, court decisions say
that an automobile insurance company
is not responsible for the validity
of valuation opinions
that it buys
from other corporations.

The regulatory laws of a few states
say that an automobile insurance company
is responsible
for the validity of valuations
that it uses
to value claimants’ total-loss vehicles.

Do the regulatory laws of your state
hold your automobile insurance company
responsible for the validity
of its valuation of your total loss vehicle?

FIRST-PARTY total-loss claim.

(The discussion and question that follow
are the same as for question 1. above
for the polite model letter.)

In 2015, J.D. Power acquired
NADA’s Used Car Guide
and www.nadaguides.com.

The company has rebranded
NADA Guides as J.D. Power
and rebranded www.nadaguides.com
as www.jdpower.com.

Whether your state’s laws
mention N.A.D.A. Guides or not,
to be sure of the correct answer
to this question,
ask the attorney with whom you meet.

Does your state’s
commissioner of insurance
approve J.D. Power
as an authorized source
of valuations for total-loss vehicles?

FIRST-PARTY total-loss claim.

questions_of_law_for_first_party_muscular_letterSubchapter

Keep an eye out
for paragraphs of the law
that may prove useful to you
if your automobile insurance company
does not agree to the valuation amount
for your total-loss vehicle
that you propose in your letter.

While you are looking for the answers
to the previous questions
for your first-party total-loss claim,
you may wish to keep an eye out
for answers to a few questions
that are outside the scope
of your letter
to your automobile insurance company.

The answers to these questions
may prove useful to you
if your automobile insurance company
does not agree to the valuation amount
that you propose in your letter.

For each of these questions too,
you may wish
to download, print, and mark up
a PDF of the section of the law
that answers the question.

FIRST-PARTY total-loss claim.

If you dispute the valuation amount
that your automobile insurance company
proposes for your total-loss vehicle,
the laws of your state may require
your automobile insurance company
to go ahead and pay you
the amount of money
that is not in dispute.

The amount of money
that is not in dispute
includes the valuation amount
for your total-loss vehicle
that your automobile insurance company
proposed.

To require
your automobile insurance company
to go ahead and pay you
the valuation amount
that is not in dispute,
the laws of your state
may say something like this:

If an insurer and the insured
or third-party claimant are unable to agree
on the value of the automobile,
an insurer shall pay the insured
or third-party claimant
the amount of the automobile’s value
that is not in dispute
as provided in section 3,
chapter 65, Oregon Laws 2009.

An insurer is not obligated
to pay the undisputed amount
until the insured
or third-party owner of the automobile:

(a) Agrees to execute documents
sufficient to transfer ownership
of the automobile
to the insurer; and
(b) Authorizes the insurer,
at the insurer’s expense,
to move the automobile
to a disclosed location
selected by the insurer,
where the automobile
will remain available
for inspection and evaluation
for not fewer than 14 calendar days.
After the expiration of the 14-day period,
the insurer may proceed
with the salvage sale of the automobile.

If you dispute the valuation amount
that your automobile insurance company proposes for your total-loss vehicle,
do the laws of your state require
your automobile insurance company
to go ahead and pay you
the amount of money
that is not in dispute?

FIRST-PARTY total-loss claim.

In the laws below,
you may find that your state legislators
have given you a right of recourse.

If you have a right of recourse
and your automobile insurance company
refuses to value your total-loss vehicle
at its actual cash value,
then you may be able
to get additional money
from your automobile insurance company
if you exercise your right of recourse.

FIRST-PARTY total-loss claim.

If your state’s legislators
have given you a right of recourse,
they may also have given
your automobile insurance company
dubious ways to preclude or satisfy
your exercise of your right of recourse.

Your automobile insurance company
may be able to preclude your exercise
of your right of recourse if,
when they send you a settlement check,
they identify
an allegedly substantially similar vehicle
for sale at a local automobile dealership
that you allegedly can buy
for their valuation amount.

Likewise,
your automobile insurance company
may be able to satisfy your exercise
of your right of recourse if,
after you exercise your right of recourse,
they identify
an allegedly substantially similar vehicle
for sale at a local automobile dealership
that you allegedly can buy
for their valuation amount.

FIRST-PARTY total-loss claim.

If either of these possibilities come to pass,
you likely will want to inspect
your automobile insurance company’s
candidate right-of-recourse vehicle
to determine if that vehicle
is, in fact, substantially similar
to your total-loss vehicle—
same make, same model, same model year,
same major options, similar mileage,
and same or better condition.

You likely will want to verify
that your automobile insurance company’s
candidate right-of-recourse vehicle
is for sale at the automobile dealership
that your automobile insurance company
alleges at the price that
your automobile insurance company alleges.

FIRST-PARTY total-loss claim.

If the laws of your state
give you a right of recourse,
counting from the day
that your automobile insurance company
puts the initial settlement check in the mail,
you likely have only so many days
in which to exercise your right of recourse
or you lose your right of recourse.

FIRST-PARTY total-loss claim.

Do the laws of your state
give you a right of recourse?
If you have a right of recourse,
do the laws of your state allow
an automobile insurance company
to preclude your exercise
of your right of recourse if,
when they send you a settlement check,
they identify
a substantially similar vehicle
for sale at a local automobile dealership
that you can buy
for their valuation amount?
If you have a right of recourse,
do the laws of your state allow
your automobile insurance company
to satisfy your exercise
of your right of recourse if,
after you exercise your right of recourse,
they identify
a substantially similar vehicle
for sale at a local automobile dealership
that you can buy
for their valuation amount?
If you have a right of recourse,
how many days
after your automobile insurance company
sends you a settlement check
do you have to exercise
your right of recourse
before you lose it?

FIRST-PARTY total-loss claim.

In some states, the law allows
an automobile insurance company
to take away
a first-party claimant’s right of recourse
if the automobile insurance company
invokes the appraisal clause
in the claimant’s automobile insurance policy.

In your state,
do you lose your right of recourse
if your automobile insurance company
invokes the appraisal clause
in your automobile insurance policy?

FIRST-PARTY total-loss claim.

The laws of some states prohibit
an automobile insurance company
from saying that,
if you cash or deposit a settlement check,
then, thereby, you agree to the settlement.

Such a prohibition may use such language
as this:

“No insurer shall issue a check or draft
in payment of a claim that contains
any language or provision that implies
or states that acceptance of the check or draft
constitutes a final settlement or release
of any or all future obligations
arising out of the loss.”

Do the laws of your state prohibit
an automobile insurance company
from saying that, if you cash or deposit
a settlement check, then, thereby,
you agree to the settlement?

FIRST-PARTY total-loss claim.

questions_of_law_in_case_first_party_letter_failsSubchapter

The legislators of a few states
give rights to first-party claimants
that legislators of other states
take away from first-party claimants.

Are your state legislators right givers?

Or right takers?

At least one state
has a consumer-protection law that says
an automobile insurance company
cannot require a first-party total-loss claimant
to resolve a claim-settlement dispute
through private arbitration unless
the claimant’s automobile insurance policy
allows the claimant to resolve the dispute
through a small-claims lawsuit instead.

Do your state’s consumer-protection laws
give first-party total-loss claimants
the right to have a dispute resolved
through a small-claims lawsuit
in lieu of having that dispute resolved
through private arbitration?

FIRST-PARTY total-loss claim.

In a few states,
if a party to a written contract
not only breaches the terms of the contract
but also acts in bad faith,
the laws of the state
regard that act of bad faith
as a tort against the non-breaching party
to the contract.

In your state,
if your automobile insurance company
not only breaches the terms
of your automobile insurance policy
but also acts in bad faith,
does their bad-faith misconduct
give you a cause of action
against them under tort law?
If the answer
to the previous question is yes,
then is your cause of action under tort law
exempt from your automobile insurance policy’s arbitration clause?

FIRST-PARTY total-loss claim.

To skip over questions
for a third-party claim, click here.

FIRST-PARTY total-loss claim.

questions_of_first_party_consumer_protection_lawsSubchapter

If your total-loss claim
is a third-party claim,
then, to adapt
my third-party model letters
to the laws of your state,
you need to know or need to find
or need to ask an attorney
the answers to these sets of questions.

THIRD-PARTY total-loss claim.

I’ve included these questions
in the docx model letters
just before each letter.

In your printout of the docx document,
underneath each question,
you will find Yes ( ) No ( ) check offs.

THIRD-PARTY total-loss claim.

When, in a section of the law,
you find the answer to a question,
you may wish to download a PDF
of that section of the law.

To do so,
at the end of that section of the law,
click “Verify statute or Download PDF.”

You may wish to print those PDFs.

On each printout,
next to the paragraph of the law
that answers a question,
you may wish to write down
the question that the paragraph answers.

(Do not write down
just the question number because,
when you edit your starter document,
the question numbers will adjust
to your changes.)

If you follow this procedure,
then those marked-up PDF printouts
may facilitate your conversation
with the attorney with whom you meet.

THIRD-PARTY total-loss claim.

questions_of_law_for_third_party_total_loss_claimsChapter

To adapt
my polite third‑party model letter
to the laws of your state,
you need to know or need to find
or need to ask an attorney
the answer to this question.

In 2015, J.D. Power acquired
NADA’s Used Car Guide
and www.nadaguides.com.

The company has rebranded
NADA Guides as J.D. Power
and rebranded www.nadaguides.com
as www.jdpower.com.

Whether your state’s laws
mention N.A.D.A. Guides or not,
to be sure of the correct answer
to this question,
ask the attorney with whom you meet.

Does your state’s
commissioner of insurance
approve J.D. Power
as an authorized source
of valuations for total-loss vehicles?

THIRD-PARTY total-loss claim.

questions_of_law_for_third_party_polite_letterSubchapter

To adapt
my muscular third‑party model letter
to the laws of your state,
you need to know or need to find
or need to ask an attorney
the answers to these questions.

In some states, state law goes on
to limit the mileage difference
between a comp vehicle
and a total-loss vehicle.

For example, the New Jersey
administrative code that governs
automobile physical damage claims
says:

Do your state’s laws say that,
for a comp vehicle to qualify
as substantially similar or comparable
to a total-loss vehicle,
the comp vehicle’s mileage
must be similar
to the total-loss vehicle’s mileage?
Do your state’s laws go on
to limit the mileage differences
between total-loss vehicles
and substantially similar
or comparable vehicles?

THIRD-PARTY total-loss claim.

(The discussion and question that follow
are the same as for question 1. above
for the polite model letter.)

In 2015, J.D. Power acquired
NADA’s Used Car Guide
and www.nadaguides.com.

The company has rebranded
NADA Guides as J.D. Power
and rebranded www.nadaguides.com
as www.jdpower.com.

Whether your state’s laws
mention N.A.D.A. Guides or not,
to be sure of the correct answer
to this question,
ask the attorney with whom you meet.

Does your state’s
commissioner of insurance
approve J.D. Power
as an authorized source
of valuations for total-loss vehicles?

THIRD-PARTY total-loss claim.

questions_of_law_for_third_party_muscular_letterSubchapter

Keep an eye out
for paragraphs of the law
that may prove useful to you
if the automobile insurance company
does not agree to the valuation amount
that you propose in your letter
for your total-loss vehicle.

While you are looking for the answers
to the previous questions
for your third-party total-loss claim,
you may wish to keep an eye out
for answers to a few questions
that are outside the scope
of your letter
to the automobile insurance company.

The answers to these questions
may prove useful to you
if the automobile insurance company
does not agree to the valuation amount
that you propose in your letter.

For each of these questions too,
you may wish
to download, print, and mark up
a PDF of the section of the law
that answers the question.

THIRD-PARTY total-loss claim.

In some states, the laws that regulate
how automobile insurance companies
are required to value total-loss vehicles
and settle total-loss claims say
that those laws apply
only to first-party claims.

In some states, those laws say
that the laws apply to first-party claims
and to third-party claims.

In some states, those laws say
that all the laws apply to first-party claims
and only some of the laws
apply to third-party claims.

Ordinarily, in most states,
you have much stronger rights
in the settlement of a third-party claim
than you do
in the settlement of a first-party claim.

The automobile insurance company
that you’re dealing with
on your third-party claim
may think and act like
they can treat you
the same way
that they treat their policyholders
on those policyholders’ first-party claims.

The automobile insurance company
that you’re dealing with
on your third-party claim
may even try to trick you
into conforming
with claim-settlement regulations
that apply only to first-party claims.

Don’t let them!

To be savvy enough
to keep the automobile insurance company
that you’re dealing with
from treating you
like you’re a first-party claimant,
familiarize yourself
with which of your state’s
automobile insurance
claim-settlement laws—
if any—
apply to you and your claim.

If your state’s laws
consistently talk about “the insured,”
and never say that the laws
also apply to third-party claimants,
then that language strongly suggests
that those laws do not apply to you
or to your third-party claim.

You are not the insured.

The at-fault-driver policyholder
is the insured.

Do the laws of your state that regulate
how automobile insurance companies
are required to value total-loss vehicles
and settle total-loss claims
apply only to first-party claims?
Or do all those laws
apply to both first-party claims
and third-party claims?
Or do all the laws
apply to first-party claims
and only some of the laws
also apply to third-party claims?

THIRD-PARTY total-loss claim.

If you dispute the valuation amount
that the automobile insurance company
proposes for your total-loss vehicle,
the laws of your state may require
the automobile insurance company
to go ahead and pay you
the amount of money
that is not in dispute.

The amount of money
that is not in dispute
includes the valuation amount
for your total-loss vehicle
that the automobile insurance company
proposed.

To require
the automobile insurance company
to go ahead and pay you
the valuation amount
that is not in dispute,
the laws of your state
may say something like this:

An insurer is not obligated
to pay the undisputed amount
until the insured
or third-party owner of the automobile:

(a) Agrees to execute documents
sufficient to transfer ownership
of the automobile
to the insurer; and
(b) Authorizes the insurer,
at the insurer’s expense,
to move the automobile
to a disclosed location
selected by the insurer,
where the automobile
will remain available
for inspection and evaluation
for not fewer than 14 calendar days.
After the expiration of the 14-day period,
the insurer may proceed
with the salvage sale of the automobile.

If you dispute the valuation amount
that the automobile insurance company proposes for your total-loss vehicle,
do the laws of your state require
the automobile insurance company
to go ahead and pay you
the amount of money
that is not in dispute?

THIRD-PARTY total-loss claim.

The laws of some states
give third-party total-loss claimants
a right of recourse.

If you have a right of recourse
and the automobile insurance company
refuses to value your total-loss vehicle
at its actual cash value,
then you may be able
to get additional money
from the automobile insurance company
if you exercise your right of recourse.

THIRD-PARTY total-loss claim.

If your state’s legislators
have given you a right of recourse,
they may also have given
the automobile insurance company
dubious ways to preclude or satisfy
your exercise of your right of recourse.

The automobile insurance company
may be able to preclude your exercise
of your right of recourse if,
when they send you a settlement check,
they identify
an allegedly substantially similar vehicle
for sale at a local automobile dealership
that you allegedly can buy
for their valuation amount.

Likewise, the automobile insurance company
may be able to satisfy your exercise
of your right of recourse if,
after you exercise your right of recourse,
they identify
an allegedly substantially similar vehicle
for sale at a local automobile dealership
that you allegedly can buy
for their valuation amount.

THIRD-PARTY total-loss claim.

If either of these possibilities come to pass,
then you likely will want to inspect
the automobile insurance company’s
candidate right-of-recourse vehicle
to determine if that vehicle
is, in fact, substantially similar
to your total-loss vehicle—
same make, same model, same model year,
same major options, similar mileage,
and same or better condition.

You likely will want to verify
that the automobile insurance company’s
candidate right-of-recourse vehicle
is for sale at the automobile dealership
that the automobile insurance company
alleges at the price that
the automobile insurance company alleges.

THIRD-PARTY total-loss claim.

If the laws of your state
give you a right of recourse,
counting from the day
that the automobile insurance company
puts the initial settlement check in the mail,
you likely have only so many days
in which to exercise your right of recourse
or you lose your right of recourse.

THIRD-PARTY total-loss claim.

Do the laws of your state
give you a right of recourse?
If you have a right of recourse,
do the laws of your state allow
an automobile insurance company
to preclude your exercise
of your right of recourse if,
when they send you a settlement check,
they identify
a substantially similar vehicle
for sale at a local automobile dealership
that you can buy
for their valuation amount?
If you have a right of recourse,
do the laws of your state allow
the automobile insurance company
to satisfy your exercise
of your right of recourse if,
after you exercise your right of recourse,
they identify
a substantially similar vehicle
for sale at a local automobile dealership
that you can buy
for their valuation amount?
If you have a right of recourse,
how many days
after the automobile insurance company
sends you a settlement check
do you have to exercise
your right of recourse
before you lose it?

THIRD-PARTY total-loss claim.

The laws of some states prohibit
an automobile insurance company
from saying that,
if you cash or deposit a settlement check,
then, thereby, you agree to the settlement.

Such a prohibition may use such language
as this:

Do the laws of your state prohibit
an automobile insurance company
from saying that,
if you cash or deposit
a settlement check, then, thereby,
you agree to the settlement?

THIRD-PARTY total-loss claim.

questions_of_law_in_case_third_party_letter_failsSubchapter

Questions about the laws of your state
to which the answers
may prove useful to you
if you end up suing
the at-fault driver and his or her
automobile insurance company
for the money
that the at-fault driver’s
automobile insurance company
cheated you out of.

The laws of some states
specify multiple sources
that an automobile insurance company
may use to come up
with an initial valuation offer
for a claimant’s total loss vehicle.

The laws then go on to say
that the automobile insurance company’s
initial valuation offer
cannot be lower
than the lowest valuation amount
from one of these approved sources.

The laws of some states say
that an automobile insurance company
may use as its initial valuation offer
a valuation generated by a valuation source
that uses a computerized data base
that is approved
by the state’s commissioner of insurance.

A state’s commissioner of insurance
may approve valuation sources
such as CCC Information Services
a.k.a. CCC Intelligent Solutions.

CCC Information Services
a.k.a. CCC Intelligent Solutions
produced the garbage-in-garbage-out
CCC market valuation report
for my total-loss vehicle
and produced
the GIGO CCC market-valuation report
for Maria’s total-loss vehicle.

Valuation sources that produce valuations
only for automobile insurance companies
and that use a computerized data base
to produce those valuations
likely produce the lowest valuations
of any of the approved sources.

Such valuation sources may have
motive, means, and opportunity
to undervalue your total-loss vehicle.

Do the laws of your state
specify multiple sources
that an automobile insurance company
may use to come up
with an initial valuation offer
for your total-loss vehicle?
Do the laws of your state say
that the automobile insurance company’s
initial valuation offer
for your total-loss vehicle
cannot be lower
than the lowest valuation amount
from one of the approved sources?
Do the laws of your state
allow an automobile insurance company
to use a valuation
generated by a valuation service
that uses a computerized data base?

THIRD-PARTY total-loss claim.

The laws of some states say
that an automobile insurance company
shall value a total-loss vehicle
at its actual cash value.

The laws of some states
define actual cash value.

Do the laws of your state say
that an automobile insurance company
shall value a total-loss vehicle
at its actual cash value?
Do the laws of your state
define actual cash value?

THIRD-PARTY total-loss claim.

The laws of some states defnine
substantially similar vehicle
or comparable vehicle.

Do the laws of your state define substantially similar vehicle
or comparable vehicle?

Regardless of what the statutory laws
of your state say,
keep in mind
that the fundamental principle
of the law of negligence torts
is this:

When one person,
through an act of negligence,
harms another person;
the negligent person
(or his or her insurance company)
is obligated to pay
the victim of the negligent act
enough money
to make the victim whole
for his or her loss.

That is, the negligent person
(or his or her insurance company)
is obligated to pay
the victim of the negligent act
enough money
to make the victim as well off financially
as he or she was before the negligent act.

If you cannot negotiate
a fair valuation of your total-loss vehicle
with the automobile insurance company,
then you can refuse to agree
to the automobile insurance company’s
valuation of your total-loss vehicle.

You can dispute their valuation.

You can sue the at-fault driver
for the amount of money
that his or her
automobile insurance company
cheated you out of.

THIRD-PARTY total-loss claim.

questions_of_third_party_consumer_protection_lawsSubchapter

If it’s more work
than you wish to do
to vet and edit your draft letter
against West Virginia’s laws,
then let the attorney
with whom you meet
vet and edit the letter for you.

I’m a do-it-yourself kind of person.

You may not be.

Or you may be too busy
with the rest of your life
to spend a lot of time
working on your total-loss claim.

If, for whatever reason,
you prefer not to vet and edit
a draft letter against your state’s laws,
don’t do it.

You will be sufficiently well prepared
to meet with an attorney
about your total-loss claim
so long as you provide him or her
with copies of:

The market valuation report
that you received
from the automobile insurance company
for your total-loss vehicle,
The Monroney Label window sticker
for your total-loss vehicle,
Your total-loss vehicle’s
J.D. Power Buy from Dealer price,
The specs that the J.D. Power calculator
used to value your total-loss vehicle,
Your draft letter
at whatever stage of development
it happens to be in,
The police report on your vehicle’s
collision or theft, and
If your claim is a first-party claim,
your automobile insurance policy.

If you provide the attorney
with these ingredients,
then he or she can turn the work
that you have done
into an effective letter and package.

skip_this_step_if_you_want_toChapter

Help me create model letters
tailored to the laws of every state.

Send me a few dollars.

Today I’m having to ask you
to do a lot more work
than I would like to.

I’m having to ask you
to vet and edit your draft letter
against the laws of your state
that I copied and pasted below.

As I continue to develop
wasyourcartotaledorstolen.com,
I hope to offer total-loss claimants
starter letters
for first-party total-loss claims
and starter letters
for third-party total-loss claims
that are tailored to the laws
of each and every state.

“Jesus, Jerry!

“That sounds like a helluva lot of work!”

Yeah, I know!

Shows you how much I hate seeing
giant, powerful, unethical corporations
rip off everyday Americans.

With starter letters that are tailored
to the laws of each and every state,
future total-loss claimants
who come to wasyourcartotaledorstolen.com
will have a lot less work to do.

They will be able to create draft letters
that require less of a local attorney’s time
to review, vet, tweak, and strengthen.

I’m itching to do the work.

In the left-hand column
next to each state’s laws,
I hope to give total-loss claimants
a guided tour of the laws that,
in their state, regulate
how automobile insurance companies
are required to value total-loss vehicles
and settle total-loss claims.

On that guided tour,
I plan to explain and comment on
the important provisions
of each state’s laws.

On that guided tour,
I plan to point out
the answers to questions
that, today, I have to ask you
to search for yourself.

On that guided tour,
I plan to point out which paragraphs
of each state’s laws read like
they were written
by a lobbyist who works
for automobile insurance companies.

Total-loss claimants
also will want to know
the answers to other questions
about the laws of their state
that do not appear in the state’s
automobile insurance regulatory laws.

Over time, as I continue my research
and as I receive more and more
pro bono publico guidance
(guidance for the public good)
from attorneys in each state;
I hope to post more and more answers
to these questions.

If I am able to achieve these goals,
then, over time, total-loss claimants
who come to wasyourcartotaledorstolen.com
will be able to gain a fuller,
more accurate, more precise,
and more powerful understanding
of the rights
that their state legislators
have given them
and of the rights
that their state legislators
have taken away from them.

Everyday Americans will be able
to have more knowledgeable
and more productive conversations
with local attorneys.

If everyday Americans
who are fed up
with automobile insurance companies
cheating them and ripping them off
will support my work;
then I may be able to build
my one-person efforts
into an organization.

With an organization,
we may be able to persuade
our state legislators
(and perhaps our national legislators)
to rewrite some of the laws
that make it so easy
for automobile insurance companies
to screw us all.

If you would like to help me
teach everyday Americans
how to get fair valuations
of their total-loss vehicles,
then, at the top right of your screen,

click this image:

Send me a few dollars.

With your help, I’m just getting started.

help_me_create_letters_tailored_to_laws_of_every_stateChapter

The laws of West Virginia that regulate
how automobile insurance companies
that do business in West Virginia
are required
to value total-loss vehicles
and settle total-loss claims.

My Comments

West Virginia Regulations

The regulations that govern
how insurance companies
that operate in West Virginia
are required to value total‑loss vehicles
and settle total‑loss claims
are part of the
West Virginia Administrative Code.

West Virginia Administrative Code

Agency 114 - Insurance Commission

Title 114 - LEGISLATIVE RULE INSURANCE COMMISSIONER

Series 114-14 - Unfair Trade Practices

Current through Register Vol. XXXIX, No. 40, October 7, 2022

To help you zero in
on the most relevant and useful paragraphs
of your state’s
automobile insurance regulations,
here’s how I have color coded
your state’s laws:

What I believe to be
the most relevant and useful paragraphs
of your state’s law appear in red.

Relevant and potentially useful paragraphs
appear in black.

Paragraphs unlikely to be relevant or useful
appear in grey.

Just in case you landed here
looking for information
about how automobile insurance companies
are supposed to settle claims
in which your vehicle can be repaired
(partial-loss claims),
paragraphs of the law
that deal with repairs
appear in blue.

To make sure that a section
of the law has not changed
since I copied it and pasted it here,
at the end of that section,
click: Verify statute or Download PDF.

If you discover
that a section of a law has changed
or is no longer accessible
through casetext.com,
please send me an email
and let me know
so I can update the law
or update the verify link here.

Thomson Reuters Westlaw
recently acquired Casetext.
I do not know if Thomson Reuters Westlaw
will continue to make these state laws
available to everyday Americans for free.

Section 114-14-1 – General

1.1. Scope.
- a. The purpose of this rule is to define certain practices in this state which constitute unfair methods of competition or unfair or deceptive acts or practices and to establish certain minimum standards and methods of settlements of both first-party and third-party claims.
- b. This rule does not prohibit the use of additional methods above the minimum which are not in violation of this rule or any other West Virginia statute or rule.
- c. This rule applies to all persons and to all insurance policies and insurance contracts except Workers’ Compensation Insurance.
- d. This rule is not exclusive, and other acts, not herein specified, may also constitute unfair claims settlement practices.
- e. Nothing in this rule creates or recognizes, either explicitly or impliedly, any new or different cause of action not otherwise recognized by law.
1.2. Authority. -- W. Va. Code §§ 33-11-4a(h) and 33-2-10.
1.3. Filing Date. -- April 13, 2006.
1.4. Effective Date. -- April 24, 2006.

Citation:
W. Va. Code R. § 114-14-1

Verify statute or Download PDF

If verify link fails, Google:
casetext.com, the citation.

With your support, more comments to come.

Section 114-14-2 - Definitions

For the purposes of this regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

2.1. “Agent” means any individual, corporation, association, partnership or other legal entity authorized to represent an insurer with respect to a claim.
2.2. “Claimant” means either a first-party claimant, a third-party claimant, or both.
2.3. “First-party claimant” or “Insured” means an individual, corporation, association, partnership or other legal entity asserting a right to payment under an insurance policy or insurance contract arising out of the occurrence of the contingency or loss covered by such policy or contract.
2.4. “Person” includes any individual, company, insurer, association, organization, society, reciprocal, business trust, corporation or any other legal entity, including agents, adjusters and brokers.
2.5. “Insurer” means a person licensed to issue or who issues any insurance policy or insurance contract covering risks resident, located or to be performed in this state.
2.6. “Investigation” means all activities of an insurer or agent directly or indirectly related to the determination of liabilities under coverages afforded by an insurance policy or insurance contract.
2.7. “Notification of claim” means any notification, whether in writing or other means acceptable under the terms of an insurance policy or insurance contract, to an insurer or its agents, by a claimant, which reasonably apprises the insurer or agent of the existence of an occurrence which might give rise to liability under a policy or contract of insurance.
2.8. “Third-party claimant” means any individual, corporation, association, partnership or other legal entity asserting a claim against any individual, corporation, association, partnership or other legal entity insured under an insurance policy or insurance contract of an insurer.
2.9. “Settlement of claims” means all activities of the insurer or its agent which are related directly or indirectly to the determination of the compensation that is due under coverage afforded by the insurance policy or insurance contract. This includes, but is not limited to, the requiring or preparing of repair estimates.
2.10. “Insurance policy” or “Insurance contract” means the contract effecting insurance, or the certificate thereof, by whatever name called, and includes all clauses, riders, endorsements and papers issued under the terms of the policy or contract.
2.11. “Claim” means any communication by a claimant to an insurer or its agent which reasonably apprises the insurer or agent of an occurrence which might give rise to liability under a policy or contract of insurance.
2.12. “Commissioner” means the West Virginia Insurance Commissioner.
2.13. “Licensee” means any person that holds a license or certificate of authority from the Commissioner, or any other entity for whom the Commissioner’s consent is required before transacting business in the State of West Virginia or with residents of West Virginia.

Citation:
W. Va. Code R. § 114-14-2

Verify statute or Download PDF

If verify link fails, Google:
casetext.com, the citation.

With your support, more comments to come.

Section 114-14-3 - File And Record Documentation

The insurer’s claim files shall be subject to examination by the Commissioner or by his or her duly appointed designees. Such files shall contain all notes and work papers pertaining to the claim in such detail that pertinent events and the dates of such events can be reconstructed. All communications and transactions emanating from or received by the insurer shall be dated by the insurer. A notation of the substance and date of all oral communications shall be contained in the claim file. Insurers shall either make a notation in the file or retain a copy of all forms mailed to claimants.

Citation:
W. Va. Code R. § 114-14-3

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If verify link fails, Google:
casetext.com, the citation.

With your support, more comments to come.

Section 114-14-4 - Representation of Policy Provisions and Benefits

4.1. Failure to disclose pertinent policy provisions. -- No person may knowingly fail to fully disclose to first-party claimants all pertinent benefits, coverages or other provisions of an insurance policy or insurance contract under which a claim is presented.
4.2. Concealment of pertinent policy provisions. -- No person may knowingly conceal from first-party claimants benefits, coverages or other provisions of any insurance policy or insurance contract when such benefits, coverages or other provisions are pertinent to a claim.
4.3. Coercive statements. -- No person may make statements which indicate that the rights of a claimant may be impaired if a form or release is not completed within a given period of time unless the statement is given for the purpose of notifying the claimant of the provisions of a statute of limitation or of a policy or contract time limit.
4.4. Time limit for notification of claim. -- Except where a time limit is specified by statute or legislative rule, no insurer may require a first-party claimant to give notification of a claim or proof of claim within a specified time.
4.5. Releases.
- a. No person may ask a first-party claimant to sign a release that extends beyond the subject matter which gave rise to the claim payment.
- b. No insurer may issue any check or draft, in partial settlement of a loss or claim under a specific coverage, that contains language which releases the insurer or its insured from its total liability.

Citation:
W. Va. Code R. § 114-14-4

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casetext.com, the citation.

With your support, more comments to come.

Section 114-14-5 - Standards For The Acknowledgment Of Pertinent Communications

5.1. Acknowledgment of notices of claims. -- Every insurer, upon receiving notification of a claim shall, within fifteen (15) working days, acknowledge the receipt of such notice unless full payment is made within such period of time. If an acknowledgment is made by means other than writing, an appropriate notation of such acknowledgment shall be made in the claim file of the insurer and dated. Notification given to an agent of an insurer shall be notification to the insurer.
5.2. Answer of inquiries from Insurance Commissioner. -- Every insurer, producer or other licensee, upon receipt of any inquiry other than a notice of third-party administrative complaint from the Insurance Commissioner shall, within fifteen (15) working days of the date appearing on the inquiry, furnish the Commissioner with a complete written response to the inquiry. A “complete written response” addresses all issues raised by the claimant or the Commissioner and includes copies of any documentation requested. This subsection is not intended to permit delay in responding to inquiries by the Commissioner or his or her staff in conjunction with a scheduled examination on the insurer’s premises.
5.3. Replies to other pertinent communications. -- A reply shall be made within fifteen (15) working days of receipt by the insurer to all other pertinent communications from a claimant which reasonably suggest that a response is expected.
5.4. Provisions of assistance to first-party claimants. -- Every insurer, upon receiving notification of a claim, shall promptly provide necessary claim forms, instructions, and reasonable assistance so that first-party claimants can comply with the policy conditions and the insurer’s reasonable requirements. Compliance with this subsection within fifteen (15) working days of notification of a claim constitutes compliance with subsection 5.1. of this section.

Citation:
W. Va. Code R. § 114-14-5

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With your support, more comments to come.

Section 114-14-6 - Standards For Prompt Investigations And Fair And Equitable Settlements Applicable To All Insurers

6.1. Investigation of claims. -- Every insurer shall promptly conduct and diligently pursue a thorough, fair and objective investigation and may not unreasonably delay resolution by persisting in seeking information not reasonably required for or material to the resolution of a claim dispute. This section is not intended to conflict with the statutory requirements of the Medical Professional Liability Act, W. Va. Code §§ 55-7B-1 to 11, as the same relate to the assertion and investigation of medical professional liability claims.
6.2. Establishment of investigatory procedures. --
- a. Every insurer shall establish procedures to commence an investigation of any claim filed by a claimant, or by a claimant’s authorized representative, within fifteen (15) working days of receipt of notice of claim.
- b. Every insurer shall provide to every first-party claimant, or to the claimant’s authorized representative, a notification of all items, statements and forms, if any, which the insurer reasonably believes will be required of such claimant, within fifteen (15) working days of receiving notice of the claim.
- c. A claim filed with an agent of an insurer shall be deemed to have been filed with the insurer unless, consistent with law or contract, such agent promptly provides written notification to the person filing the claim that the agent is not authorized to receive notices of claim.
6.3. Duty after investigation. -- Within ten (10) working days of completing its investigation, the insurer shall deny the claim in writing or make a written offer, subject to policy limits and, with respect to medical professional liability claims, subject to applicable statutory requirements set forth in the Medical Professional Liability Act, W. Va. Code §§ 55-7B-1 to 11.
6.4. Offers of settlement. --
- a. In any case where there is no dispute as to coverage and liability, it is the duty of every insurer to offer claimants or their authorized representatives, amounts which are fair and reasonable, as shown by the insurer’s investigation of the claim, providing the amounts so offered are within policy limits and in accordance with the policy provisions.
- b. No insurer may attempt to settle a claim by making a settlement offer that is unreasonably low. The Commissioner shall consider any evidence offered regarding the following factors in determining whether a settlement offer is unreasonably low:
  - 1. The extent to which the insurer considered evidence submitted by the claimant to support the value of the claim;
  - 2. The extent to which the insurer considered legal authority or evidence made known to it or reasonably available;
  - 3. The extent to which the insurer considered the advice of its claims adjuster as to the amount of damages;
  - 4. The extent to which the insurer considered the opinions of independent experts;
  - 5. The procedures used by the insurer in determining the dollar amount of property damage;
  - 6. The extent to which the insurer considered the probable liability of the insured and the likely jury verdict or other final determination of the matter; and
  - 7. Any other credible evidence presented to the Commissioner that demonstrates that the final amount offered in settlement of the claim by the insurer is or is not below the amount that a reasonable person would have offered in settlement of the claim after taking into consideration the relevant facts and circumstances at the time the offer was made.
6.5. Denial of claims. -- No insurer may deny a claim on the grounds of a specific policy provision, condition or exclusion unless reference to such provision, condition or exclusion is included in the denial. The denial must be given to the claimant in writing or as otherwise provided in subsection 6.6. of these rules.
6.6. Records of denial of claims. -- If a denial of a claim is made by any other means than writing, an appropriate notation shall be made in the claim file of the insurer.
6.7. Notice of necessary delay in investigating claims. -- If the insurer needs more than thirty (30) calendar days from the date that a proof of loss from a first-party claimant or notice of claim from a third-party claimant is received to determine whether a claim should be accepted or denied, it shall so notify the claimant in writing within fifteen (15) working days after the thirty-day period expires. If the investigation remains incomplete, the insurer shall provide written notification of the delay to the claimant every forty-five (45) calendar days thereafter until the investigation is complete. All such notifications must set forth the reason(s) additional time is needed for investigation. Where there is a reasonable basis supported by specific information available for review by the Commissioner that a claimant has fraudulently caused or contributed to the loss, the insurer is relieved from the requirements of this subsection: Provided, That the insurer shall notify the claimant of the acceptance or denial of the claim within a reasonable time allowing for full investigation. Nothing contained in this subsection requires an insurer to disclose any information that could reasonably be expected to alert a claimant to the fact that the subject claim is being investigated as a suspected fraudulent claim.
6.8. Liability of others. -- Insurers may not refuse to settle first-party claims on the basis that responsibility for payment should be assumed by others except as may otherwise be provided by policy provisions.
6.9. Denial of claims for failure to exhibit property. -- No insurer may deny a claim for failure to exhibit the insured property without proof of demand by the insurer and refusal by the claimant to exhibit said property.
6.10. Separation of claims. -- In any case where there is no dispute as to one (1) or more elements of a claim, payment for such element(s) shall be made notwithstanding the existence of disputes as to other elements of the claim where such payment can be made without prejudice to either party.
6.11. Time for payment of claims. -- Every insurer shall pay any amount finally agreed upon in settlement of all or part of any claim not later than fifteen (15) working days from the receipt of such agreement by the insurer or from the date of the performance by the claimant of any condition set by such agreement, whichever is later.
6.12. Notice of applicable time limitations. -- No person may negotiate for settlement of a claim with a claimant who is neither an attorney nor represented by an attorney without giving the claimant written notice that the claimant’s rights may be affected by a statute of limitations or a policy or contract time limit. Such notice shall be given to first-party claimants not less than thirty (30) days, and to third-party claimants not less than sixty (60) days, before the date on which such time limit expires.
6.13. Avoidance of payment. -- Where liability and damages are reasonably clear, no person may recommend that third-party claimants make claim under their own policies solely to avoid paying claims under an insurer’s insurance policy or insurance contract.
6.14. Unreasonable travel. -- No person may require a claimant to travel unreasonably either to inspect a replacement motor vehicle or to obtain a repair estimate.
6.15. Compensation based on claim denials. -- No insurer may offer incentives or compensate its employees, agents or contractors based on savings to the insurer as a result of improperly denying the payment of claims.
6.16. Claim proceeds used to pay premiums of another policy. -- No insurer may deduct from a claim payment made under one policy premiums owed by the insured on another policy unless the insured consents.
6.17. Required information for claim denial notices. -- Any notice rejecting any element of a claim shall contain the identity and the claims processing address of the insurer and the claim number. The notice must state that the claimant has the option of contacting the Commissioner. The notice must provide the Commissioner’s mailing address, telephone number and web site address.
6.18. Motor vehicle repair shops. -- An insurer may furnish to the claimant the names of one or more conveniently located motor vehicle repair shops that will perform the repairs; however no insurer may require the claimant to use a particular repair shop or location to obtain the repairs.

Citation:
W. Va. Code R. § 114-14-6

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Section 114-14-7 - Standards For Prompt, Fair And Equitable Settlements Applicable To Automobile Insurance

7.1. Applicability. -- This section is applicable to claims arising under motor vehicle collision and comprehensive coverage. The provisions of section 6 of these rules are applicable to these claims except to the extent that such provisions are inconsistent with the specific provisions of this section.
7.2. Definition of terms. -- The following shall govern the construction of the terms used in this section:
- a. “Agreed price” means the amount agreed to by the insurer and the insured, or their representatives, as to the reasonable cost to repair damages to the motor vehicle resulting from the loss, without considering any deductible or other deductions;
- b. “Designated representative” means a person designated by the insured to represent him or her in negotiations with the insurer in an attempt to settle the claim. The designated representative may be a member of the insured’s immediate family or any other person named by the insured who may legally act on his or her behalf and who so acts without compensation of any kind;
- c. “Motor vehicle” has the meaning ascribed in subsection (b), section one, article one, chapter seventeen-a of the Code of West Virginia of 1931, as amended;
- d. “Official used car guide” means a valuation source that has been approved by the Commissioner for setting the minimum value of a motor vehicle which is the subject of a total loss claim. In order to be approved by the Commissioner as an official used car guide, the valuation source must meet the following criteria:
  - 1. All valuation sources must:
    - A. Produce statistically valid fair market values based on current data available primarily from the area surrounding the location where the insured vehicle was principally garaged or a necessary expansion of parameters, such as time and area, to assure statistical validity;
    - B. Produce values for at least eighty-five percent (85%) of all makes and models of private passenger automobiles for the last fifteen (15) model years and include all major options. A sufficient number of vehicles shall be used for each year, make and model to represent a cross-section sufficient to determine fair market values;
    - C. Produce for examination by the Commissioner, at the time the request for approval is made or as soon thereafter as practicable, the source of the data in a manner that can be verified by the Commissioner;
    - D. Make available for examination by the Commissioner, at the time the request for approval is made or as soon thereafter as practicable, any contracts or agreements between the valuation source and insurers, which the valuation source may assert is a trade secret pursuant to W. Va. Code § 47-22-1(d); and
    - E. Produce for examination any other information determined by the Commissioner to be helpful or necessary in determining the statistical validity of the values produced by the valuation source, or otherwise bearing on the integrity of the valuation source, including the existence of and resolution of consumer complaints based upon total loss valuations performed by the source. If the information meets the definition of trade secret pursuant to W. Va. Code § 47-22-1(d), then the valuation source may make available for examination by the Commissioner, without filing the same, any information requested pursuant to this subparagraph. If the information meets the definition of trade secret pursuant to W. Va. Code § 47-22-1(d) and, after having been made available for examination by the Commissioner, the Commissioner determines that the information pertains to the existence of or resolution of consumer complaints, the valuation source shall propose a reasonable method for protection of the information.
  - 2. A valuation source that is other than a valuation manual, including a computerized database, must meet the criteria set forth in subparagraphs A, B, C, D and E of paragraph one of this subdivision, and in addition must:
    - A. Give primary consideration to the values of vehicles in the local market area but if necessary to obtain a reasonable cross-section of the market, may consider vehicles in the next closest area;
    - B. Rely upon values of vehicles that are currently available or were available within ninety days from the date of loss for all vehicles and apply appropriate standards of comparability;
    - C. Rely upon values derived primarily from verifiable data or inventory from licensed dealers which have minimum sales of one hundred motor vehicles per year in the local market area, for vehicles of five model years or less of age;
    - D. Monitor the average retail price of private passenger automobiles when there is insufficient data or inventory from licensed dealers to ensure statistically valid market area values; and
    - E. Clearly indicate and describe the condition at which the vehicle is being valued, if the valuation source uses several price ranges for the same model vehicle depending on the condition of the vehicle. Documentation of the condition of the insured vehicle must be made a part of the written valuation. Deductions made for the condition of the insured vehicle must be reasonably based on a physical attribute that has the effect of decreasing the vehicle’s value.
- e. “Substantially similar vehicle” means a motor vehicle of the same make, model, year and substantially the same condition, including all major options of the insured vehicle. Mileage may not exceed that of the insured vehicle by more than 4,000 miles unless mutually acceptable to both the insurer and the insured.
7.3. Adjustment of partial losses. -- The following subdivisions govern the conduct of insurers in the adjustment of partial losses:
- a. Insurers shall include the insured’s deductible, if any, in subrogation demands. Subrogation recoveries shall be shared on a proportionate basis with the insured, unless the deductible amount has been otherwise recovered. No deduction for expenses may be made from the deductible recovery unless an outside attorney is retained to collect such recovery. The deduction may then be for only a pro rata share of the allocated loss adjustment expense;
- b. If an insurer prepares an estimate of the cost of the motor vehicle repairs, such estimate shall be in an amount for which it may be reasonably expected the damage can be satisfactorily repaired. The insurer shall give a copy of the estimate to the insured and may furnish to the insured the names of one or more conveniently located repair shops that will perform the repairs for the amount tendered in settlement of the claim;
- c. If the insurer intends to exercise its rights to inspect damages prior to repair, it has seven (7) working days from the date of receipt of notice of loss to inspect the insured’s damaged motor vehicle at a place and time reasonably convenient to the insured. In addition, negotiations shall commence and a good faith offer of settlement shall be made within the aforesaid seven (7) day period;
- d. If the insured’s motor vehicle is repaired at a repair shop recommended by the insurer, for a sum estimated by the insurer as the reasonable cost to repair the vehicle, the insurer shall, at no additional cost to the claimant and within a reasonable period of time, cause the damaged vehicle to be restored to the condition it was in prior to the loss if the repair shop it recommended does not so repair the damaged motor vehicle;
- e. Deductions for betterment and/or depreciation are permitted only for parts normally subject to repair and replacement during the useful life of the insured motor vehicle. Deductions for betterment and/or depreciation are limited to an amount equal to the proportion that the expired life of the part to be repaired or replaced bears to the normal useful life of that part. Calculations for betterment, depreciation and normal useful life must be included in the insurer’s claim file;
- f. Deductions for previous damage or prior condition of the motor vehicle must be measurable, discernible, itemized and specified as to dollar amount, and such deductions must be detailed in the claim file;
- g. The insurer must mail or hand deliver to the insured or his or her designated representative its proof of loss or payment within ten (10) working days after the insured has accepted the insurer’s offer;
- h. If the insurer does not perform its own physical inspection, it is nevertheless bound by all the applicable requirements of this regulation.
7.4. Adjustment of total losses. -- The following subdivisions govern the conduct of insurers in the adjustment of total losses:
- a. If the insurer elects to make a cash settlement:
  - 1. It must use the most recent version of an “Official Used Car Guide” approved by the Commissioner and uniformly and regularly used by the company, as a guide for setting the minimum value of the motor vehicle which is the subject of the claim. Any deviation downward from the guide’s retail valuation must be supported by documentation that gives detailed information about the vehicle’s condition, and any deductions must be measurable, discernible, itemized and specified concerning dollar amount, and they shall be appropriate in amount. This documentation must be maintained in the claim file;
  - 2. If the retail value of the specific motor vehicle is not contained in the most recent version of an “Official Used Car Guide” approved by the Commissioner and which is used uniformly and regularly by the company, the company must secure dealer quotations on the retail value of similar vehicles and base the settlement upon them. The offer must enable the insured to purchase the substantially similar vehicle for the cash settlement and any deviation from this practice must be supported by documentation giving particular information about the motor vehicle’s condition. The documentation and the source of the dealer quotations must be maintained in the claim file;
  - 3. The company shall provide a reasonable written explanation to the concerned parties when cash settlement offers, as set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) above are made. The explanation must specify the dollar amount of the base figure and identify the actual source. Any additions or subtractions from the base dollar figure must be identified and explained; and
  - 4. In addition to any cash settlement value agreed to by the claimant, there must be added an amount equal to five percent (5%) of such cash settlement value, as reimbursement to the claimant for the excise tax imposed by the state.
- b. If the insurer elects to replace the vehicle, the replacement vehicle must be an immediately available, substantially similar vehicle that is both furnished and paid for by the insurer, subject to the deductible, if any.
- c. If the insured vehicle is a private passenger automobile of the current model year, meaning that it has not been superseded in the marketplace by an officially introduced succeeding model, the insurer shall utilize one of the following methods in the settlement of the loss, except where the method used would be detrimental to the interests of the insured as compared with utilization of the methods described in subdivisions a. and b. above:
  - 1. The insurer shall pay to the insured the reasonable purchase price on the date of loss of a substantially similar vehicle, less any applicable deductible and an allowance for depreciation in accordance with an official used car guide which has been approved by the Commissioner and is used regularly by the insurer; or
  - 2. The insurer shall furnish the insured with a substantially similar replacement vehicle, and charge the insured for any applicable deductible and for depreciation in accordance with the official used car guide.
- d. If the insurer, in the process of adjusting a total loss, makes a deduction for the salvage value of the insured vehicle, the insurer must furnish the insured with the name and address of a salvage dealer who will purchase the salvage for the amount deducted.
- e. All applicable provisions of subsection 7.3. of this section, “Adjustment of Partial Losses,” also apply to the adjustment of total losses, except that the insurer is allowed an additional five (5) working days to comply with the requirements set out in subsection 7.3. of these rules. Any letter of explanation or rejection of any element of a claim shall contain the identity and claims processing address of the insurer, the insured’s policy number and the claim number.
7.5. Unreasonable delay. -- If any element of a physical damage claim remains unresolved more than fifteen (15) working days from the date of receipt of proofs of loss by the insurer, the insurer shall provide the insured with a written explanation of the specific reasons for the delay in the claim settlement unless reasonable grounds exist to suspect fraud or arson. An updated letter of explanation shall be sent every thirty (30) calendar days thereafter until all elements of the claim are either honored or rejected.
7.6. Repair estimates. -- If an insurer requires that its insured obtain an estimate or estimates of vehicle damage, the reasonable charges, if any, of such estimates shall be borne by the insurer.
7.7. Notice of right to reimbursement for transportation expenses. -- In the event of the theft of the entire vehicle, it is the duty of the insurer at the time of notification of loss to advise the insured of his or her right under the policy to be reimbursed for transportation expenses. Such notification must be confirmed in writing immediately after receipt of notice of theft. All conditions and benefits related to this coverage as stated in the policy must be contained in the notification to the insured.

Citation:
W. Va. Code R. § 114-14-7

Verify statute or Download PDF

If verify link fails, Google:
casetext.com, the citation.

With your support, more comments to come.

Section 114-14-9 - Separability

If any provision of this rule is held invalid, the remainder of the rule shall not be affected thereby.

Citation:
W. Va. Code R. § 114-14-9

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If verify link fails, Google:
casetext.com, the citation.

With your support, more comments to come.

Section 114-14-10 - Penalty For Violation Of Any Provision Of This Regulation

Any person who fails to comply with any provision of this regulation shall, after notice and hearing, be found to be transacting insurance in an illegal, improper or unjust manner. The Commissioner may, pursuant to W. Va. Code §§ 33-3-11, 33-11-6, 33-11-7, 33-11-8 and 33-12-25, refuse to renew, or may revoke or suspend the license of any such person or, in lieu thereof, the Commissioner may, at his or her discretion, order such person to pay to the State of West Virginia a penalty in a sum not to exceed that imposed by said sections of said code, and the Commissioner may, pursuant to W. Va. Code § 33-2-11, order such person to discontinue such illegal, improper or unjust transaction of insurance and to adjust and pay obligations as they become due.

Citation:
W. Va. Code R. § 114-14-10

Verify statute or Download PDF

If verify link fails, Google:
casetext.com, the citation.

“Jerry, looks to me like
the legislators of some states
are pimping us out
to automobile insurance companies.”

“Jerry, I skimmed through the laws
of half a dozen or so different states.

“Looks to me like the legislators
of some states aren’t just making it easy
for automobile insurance companies
to have their way with us.

“Looks to me like they’re pimping us out
to the automobile insurance companies.”

If that’s the conclusion that you come to,
my friend, I cannot necessarily say
that I would disagree with you.

“Our state legislators are pimping out
to automobile insurance companies
the very voters
who voted those legislators
into office?

“How can that be?”

In a word, money!

Every year, in the USA,
automobile insurance companies
collect hundreds of billions of dollars
in automobile insurance premiums.

Money of that magnitude
translates into political power.

Automobile insurance companies
have many ways
in which they can reward
whoever helps them maximize their profits.

Then too, there’s a revolving door
between insurance companies
and state regulatory departments.

Some employees of insurance companies
go on to become
state commissioners of insurance.

Some state commissioners of insurance
go on to become highly-paid employees
of insurance companies
or go on to become
fabulously compensated lobbyists
for insurance companies.

One way for a man or woman
to maximize his or her career income
in the insurance industry
is to help insurance companies
maximize their profits
before he or she becomes
a state commissioner of insurance
and to help insurance companies
maximize their profits
after he or she becomes
a state commissioner of insurance.

“Is there anything we can do?”

In principle, yes.

The Affordable Care Act
limits the percentage
of health-insurance premium dollars
that health insurance companies
can keep for themselves
and their shareholders.

But I have yet to run across a law
that limits the percentage
of automobile insurance premium dollars
that automobile insurance companies
can keep for themselves
and their shareholders.

I’d like to see
our state legislators enact such laws
or our federal legislators enact such a law.

“Until that happens,
we’re goinng to keep getting pimped out
to the automobile insurance companies?”

You read your state’s laws.

You’ve witnessed up close the conduct
of the automobile insurance company
that you’re dealing with
under your state’s laws.

I’ll leave it to you
to reach your own conclusions.

I’m doing what I can to teach folks
how to fight back against rapacious
automobile insurance companies.

From my questions
about your state’s laws,
you learned that the legislators
of some states
give total-loss claimants
rights that legislators
of other states take away.

I would like to see
the legislators of states
that have taken away rights
restore those rights.

I would like to see state legislators
give total-loss claimants
rights that would make it easy
for total-loss claimants
to get fair valuations
of their total-loss vehicles.

I’d like to build an organization
that can try to persuade our legislators
to change some of the laws
that make it so easy
for automobile insurance companies
to have their way with you.

If you would like to help me,
then, at the top right of your screen,

click this image:

Send me a few dollars.

Looks_to_me_like_legisators_of_some_states_are_pimping_us_outChapter

Get your draft document into shape
for an attorney to review it.

When I imagine you meeting with an attorney,
I see your attorney sitting at a computer.

The attorney has your draft letter
up on a computer screen
that you can see.

If someone other than you
did your word processing,
he or she is with you.

The two or three of you also have printouts
of your draft letter and other documents.

The attorney reads through your draft letter.

The attorney comments on
what is good in your draft letter
and on what needs to be fixed,
improved, deleted, or changed.

She or he asks you questions.

To answer some of the questions,
you pull out the document or the page
wherein the answer to that question
is to be found.

At the computer keyboard,
the attorney edits, fixes,
and strengthens your draft letter.

If you will imagine your meeting
with the attorney,
then doing so may help you
shape up and organize your draft letter
and other documents for that meeting.

When you are deciding
what to delete and what to keep,
imagine the workflow
that you want to accomplish
in the hour or so that you will spend
with the attorney.

Imagine how your conversation
with the attorney is likely to flow.

Shape up your draft letter accordingly.

Doing so may mean little more
than putting hard page breaks in places
that will organize the document
into meaningful sections.

Preserve the section of your draft document
where you used
“Find and replace” ➞ “Replace all”
to replace the specifics
of my fictitious total-loss claim
with the specifics of your total-loss claim.

This list of specifics
will give your attorney
the specifics of your total-loss claim
all in one place.

If some of what is in your draft letter
will have no role in the finished document
or in your conversation with the attorney,
then, probably, you can safely delete it.

Keep in mind that you’re not trying to create
a perfectly polished, legally pristine letter.

You’re putting together information
and supporting documents
that an attorney can vet, edit, and shape
into a powerful package.

You’re preparing yourself
for a fast-paced, efficient,
and productive conversation
with an attorney
about how to craft a letter
that will get you a fair valuation
for your total-loss vehicle.

When you’ve developed
your draft letter
as far as you wish to,
find an attorney
who knows how to deal
with automobile insurance companies
on total-loss property damage claims.

Get_your_draft_document_into_shapeChapter

Find an attorney
who is knowledgeable
about automobile insurance
total-loss property damage claims.

See if an attorney in your county
advertises his or her expertise here
on wasyourcartotaledorstolen.com.

Attorneys have many different specializations.

To help you get a fair valuation
of your total-loss vehicle,
you likely will want to find an attorney
who is knowledgeable
about automobile insurance
total-loss property damage claims.

If an attorney in your county
or in a nearby county
advertises his or her expertise
on wasyourcartotaledorstolen.com,
then he or she is likely knowledgeable
about automobile insurance
total-loss property damage claims.

He or she is likely
primed and prepared
to have with you
the kind of conversation
that I’ve prepared you for.

He or she may even
have already created a model letter
that picks up where mine leaves off.

If a local attorney
has already created
a model letter that picks up
where mine leaves off,
then his or her letter
will already be tailored
to the laws of your state.

To see if an attorney in your county
advertises his or services
here at wasyourcartotaledorstolen.com,
at the top of your screen,
click the image

of four attorneys standing together.

Then click your county.

Find_a_knowledgeable_attorneyChapter

Make an appointment with the attorney.

Email your draft letter
and supporting documents
to the attorney.

However you find an attorney
who is well qualified
to help you get a fair valuation
of your total-loss vehicle,
make an appointment
for an hour of his or her time.

If you want the attorney
to have your draft letter
up on a computer screen
during your meeting,
then email your draft letter
and its supporting documents
to the attorney
before your meeting.

If you are going to email your draft letter
and its supporting documents
to the attorney, then you need to write
an email for that purpose.

At the end of your draft document,
I have included as an example
the email that I would write
for that purpose.

If you wish to do so,
you may use my example email
as the starting point for your email.

If, earlier, you used
“Find and replace” ➞ “Replace all”
to change the specifics
of my fictitious total-loss claim
to the specifics
of your total-loss claim,
then those changes
will have rippled through
to my example email.

Make_an_appointment_with_an_attorneyChapter

Meet with the attorney.

If you have a co-pilot,
take him or her with you.

Ask your attorney to:

Review your draft letter
against the CCC market valuation report
or other market valuation report
that you received
from the automobile insurance company;
Review your draft letter against
the J.D. Power Buy from Dealer price
for your total-loss vehicle;
Review your draft letter against
your state’s laws; and
If your total-loss claim
is a first-party claim,
review your draft letter against
your automobile insurance policy.

Ask your attorney, to edit, tweak,
and strengthen your draft letter
as he or she thinks best.

Or, if your attorney wants you
to make the changes to your draft letter,
take good notes of what
your attorney tells you to change.

If you have time enough to do so,
ask the attorney what steps
he or she thinks you should take
if the automobile insurance company
does not agree to the valuation amount
that you propose.

If you don’t accomplish everything
that you wish to in one hour,
make a follow-up appointment.

Do not let
the automobile insurance company
rush you into a settlement
that is not fair to you.

Meet_with_the_attorneyChapter

Email your letter
and its supporting documents
to the automobile insurance company.

If your attorney asked you and your co-pilot
to make the changes to your draft letter,
then make those changes.

Pretty your letter up.

When you’re satisfied with
how your letter looks and reads,
email your letter
and its supporting documents
to the automobile insurance company
that you’re dealing with.

Email_your_letter_and_documents_to_the_automobile_insurance_companyChapter

If your letter and supporting documents
get you a fair valuation
of your total-loss vehicle,
then great!

Congratulations!

High fives!

You rule!

If you’ve made in this far
into wasyourcartotaledorstolen.com,
then you’ve done a lot of work!

You and perhaps a co-pilot
have spent a lot of hours
getting savvy to ways
in which automobile insurance companies
try to cheat people
out of fair settlemets
of their total-loss claims.

If you have succeeded
in getting a fair valuation
of your total-loss vehilce,
then, as we say down South,
I’m proud fer ya!

Your hard work has paid off!

High fives!

God bless you!

If you would like to share
your success story
with other total-loss claimants
in West Virginia, email me your story.

I’ll create a web page
here in the West Virginia arena
of wasyourcartotaledorstolen.com
where you and other folks
who live in West Virginia
can share your stories
with one another.

(I may edit your story a little bit
to keep you and me
from getting into trouble.)

If you would like to help me
help others achieve
what you have achieved,
then, at the top right of your screen,

click this image:

Send me a few dollars.

Congratulations!

And thank you!

If_your_letter_gets_you_a_fair_valuation_high_fivesChapter

If your letter did not get you
a fair valuation
of your total-loss vehicle, then,
if you have a right of recourse,
exercise your right of recourse.

By now, you should know
whether or not your state laws
give you a right of recourse.

You should know how many days
after the automobile insurance company
mails you the settlement check
you have to exercise
your right of recourse
before it expires.

To learn how I would go about
exercising my right of recourse,
at the top of your screen,
click the photo
of the young woman
who is determined

to exercise her rights:

If_your_letter_did_not_get_you_a_fair_valuation_exercise_your_right_of_recourseChapter

If you do not have a right of recourse
or if exercising your right of recourse
did not get you a fair valuation
of your total-loss vehicle,
then you may want to initiate
a small-claims lawsuit
or even a large-claims lawsuit.

To get a fair valuation
of my total-loss vehicle,
I sued the at-fault driver
in a small-claims lawsuit
for the amount of money
that her automobile insurance company,
Travelers, cheated me out of.

I got an additional $5,920 from Travelers.

If your total-loss claim
is a third-party claim
and the automobile insurance company
refused to negotiate
a fair valuation of your total-loss vehicle,
then you can sue the at-fault driver
for the amount of money
that his or her
automobile insurance company
cheated you out of.

If your total-loss claim
is a first-party claim,
then things are much more complicated.

Your automobile insurance policy
may contain an appraisal clause,
may contain an arbitration clause,
or may contain both.

Your state’s legislators
may have taken away rights
that you would otherwise have
under the law of contracts.

Hence, if your total-loss claim
is a first-party claim,
then I suggest that you
ask an attorney in your county
whether or not it makes sense
for you to invoke the appraisal clause
in your automobile insurance policy,
invoke the arbitration clause
in your automobile insurance policy,
or initiate a lawsuit
against your automobile insurance company.

To learn how,
in a third-party total-loss claim,
I would initiate a small-claims lawsuit
and perhaps a large-claims lawsuit,
at the top of your screen,
click the photo of the total-loss claimant
and the attorney
for the automobile insurance company
arguing their case

in front of a judge.

If_your_right_of_recourse_does_not_get_you_a_fair_valuation_you_may_want_to_sueChapter

Nota bene

Jerry Marlow is not an attorney. Neither information nor opinions published on this site constitute legal advice. This site is not a lawyer referral service. No attorney‑client or confidential relationship is or will be formed by use of this site. Any attorney listings on this site are paid attorney advertising. In some states, the information on this website may be considered a lawyer referral service.

Terms of use

Jerry Marlow grants human users of wasyourcartotaledorstolen.com permission to use the copyrighted materials on wasyourcartotaledorstolen.com for their personal use free of charge.

The fee to use copyrighted materials on wasyourcartotaledorstolen.com to train artificial intelligence software (AI) is $4 million.

Reproduction of copyrighted materials on wasyourcartotaledorstolen.com for commercial use without the written permission of Jerry Marlow is strictly prohibited.

Jerry Marlow does not grant users permission to reproduce on other websites any of the copyrighted material published on wasyourcartotaledorstolen.com.

Jerry Marlow does not grant users permission to reproduce via audio, video, or any other audiovisual medium any of the copyrighted material published on wasyourcartotaledorstolen.com.

If you wish to use any of the copyrighted material published on wasyourcartotaledorstolen.com in any way for which permission is not explicitly granted, contact Jerry Marlow at jerrymarlow@jerrymarlow.com.

To make your draft letter to the automobile insurance company more consistent with the laws of West Virginia, vet and edit your draft letter against the laws of West Virginia that I copied and pasted below.

If your total-loss claim is a first-party claim, then, to adapt my first-party model letters to the laws of your state, you need to know or need to find or need to ask an attorney the answers to these sets of questions.

To adapt my polite first‑party model letter to the laws of your state, you need to know or need to find or need to ask an attorney the answer to this question.

To adapt my muscular first‑party model letter to the laws of your state, you need to know or need to find or need to ask an attorney the answers to these questions.

Keep an eye out for paragraphs of the law that may prove useful to you if your automobile insurance company does not agree to the valuation amount for your total-loss vehicle that you propose in your letter.

The legislators of a few states give rights to first-party claimants that legislators of other states take away from first-party claimants.

Are your state legislators right givers?

Or right takers?

If your total-loss claim is a third-party claim, then, to adapt my third-party model letters to the laws of your state, you need to know or need to find or need to ask an attorney the answers to these sets of questions.

To adapt my polite third‑party model letter to the laws of your state, you need to know or need to find or need to ask an attorney the answer to this question.

To adapt my muscular third‑party model letter to the laws of your state, you need to know or need to find or need to ask an attorney the answers to these questions.

Keep an eye out for paragraphs of the law that may prove useful to you if the automobile insurance company does not agree to the valuation amount that you propose in your letter for your total-loss vehicle.

Questions about the laws of your state to which the answers may prove useful to you if you end up suing the at-fault driver and his or her automobile insurance company for the money that the at-fault driver’s automobile insurance company cheated you out of.

If it’s more work than you wish to do to vet and edit your draft letter against West Virginia’s laws, then let the attorney with whom you meet vet and edit the letter for you.

Help me create model letters tailored to the laws of every state.

Send me a few dollars.

The laws of West Virginia that regulate how automobile insurance companies that do business in West Virginia are required to value total-loss vehicles and settle total-loss claims.

My Comments

West Virginia Regulations

West Virginia Administrative Code

Agency 114 - Insurance Commission

Title 114 - LEGISLATIVE RULE INSURANCE COMMISSIONER

Series 114-14 - Unfair Trade Practices

“Jerry, looks to me like the legislators of some states are pimping us out to automobile insurance companies.”

Get your draft document into shape for an attorney to review it.

Find an attorney who is knowledgeable about automobile insurance total-loss property damage claims.

See if an attorney in your county advertises his or her expertise here on wasyourcartotaledorstolen.com.

Make an appointment with the attorney.

Email your draft letter and supporting documents to the attorney.

Meet with the attorney.

Email your letter and its supporting documents to the automobile insurance company.

If your letter and supporting documents get you a fair valuation of your total-loss vehicle, then great!

Congratulations!

High fives!

You rule!

If your letter did not get you a fair valuation of your total-loss vehicle, then, if you have a right of recourse, exercise your right of recourse.

If you do not have a right of recourse or if exercising your right of recourse did not get you a fair valuation of your total-loss vehicle, then you may want to initiate a small-claims lawsuit or even a large-claims lawsuit.

To make your draft letter
to the automobile insurance company
more consistent
with the laws of West Virginia,
vet and edit your draft letter
against the laws of West Virginia
that I copied and pasted below.

If your total-loss claim
is a first-party claim,
then, to adapt
my first-party model letters
to the laws of your state,
you need to know or need to find
or need to ask an attorney
the answers to these sets of questions.

To adapt
my polite first‑party model letter
to the laws of your state,
you need to know or need to find
or need to ask an attorney
the answer to this question.

To adapt
my muscular first‑party model letter
to the laws of your state,
you need to know or need to find
or need to ask an attorney
the answers to these questions.

Keep an eye out
for paragraphs of the law
that may prove useful to you
if your automobile insurance company
does not agree to the valuation amount
for your total-loss vehicle
that you propose in your letter.

The legislators of a few states
give rights to first-party claimants
that legislators of other states
take away from first-party claimants.

If your total-loss claim
is a third-party claim,
then, to adapt
my third-party model letters
to the laws of your state,
you need to know or need to find
or need to ask an attorney
the answers to these sets of questions.

To adapt
my polite third‑party model letter
to the laws of your state,
you need to know or need to find
or need to ask an attorney
the answer to this question.

To adapt
my muscular third‑party model letter
to the laws of your state,
you need to know or need to find
or need to ask an attorney
the answers to these questions.

Keep an eye out
for paragraphs of the law
that may prove useful to you
if the automobile insurance company
does not agree to the valuation amount
that you propose in your letter
for your total-loss vehicle.

Questions about the laws of your state
to which the answers
may prove useful to you
if you end up suing
the at-fault driver and his or her
automobile insurance company
for the money
that the at-fault driver’s
automobile insurance company
cheated you out of.

If it’s more work
than you wish to do
to vet and edit your draft letter
against West Virginia’s laws,
then let the attorney
with whom you meet
vet and edit the letter for you.

Help me create model letters
tailored to the laws of every state.

The laws of West Virginia that regulate
how automobile insurance companies
that do business in West Virginia
are required
to value total-loss vehicles
and settle total-loss claims.

“Jerry, looks to me like
the legislators of some states
are pimping us out
to automobile insurance companies.”

Get your draft document into shape
for an attorney to review it.

Find an attorney
who is knowledgeable
about automobile insurance
total-loss property damage claims.

See if an attorney in your county
advertises his or her expertise here
on wasyourcartotaledorstolen.com.

Email your draft letter
and supporting documents
to the attorney.

Email your letter
and its supporting documents
to the automobile insurance company.

If your letter and supporting documents
get you a fair valuation
of your total-loss vehicle,
then great!

If your letter did not get you
a fair valuation
of your total-loss vehicle, then,
if you have a right of recourse,
exercise your right of recourse.

If you do not have a right of recourse
or if exercising your right of recourse
did not get you a fair valuation
of your total-loss vehicle,
then you may want to initiate
a small-claims lawsuit
or even a large-claims lawsuit.