If I had not yet agreed
to a valuation amount
for my total-loss vehicle,
then, first, I would try to negotiate
a fair valuation of my toal-loss vehicle.

I would attack and reject the valuation
in the automobile insurance company’s
CCC market valuation report.

I would try to persuade
the automobile insurance company
to value my total-loss vehicle
at its J.D. Power Buy from Dealer price.

I would argue
that my total-loss vehicle’s
J.D. Power Buy from Dealer price
is a fair, reputable, and unbiased calculation
of my total-loss vehicle’s
actual cash value.

---

what_I_would_do_todayChapter

If your total-loss claim
is a first-party total-loss claim,
then your automobile insurance policy
likely promises
that your automobile insurance company
will value your total-loss vehicle
at its actual cash value.

---

If your total-loss claim
is a third-party total-loss claim,
then the insurance regulations of your state
may require
the automobile insurance company
that you’re dealing with
to value your total-loss vehicle
at its actual cash value.

---

What does actual cash value mean?

How do you calculate it?

---

Actual cash value
is insurance-industry jargon.

Your total-loss vehicle’s actual cash value
is the amount of money including sales tax
for which you the claimant
can reasonably be expected
to replace your total-loss vehicle
with a vehicle that is substantially similar
to your total-loss vehicle.

Substantially similar means:
same make, same model,
same model year, same trim level,
same major options, similar mileage,
and same or better condition.

Hence, actual cash value
does not mean enough money
to purchase a brand new vehicle
of the same make, same model,
same trim level, same major options,
zero mileage, and perfect condition.

---

In the definition of actual cash value,
the phrase “can reasonably be expected”
implies that the cost to you
to replace your total-loss vehicle
is uncertain.

How do you calculate an uncertain value?

---

For example,
if I hand you a fair, six-sided die
and I ask you what value you will get
if you roll that die one time,
you don’t know.

The outcome is uncertain.

You could roll a 1.

You could roll a 2.

You could roll a 3.

You could roll a 4.

You could roll a 5.

You could roll a 6.

---

Psychologically, you might be tempted
to guess.

If you’re an optimist, you might say,
“Oh, I would expect to roll a six—
or at least a five.”

Or, if you’re an pessimist, you might say,
“Oh, I’d probably roll just a two—
or maybe even a one.”

---

To calculate an expected value,
practitioners of statistics, finance,
law, and business do not guess.

They use a different methodology.

They calculate what is known
in statistics, finance, law, and business
as an expected value.

To calculate the expected value
of an event, you calculate
the probability-weighted average
of the possible outcomes.

In many situations, this calculation
is much simpler than it sounds.

For example, I might ask you:
if you roll an unbiased six-sided die
one time, what is the expected value?

You can calculate that.

If you roll an unbiased six-sided die
one time, there are six possible outcomes.

The six possible outcomes
are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

The probability of each
of these six possbible outcomes
is the same: one in six or ⅙.

To find the expected value
of one roll
of one unbiased, six-sided die,
we multiply the probability
of each possible outcome
times that outcome;
then we sum the six products:

Expected value
= ⅙·1 + ⅙·2 + ⅙·3 + ⅙·4 + ⅙·5 + ⅙·6
= 1/6 + 2/6 + 3/6 + 4/6 + 5/6 + 6/6
= 21/6
= 3.5

The expected value of one roll
of one unbiased, six-sided die
is 3.5
even though, in this example,
that is not a possible outcome.

---

When possible outcomes all have
the same probability,
then, to get the expected value
of a single event,
you can simply add up
all the possible outcomes
and divide the sum
by the number of outcomes.

To use our same example:
Expected value
= (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6)/6
= 21/6
= 3.5

Here again, the expected value is simply
the probability-weighted average outcome.

---

Given this standard procedure
for finding an expected value,
the fairest and ideal way
for an independent valuation corporation
to find the expected value
of your total-loss vehicle
would be to:

1. Gather all the retail prices
   for which vehicles substantially similar
   to your total-loss vehicle
   sold recently at automobile dealerships
   in your local market area.

2. Sum all those retail prices.

3. Divide the sum
   by the number of sales.

The expected value
or actual cash value
of your total-loss vehicle
would be the average
of all those retail sale prices
plus the local sales tax.

---

While this would be the ideal way
to calculate the actual cash value
of your total-loss vehicle,
ordinarily, it does not work in practice.

Why?

Substantially similar means
same make, same model,
same model year, same trim level,
same major options, similar mileage,
and same or better condition.

Given the large variety of trim levels,
major options, mileages, and conditions
of used vehicles;
few, if any, vehicles
that are substantially similar
to your total-loss vehicle
may have been sold recently
at automobile dealerships
in your local market area.

---

While the ideal valuation methodology
is not feasible in practice;
J.D. Power comes pretty close.

To calculate the value of a used vehicle,
the J.D. Power valuation calculator
at www.jdpower.com/cars/manufacturers
uses all available data from a large number
of recent sales of similar vehicles
at local automobile dealerships.

From this data, J.D. Power selects vehicles
of the same make, same model,
same model year, and same trim level
as the valuation vehicle.

The J.D. Power calculator takes into account
how the prices of similar vehicles vary
depending on options and mileage.

From this data, the calculator calculates
the average price paid
of a vehicle that is substantially similar
to your total-loss vehicle.

---

---

J.D. Power presents its calculations
as a probability distribution.

J.D. Power tells you the range of prices
that 80% of the prices fall into it.

J.D. Power tells you
the probability-weighted average
of those prices.

The average price paid
is the vehicle’s expected value
or expected buy-from-dealer price.

---

To use the language of the law of many states,
the J.D. Power valuation calculator
calculates the amount of money
for which you can reasonably be expected
to replace your total-loss vehicle
with a vehicle
that is substantially identical
to your total-loss vehicle.

That is, the J.D. Power valuation calculator
calculates your total-loss vehicle’s
actual cash value.

---

Perhaps of greatest importance to you,
the J.D. Power valuation calculator
is unbiased.

Both buyers and sellers of used vehicles
rely on J.D. Power’s valuations.

J.D. Power’s success as a business
depends on its valuations
being fair to both buyers and sellers
of used vehicles.

Hence, J.D. Power has
a strong financial motive
to be fair
to both buyers and sellers of used vehicles.

---

To put J.D. Power’s business
and business practices
into courtroom language,
you might say that J.D. Power
has motive, means, and opportunity
to produce valuations that are
fair to buyers of used vehicles,
fair to sellers of used vehicles,
fair to total-loss claimants,
and fair
to automobile insurance companies.

---

The laws of a few states require
automobile insurance companies
to value total-loss vehicles
at those vehicles’
“fair market values.”

Fair market value is defined as
“the price at which a given property
would change hands
between a willing buyer
and a willing seller,
neither being under any compulsion
to buy or to sell
and both having reasonable knowledge
of relevant facts.”

Because so many buyers and sellers
of used vehicles
rely on J.D. Power for fair valuations,
J.D. Power, in practice,
often becomes the source of choice
for fair market values
of used vehicles and total-loss vehicles.

If you live in one of the states that require
automobile insurance companies
to value total-loss vehicles
at their fair market value,
you can propose
to the automobile insurance company
that they use
the J.D. Power Buy from Dealer price
as your total-loss vehicle’s
fair market value.

---

Your total-loss vehicle’s
actual cash value
and fair market value
are the same amount of money—
the J.D. Power Buy from Dealer price
plus sales tax.

---

Remember: No matter what
automobile insurance company reps say
to try to confuse you,
your total-loss vehicle’s
actual cash value
is an average of prices
of all substantially similar vehicles
sold recently at automobile dealerships
in your local market
plus sales tax.

Your total-loss vehicle’s
actual cash value is not
the lowest price
for which a similar vehicle sold.

Your total-loss vehicle’s
actual cash value is not
the lowest price
for which a similar vehicle is for sale.

Your total-loss vehicle’s
actual cash value is not
the lowest amount of money
that the laws of your state
allow the automobile insurance company
to offer you.

---

“Jerry, why must you keep harping
on the sales tax?

“Don’t the automobile insurance companies
know that they’re supposed to include
sales tax in the vehicle’s valuation amount?”

Oh, they know it all right!

But that doesn’t necessarily mean
that the automobile insurance company
will include the sales tax
in your settlement check
unless you make sure that they do.

An automobile insurance company
can save itself a big hunk of dough
if it repeatedly “forgets”
to include the sales tax
in its settlements
of total-loss automobile insurance claims.

One automobile insurance company
recently agreed to pay total-loss claimants
$788,220 after it got nabbed
screwing those total-loss claimants
out of the sales-tax portions
of the valuations of their total-loss vehicles.

---

actual_cash_value_is_an_expected_valueChapter

To maximize their company’s profits,
the automobile insurance company
that you are dealing with
would like to settle
your total-loss claim
for as little money as possible.

To settle your total-loss claim
for as little money as possible,
the automobile insurance company
would like to offer you
as little money
as they can get away with
in their initial valuation offer
for your total-loss vehicle.

Is there a lower limit
to how little money
the automobile insurance commpany
that you are dealing with
can offer you
in their initial valuation offer?

In many states, yes.

---

In many states,
to set a lower limit
on initial valuation offers,
insurance regulations
identify half a dozen or so sources
that an automobile insurance company
may use as the source
of its initial valuation offer.

The regulations say
that the automobile insurance company’s
initial valuation offer cannot be lower
than the lowest of the valuation amounts
from these sources.

Often, in many states,
the permissible valuation source
that reliably produces
the lowest valuation amount
is CCC Information Services
a.k.a. CCC Intelligent Solutions.

As far as I have been able to find out,
CCC produces valuations
only for automobile insurance companies.

A valuation services vendor
that produces valuations
only for automobile insurance companies
has a strong financial motive
to produce valuations
that undervalue total-loss vehicles.

---

To produce its valuations,
CCC uses
a proprietary computerized database
and proprietary software.

A proprietary computerized database
means that only CCC
knows what data is in its database.

Proprietary software
means that only CCC
knows what rules and algorithms
are programmed into its software.

A valuation services vendor
that uses a proprietary database
and proprietary software
has the means
to produce valuations
that undervalue total-loss vehicles.

---

When such a valuation services vendor
uses their proprietary database
and proprietary software to value
a total-loss claimant’s total-loss vehicle,
that database and software likely gives
the valuation services vendor
many opportunities to undervalue
the claimant’s total-loss vehicle.

---

In sum,
when an automobile insurance company
hires a valuation services vendor
that produces valuations
only for automobile insurance companies
and that valuation services vendor
uses a proprietary database
and uses proprietary software
to value your total-loss vehicle,
then that valuation services vendor
has motive, means, and opportunity
to undervalue your total-loss vehicle.

---

In some states, the law says
that an automobile insurance company
“may settle” a total-loss claim
on the basis of a valuation
that it got
from one of the permissible sources.

“May settle” does not mean
that the automobile insurance company
has the right or the power
to impose a lowball settlement on you.

“May settle” means
that the automobile insurance company
may enter into settlement negotiations
with you on the basis
of the lowball valuation
that they got
from a valuation services vendor
that produces valuations
only for automobile insurance companies.

It’s up to you to exercise your rights.

It’s up to you to fight back.

---

insurer_s_offer_is_lowest_offer_allowed_by_lawChapter

In the letter that I would write
to the automobile insurance company:

• 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.

  I might argue that
  the automobile insurance company’s
  valuation offer
  is a flawed, lowball valuation opinion
  produced
  by a valuation services vendor
  that produces valuation opinions
  only for automobile insurance companies.

• I would reject
  the automobile insurance company’s
  valuation offer.

• I would propose a fair valuation
  of my total-loss vehicle.

  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
  for the fairness and legitimacy
  of the valuation that I propose.

  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.

---

If you want to write such a letter,
then, depending on your personality
and on your situation,
you may prefer to write
a polite letter
to the automobile insurance company,
or you may prefer to write
a more muscular letter
to the automobile insurance company.

---

Let’s first look at the sort of letter
that I would write
to the automobile insurance company
if I wanted to write a polite letter.

Then, let’s look at the sort of letter
that I would write
if I wanted to write a more muscular letter.

---

I hope that these examples
of what I might write
will help you think through and figure out
what you might want to say
in your letter
to the automobile insurance company
that you’re dealing with.

---

In case you want to use
what I would write
as a starting point for your letter,
when the time comes,
I will offer you .docx versions
of my letters.

I will offer you letters
that I might write
for a first-party claim.

I will offer you letters
that I might write
for a third-party claim.

I will offer you suggestions
on your preparation of your letter.

---

to_persuade_write_a_letterChapter

To walk you through
what I would do today
to get a fair valuation
of my total-loss vehicle
if I had not yet settled my claim,
let’s work with a make-believe example.

---

Let’s pretend
that the automobile insurance company
is ABC Automobile Insurance Company.

Let’s pretend
that my total‑loss vehicle
is a 2019 Jeep Cherokee Overland,
VIN number 1C4PJMJX2KD249619.

At the time of the total-loss event,
my total-loss vehicle
had 35,082 miles on its odometer.

Let’s pretend
that, at the time of the total-loss event,
my total‑loss vehicle
was in good condition.
It had no accidents reported
in its CarFax vehicle history.

Let’s pretend
that ABC Automobile Insurance Company
paid ZZZ Valuation Services
to concoct a market valuation report
for my total‑loss vehicle.

Let’s pretend
that the ZZZ market valuation report
substantially undervalued
my total‑loss vehicle.

Let’s pretend
that ZZZ’s market valuation report
is chock full of omissions, errors,
and misrepresentations.

Let’s pretend that,
to value my total-loss vehicle,
ZZZ used a dodgy proprietary database
and dodgy proprietary computer software.

Let’s pretend
that ABC’s advertising slogan is
“Peace of mind is as easy as ABC.”

---

Nota Bene:

ABC Automobile Insurance Company,
ZZZ Valuation Services,
both companies’ employees,
and all actions attributed to them
in this work of art are entirely fictitious.

No identification with actual companies,
actions, events, or persons (living or dead)
is intended or should be inferred.

Any similarity to actual companies,
actions, events, or persons (living or dead)
is purely coincidental (and deeply troubling).

No animals were harmed in the production
of this work of art.

---

Let_s_work_with_a_make_believe_total_loss_claimChapter

If I wanted to write a polite letter
to the automobile insurance company,
then I would write a letter
something like this one.

Or, if the automobile insurance company
was only trying to cheat me
out of a few hundred dollars,
then I likely would rely upon
a letter like this one.

---

To send my letter to ABC,
I would write a brief email like this one.

I would attach my letter
and supporting documents to the email.

---

---

Click on and take a look
at the three supporting documents
attached to the email.

In particular, note that,
to find the average price paid
for vehicles substantially similar
to my total-loss vehicle,
J.D. Power used price data
for 192 similar vehicles.

When you get the J.D. Power valuation
for your total-loss vehicle,
take note of the number of vehicles
from which J.D. Power used price data
to find the average price paid
for vehicles substantially similar
to your total-loss vehicle.

How many comp vehicles did
J.D. Power use
to value your total-loss vehicle?

How many comp vehicles did
the automobile insurance company use
to value your total-loss vehicle?

A large, unbiased data sample produces
a far more reliable result
than does a small, biased data sample.

---

A polite letter like this one
with email attachments such as these
very well may get you
the same valuation
that a more muscular letter
would get you.

I do not know and cannot predict
how the automobile insurance company
will respond to any letter.

You may wish to discuss with your co-pilot
the pros and cons of going
with the polite approach.

You may wish to prepare
a polite email and attachments
and then ask an attorney
what she or he thinks
of what you have prepared.

Or you may wish to prepare
both a polite letter
and a more muscular letter
and discuss with an attorney
which one you should send.

---

Whomever you talk to,
in the end,
rely on your own judgement.

This fight for a fair valuation
is a personal-growth opportunity
for you to make big decisions
and to take responsibility
for those big decisions.

---

“Uh, ummm, uh, Jerry?

“Why write a letter and an email?

“It’d be easier and simpler
just to put everything in the email.

“Don’t you think?”

Easier and simpler, yes.

Keep in mind, however,
that we’re not just negotiating here.

We’re also creating evidence that,
down the line,
you may wish to use in court
or in an arbitration proceeding.

If you find yourself in
either of those situations,
which mental response
would you rather provoke
in your judge or arbitrator?

“Oh Gawd!
Not another badly formatted email to read!”

Or:

“Oh! A thoughtfully formatted letter to read!”

---

A_polite_letter_might_look_like_thisChapter

If I wanted to write a muscular letter
to the automobile insurance company,
then I would write a letter
something like this one.

I would attach my muscular letter
and its supporting documents
to an email which I would send
to the automobile insurance company.

Were you to choose to write a similar letter,
here, next, you would need to delete
the sentences that I made up
about how ZZZ describes
its market valuation report
and replace those sentences
with similar sentences
that you copy and paste
from the market valuation report
that you received
from the automobile insurance company
that you’re dealing with.

Were you to choose to write a similar letter,
here, next, you would need to delete
the sentences that I made up
about ZZZ’s valuation methodology
and replace those sentences
with the valuation methodology
described in the market valuation report
that you received
from the automobile insurance company
that you’re dealing with.

Did my muscular letter
do anything for you?

As you read it, did you smile?

Did you utter the F word?

Did you get goosebumps?

Did your skin tingle?

I love when my writing
makes people’s skin tingle!

---

“Well, Jerry, I liked the attitude of the letter.

“Nothing mealy mouthed about it.

“But the letter is so long!

“As I kept reading and reading,
I got frightened that the letter
was  never   e v e r r r r
going to end!

“My skin did not tingle,
but the hairs
on the back of my neck
did stand up.

“Why write such a long letter?

“Why go into so many issues
in so much detail?

“I’ve never, ever, read
a letter that long before—
much less wrote one!”

---

Whaddaya_think_my_friendChapter

We write a long letter
mostly because we write our letter
for more than one audience.

The obvious audience is the folks
at the automobile insurance company.

But they may not be
your most important audience.

---

If you end up
going through an appraisal process,
then you can give a copy of your letter
and its supporting documents
to the appraiser that you hire.

The appraiser whom you hire
can show your letter
and its supporting documents
to the third appraiser.

Your letter
and its supporting documents
may win the third appraiser over
to a valuation favorable to you.

---

If you end up suing
the automobile insurance company
or you end up going through
an arbitration procedure,
then your letter
and its supporting documents
will be important pieces of evidence.

Most likely, your judge or arbitrator,
will read your letter
and look at its supporting documents.

Hence, your letter is an opportunity
to communicate important points—
and your reasonableness—
to your judge or arbitrator.

---

If you sue
the automobile insurance company
in a small-claims lawsuit,
the judge or small-claims court arbitrator
will not expect you
to cite the laws
on which you base your claims.

In fact, your judge
or small-claims court arbitrator
may not want you to cite any laws.

“Why do you say that?”

Most likely, your judge or arbitrator
will be an attorney.

Attorneys can be a little prickly
about us unwashed ignoramuses
telling them
what the law says.

Hence, if you end up
in a small-claims lawsuit
and your judge
or small-claims court arbitrator
is not acquainted
with your state’s laws and regulations
that govern
how automobile insurance companies
are required to value total‑loss vehicles
and settle total‑loss claims,
then your letter—
your letter offered into evidence—
is an opportunity to, as they say,
“refresh your judge
or small-claims court arbitrator’s memory.”

---

Also, in a small-claims lawsuit,
the judge or small-claims court arbitrator
will not expect you
to present your argument in writing.

Hence, in a small-claims lawsuit,
your long letter can accomplish
much of what a legal brief
would accomplish
in a large-claims lawsuit.

In your letter,
you can argue your side of the story
in an organized, thorough,
and persuasive way.

---

If you sue
the automobile insurance company
in a large-claims lawsuit, then, most likely,
the judge who hears your case
will expect you to submit a legal brief.

A legal brief is a written document
in which you state your claims,
make your argument for each claim,
and cite the laws and court cases
that support your argument
for each of your claims.

If you include your citations and arguments
in your letter, then, if and when need be,
you can translate your letter
into a legal brief;
or you can ask your legal coach
to help you translate your letter
into a legal brief;
or you can hire a freelance paralegal
to translate your letter
into a legal brief.

---

And, my friend,
there’s another angle
to factor into your thinking.

When the folks
at the automobile insurance company
read your long letter,
not only will they read it
through their own eyes;
they’ll also read it
through the eyes of a judge or arbitrator.

If, through the eyes
of a judge or arbitrator,
they see conspiracy to commit fraud
written all over
their collusion
with their valuation services vendor
to misrepresent facts
and undervalue your total-loss vehicle,
then the folks
at the automobile insurance company
may utter the F word.

Every time they discover more evidence
that you are not a gullible,
bumbling, trusting fool;
they may utter the F word
again and again.

Every time they utter the F word,
that may mean
another thousand dollars
added to the valuation
of your total‑loss vehicle.

Let’s get’em to say the F word
as many times as we can.

---

And so, for these reasons,
my friend,
I favor a long letter.

At least, that’s what I’d do.

---

“I see.

“Our strategy is
to get the con artists
at the automobile insurance company
to cuss up a blue streak!”

Better to make them curse you
than to let them,
behind your back,
smirk and giggle
about what a fool you are.

---

So, are you good to go
with a long letter?

“Maybe. We’ll see.”

You are so hard to please!

---

If you’re still feeling uneasy, my friend,
then maybe you’re a little discombobulated
because you did not expect
the letter
to be so long?

---

A basic principle of warfare says:

Strategically, do the unexpected.

Tactically, hit your adversary
where he is weakest.

---

The automobile insurance company
doesn’t expect a long letter either.

Most likely, where
the automobile insurance company
is weakest
is its market valuation report.

---

If the automobile insurance company
and its valuation services vendor
are trying to screw you
out of thousands of dollars,
then you’re at war.

Or, at least I would be.

---

I say:
Do the unexpected!

Write a long, powerful, comprehensive letter.

I say:
Hit your adversary where he is weakest.

Attack the automobile insurance company’s
market valuation report.

---

How ’bout you?

Whose side are you on?

Yours?

Or the automobile insurance company’s?

“Okay! Okay!

“I got your point.”

Good!

Looking at you,
I see you also got
a funny look on your face.

What else is eating at you?

“Well, since you asked …”

---

We_write_with_the_eyes_of_a_judge_or_arbitrator_in_mindChapter

“In your muscular letter to ABC,
Jerry, I noticed that you did
something real different
from what you and Maria
did in your letters
to the insurance companies.

“In your and Maria’s letters, you told
the automobile insurance companies
about the omissions, errors, misrepresentations,
and defective calculations
in their market valuation reports.

“You and Maria asked
the automobile insurance companies
to correct their mistakes
and to re‑value your vehicles
using the correct information.

“Shouldn’t I do that?”

---

My friend, my dear, innocent friend;
let’s dig into your observation
and into your question.

The CCC valuation opinions
that Maria and I received
made this request:

A request like this is a work of genius!

“How so, Jerry?

“Looks innocuous to me.”

That’s part of its genius!

---

If the valuation opinion
that you received
makes a request like this
and you are insufficiently wary,
then that request
can accomplish many things!

• The request that
  you “review,” “confirm,” and “verify”
  can mislead you into believing
  that the automobile insurance company’s
  valuation services vendor
  is trying to come up with
  an honest and accurate valuation.

• If you comply with this request,
  then you allow
  the automobile insurance company
  and its valuation services vendor
  to shift responsibility
  for the accuracy of their description
  of your total‑loss vehicle
  from them to you!

• If you allow them
  to put the onus for accuracy on you,
  then you make yourself susceptible
  to the notion that,
  with correct information,
  the valuation services vendor’s
  black-box valuation model
  will produce a legitimate valuation.

  Fat chance of that!

• Which is to say,
  if you correct their omissions and errors,
  then, by your engagement
  with their valuation opinion,
  you legitimize the valuation
  that results from your corrections.

• Once you start legitimizing their opinion,
  it gets psychologically harder and harder
  for you to reject the opinion’s valuation.

This cascade of effects
can set aswirl a psychological whirlpool
that will suck you into the scam
that the automobile insurance company
and its valuation services vendor
are running.

---

Pretty clever, huh?

“Sounds diabolical.”

Uh huh.

“Do you suspect that
the automobile insurance company
and their valuation services vendor
are possessed by the devil?”

I dunno.

Maybe.

To prep for negotiations with them,
you may want to watch
“The Exorcist” again.

You may want to load
your water pistol
with holy water.

“P s s s s s s s s s s s s !”

---

I’m embarrassed to admit it,
but I allowed myself
to get sucked
into this diabolical whirlpool twice!

Fool that I was,
I pointed out to Travelers
the omissions and errors
in the description of my totaled vehicle
in CCC's market valuation report.

Doing so did not get me a fair valuation.

---

Bigger fool that I was,
I suggested to Maria
that she point out
to her automobile insurance company
the omissions and errors
in the description of her totaled vehicle
in the CCC market valuation report
that she received.

She did.

Doing so did not get Maria a fair valuation.

---

I almost fell for this con job a third time.

When I set to work on wasyourcartotaledorstolen.com,
I planned to suggest to you—
to you, my dear friend—
that you find and correct
the omissions and errors
in the description of your total‑loss vehicle
in the valuation report that you received.

I planned to suggest to you
that you ask
the automobile insurance company
to revalue your vehicle
with your corrections.

But then that voice
finally spoke up.

---

 

 

 

 

“Uh, which voice was that, Jerry?”

That voice that dwells within each of us—
that voice that—
however long it may take—
finally speaks up
when we’ve been suckered
one time
too many.

---

That voice said:

“Wait a gol dern minute, here!

“Hold your galloping horses!

“Your horses are headed off a cliff!

“If an automobile insurance company
actually wanted accurate descriptions
of total‑loss vehicles,
then they would train
their claims adjusters
to provide accurate descriptions.

“If an automobile insurance company
and its valuation‑services vendor
actually wanted to know
what options were on total‑loss vehicles,
then they would pull Monroney Labels
on those vehicles.

“If an automobile insurance company
actually wanted to come up
with fair valuations for total-loss vehicles,
then they would use a valuation source
that both buyers and sellers
of used vehicles trust.”

---

With these epiphanies,
I experienced a cascade
of further realizations:

---

I was not responsible
for the accuracy
of Travelers’s description
of my vehicle
in their valuation opinion for my vehicle.

They were!

---

Maria was not responsible
for the accuracy
of her automobile insurance company’s
description of her vehicle
in their valuation opinion for her vehicle.

They were!

---

You are not responsible
for the misrepresentations and defects
in the automobile insurance company’s valuation opinion.

The automobile insurance company is!

---

If you try to correct
the automobile insurance company’s
omissions, errors, defects,
and misrepresentations;
and you try to correct
the valuation services vendor’s
omissions, errors, misrepresentations,
and defective calculations;
then you’ll be digging your own grave.

---

Those omissions, errors,
misrepresentations,
and defective calculations
are your evidence
of the automobile insurance company’s
reprehensible bad‑faith misconduct.

That evidence
of the automobile insurance company’s
reprehensible bad‑faith misconduct
could be your ticket
to winning a lawsuit
or an arbitration proceeding.

Why on earth
would you want to correct
those omissions, errors,
misrepresentations,
and defective calculations?

---

“Got it, Jerry!”

Shouldn_t_I_ask_the_insurance_company_to_correct_their_mistakesChapter

To send my muscular letter
and its supporting documents
to the automobile insurance company,
I would write a brief email.

I would attach my muscular letter
and its supporting documents to the email.

My email and its attachments
would look something like this.

---

To_send_the_muscular_letter_to_ABC_I_write_an_emailChapter

---

Think about a letter like mine
and its supporting evidence
from the other side.

Imagine that you work
for an automobile insurance company
as a claims agent.

Imagine that you receive this email,
letter, and supporting documents.

What would you choose to do?

Would you choose to do all the reading,
analysis, and other work necessary
to push back?

Or would you choose to say
what Maria’s claims agent chose to say?

Maria’s claims agent said,

“Okay.

“We can use your valuation.”

---

To_send_the_muscular_letter_to_ABC_I_write_an_emailChapter