Check if your car is totaled by comparing repair cost with its value at a typical 75% threshold or your state’s rule, and estimate the insurance payout.
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- Actual Cash Value Calculator
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- Residual Value Calculator
Total Loss Formula
The core calculation compares repair cost to actual cash value as a percentage:
- TL% is repair cost as a percentage of supplied ACV; it does not by itself establish legal or insurance total-loss status
- RC is the repair cost ($)
- ACV is the actual cash value ($)
The percentage model compares repairs with ACV × supplied percentage /100. The economic comparison model compares repairs + salvage with ACV. Equality meets these calculator models, but current insurance, title-branding and reporting rules may use different definitions, exclusions or strict inequalities. Supply a verified rule for your scenario; no state setting is selected automatically.
What Is a Total Loss?
An insurance total-loss decision and a salvage-title definition are related but distinct. Repair economics, policy terms and applicable law can affect the insurer decision; title and reporting requirements have their own definitions and exceptions.
Ask the insurer for the valuation basis, repair estimate and available review process. A calculator comparison cannot establish that a vehicle must be repaired, totaled, retained or given a particular title brand.
How Insurance Companies Determine ACV
The calculator accepts ACV as an input; it does not value a vehicle. Insurers may use valuation reports, comparable vehicles and adjustments. Request the basis used for your claim and check the policy and applicable requirements.
Year, make, model, mileage, condition and equipment can affect valuation. Check the report for factual errors and ask the insurer how adjustments were made. No universal comparable-sales period or mileage assumption is built into this calculator.
ACV and loan payoff are different figures. In a simplified example, an agreed $10,000 payout and a $14,000 payoff leave a $4,000 shortfall before any applicable gap coverage. Deductibles, eligible additions, policy terms and other circumstances can change the actual amount.
Two Comparison Models in This Calculator
Supplied percentage model: repairs meet the model at or above ACV × the selected percentage (75% by default, or your own). Do not infer an insurer obligation from a salvage-title percentage. For example, Texas insurance guidance explains that an insurer may total a car even when repairs cost less than its value.
Economic comparison model: repairs + salvage meet the model at or above ACV. This arithmetic is not presented as a verified statute for every jurisdiction. California DMV’s definition concerns vehicles considered uneconomical to repair and not repaired for their owner; it does not prescribe this equation as a universal insurance trigger.
For supplied ACV $8,000, repairs $5,000 and salvage $3,500, the economic comparison is met because $8,500 ≥ $8,000. The repair/ACV ratio is 62.5%, below a supplied 75% model. These are different arithmetic results, not a determination that an actual insurer must repair or total the vehicle.
Previously Published State Entries — Unverified
The entries below are retained from the previous article and have not been verified against every jurisdiction’s current insurance and title laws. They do not determine an insurer’s total-loss decision, settlement or title brand. Do not use them as calculator settings without checking the applicable current rule. The prior100% labels for Texas and Colorado compress title definitions: Texas §501.091 and Colorado DMV use qualifying repair costs exceeding specified pre-damage value, with exclusions or exceptions. These are not universal insurer settlement triggers; “greater than” also differs from “at least.”
| State | Previous method label (unverified) | Previous threshold entry (unverified) |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Percentage | 75% |
| Alaska | Total Loss Formula | RC + Salvage ≥ ACV |
| Arizona | Total Loss Formula | RC + Salvage ≥ ACV |
| Arkansas | Percentage | 70% |
| California | Total Loss Formula | RC + Salvage ≥ ACV |
| Colorado | Percentage | 100% |
| Connecticut | Total Loss Formula | RC + Salvage ≥ ACV |
| Delaware | Total Loss Formula | RC + Salvage ≥ ACV |
| Florida | Percentage | 80% |
| Georgia | Total Loss Formula | RC + Salvage ≥ ACV |
| Hawaii | Total Loss Formula | RC + Salvage ≥ ACV |
| Idaho | Total Loss Formula | RC + Salvage ≥ ACV |
| Illinois | Total Loss Formula | RC + Salvage ≥ ACV |
| Indiana | Percentage | 70% |
| Iowa | Percentage | 70% |
| Kansas | Percentage | 75% |
| Kentucky | Percentage | 75% |
| Louisiana | Percentage | 75% |
| Maine | Total Loss Formula | RC + Salvage ≥ ACV |
| Maryland | Percentage | 75% |
| Massachusetts | Total Loss Formula | RC + Salvage ≥ ACV |
| Michigan | Percentage | 75% |
| Minnesota | Percentage | 70% |
| Mississippi | Total Loss Formula | RC + Salvage ≥ ACV |
| Missouri | Percentage | 80% |
| Montana | Total Loss Formula | RC + Salvage ≥ ACV |
| Nebraska | Percentage | 75% |
| Nevada | Percentage | 65% |
| New Hampshire | Percentage | 75% |
| New Jersey | Total Loss Formula | RC + Salvage ≥ ACV |
| New Mexico | Total Loss Formula | RC + Salvage ≥ ACV |
| New York | Percentage | 75% |
| North Carolina | Percentage | 75% |
| North Dakota | Percentage | 75% |
| Ohio | Total Loss Formula | RC + Salvage ≥ ACV |
| Oklahoma | Percentage | 60% |
| Oregon | Percentage | 80% |
| Pennsylvania | Total Loss Formula | RC + Salvage ≥ ACV |
| Rhode Island | Total Loss Formula | RC + Salvage ≥ ACV |
| South Carolina | Percentage | 75% |
| South Dakota | Total Loss Formula | RC + Salvage ≥ ACV |
| Tennessee | Percentage | 75% |
| Texas | Percentage | 100% |
| Utah | Total Loss Formula | RC + Salvage ≥ ACV |
| Vermont | Total Loss Formula | RC + Salvage ≥ ACV |
| Virginia | Percentage | 75% |
| Washington | Total Loss Formula | RC + Salvage ≥ ACV |
| West Virginia | Percentage | 75% |
| Wisconsin | Percentage | 70% |
| Wyoming | Percentage | 75% |
| District of Columbia | Percentage | 75% |
Total Loss Frequency: How Common Are Totaled Vehicles?
Total-loss frequency depends on the dataset, claim types and reporting period. Aggregate frequency does not determine the outcome of an individual claim. No market-frequency prediction is included in this calculator.
Repair costs and vehicle value both affect the supplied economic comparisons. Obtain current vehicle-specific estimates; this calculator does not predict repair costs, sensor costs, depreciation or insurer behavior from vehicle age or equipment.
What Happens After a Total Loss Declaration
For a hypothetical settlement, explicitly choose the estimate in Settlement options and enter the applicable amounts. Payout = max(ACV + confirmed eligible taxes/fees − applicable deductible − retained salvage,0). Blank optional amounts mean zero. Collapsing the section does not remove an entered scenario. This arithmetic is conditional on the supplied settlement assumptions, even when the separate comparison is below its boundary.
The simplified allocation pays up to the entered payoff to a lender, reports remaining owner proceeds and shows any shortfall. Actual lienholder rights, lease terms and gap benefits may differ. The calculator does not decide gap eligibility or pay off a loan.
Owner retention is a hypothetical option only where allowed and agreed. A salvage deduction may reduce a settlement when the owner retains the vehicle. Check restrictions and title requirements before choosing that scenario; Illinois guidance, for example, describes restrictions on retaining salvage.
Salvage Title and Rebuilt Title: Value Impact
A total-loss settlement may lead to a salvage or other title designation. The applicable definition, exceptions and filing requirements depend on the jurisdiction and circumstances. No universal salvage-value discount is assumed; enter a supported vehicle-specific figure.
Repair, inspection and rebuilt-title requirements vary by jurisdiction. A rebuilt designation does not guarantee safety, insurance coverage, financing or a particular resale value. Confirm those matters with the relevant authority, insurer and lender; this calculator does not model them.
Disputing a Total Loss Settlement
If you disagree with a valuation, request the report and identify factual errors or relevant comparable vehicles. Available negotiation, appraisal, mediation and complaint processes depend on the policy and jurisdiction; California’s consumer guide explains its own claim-review context.
Check the actual policy for any appraisal provision and ask the relevant insurance regulator about review procedures and response deadlines. No nationwide appraisal right, legal deadline or automatic title result is assumed here.
