Expert: Charlie Barone - 8/6/2009

Question
My son was involved in an accident where the party pulled out in front of him and admitted fault in front of police and my son and his father.  Our insurance company is calling it a total loss and have given us a figure for payment. After paying off the loan amount on the car, we won't be left with much to buy a new car.  This seem so unfair as we have paid for almost 3 years and now have to start over with almost nothing to show for it. Since it is the other drivers' fault, is there anything else we can do? No one was injured.  Thankyou!

Answer
The insurance company owes you the actual cash value for your car, which is the cost to replace it with one of like kind and quality. That is the most they have to pay you. If a book value is what they base their offer in settlement of the claim on, you may want to go shopping and see what a car like yours would actually cost.