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Car Insurance Question  If you buy a brand new car and 10 years later you total your car will your auto insurance pay you the price of a brand new auto like you were driving or will they pay you the amount your car was worth at the time of the accident?

There are some policies that can be purchased for full replacement, but not in the common insurance marketplace. On a typical policy with Physical Damage coverage you would not get the price of a brand new car like you were driving but the fair market value which the insurance company refers to as actual cash value (ACV) of your vehicle in the condition it was in at the time of your accident.

You can only get paid by an insurance company for the value of your car as it was right before the accident to "make you whole." Getting paid for a brand new vehicle like the one you were driving would be betterment since the car you were driving was at the time of the accident a 10 year old car and not brand new any longer.

The actual cash value of your vehicle should allow you to buy another car like yours, meaning one of the same model, age, condition, as a replacement vehicle if you want however the ACV is not meant to pay for a brand new car.

When a car is declared a total loss the means the insurance company should offer you a cash settlement based on the actual cost to purchase a comparable automobile, i.e. one made by the same manufacturer, in the same model year, of a similar body type and with similar options and mileage. So the condition, options, mileage of the car before it was in the accident is taken into account to determine the ACV.

Insurance companies calculate actual cash value in varying ways so if your car was recently declared a total loss you should speak to the insurance adjuster working on your claim to find out more about how your ACV is being determined and what your settlement offer will be for your damaged vehicle.

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This car insurance question was asked on 8/5/2008
This auto insurance answer was last updated on 8/8/2008
Wiley requested this car insurance solution.
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