Property Damage Payments in Car Wrecks

Besides physical injury, one of the initial “headaches” after a car wreck is dealing with the damage to your vehicle. We get a ton of questions about property damage claims, particularly when our client’s car or truck is totaled. Ark. Code Annotated Sec. 23-89-211 governs total loss settlements. You are entitled to the fair market value of your car or truck prior to the wreck. An insurance company when making a settlement offer to you must not only include the value of the car or truck but all sales tax, license fees and other fees due you as laid out in Arkansas Insurance Department Rule and Regulation 43. The offer from the insurance company should provide an itemized list stating how much they are offering on the car or truck and listing separately amounts for sale tax, license fees and other fees. The sales tax is figured as if you were purchasing an automobile of the same value of the car or truck totaled. Keep in mind that you can negotiate over the value of the vehicle if you disagree with insurance company, but you will need some evidence of fair market value of your car or truck immediately prior to the wreck. Most law firms taking car and truck wreck cases do not take any fee for helping with the property damage settlement so long as a trial or litigation is not required.