If you have been in an accident, one of the first things you may wonder about is how insurance companies determine how much your car is worth and how much it will cost to repair your car. There are many books that are available for car insurer to sue when determining the value of a car. The most well known book is probably the Kelley Blue Book. Another book that car insurers use is published by the National Association of Automobile Dealers.

After you have filed an insurance claim, your insurance company goes to work. They will contact a claims adjuster that will confirm the loss and will use a set of guidelines to figure out how much it will cost to fix the car. When you take your car to a mechanic, you can use the estimate from the adjuster to compare the mechanic's estimate against standard repair pricing.

After you receive the adjuster's estimate, the insurance company expects you to get another estimate from a car dealer or mechanic Once you are satisfied that the claims adjuster's estimate is fair and correct, you are free to accept the estimate. You shouldn't feel pressured into accepting an adjuster's estimate without being given the opportunity to get your own estimate.

While your insurance company may have certain local mechanics that they deal with on a regular basis, they can't force you to use a particular mechanic or car dealership. If the insurance company feels that the mechanic you select overcharges for the services provided, they can require you to get a second estimate to make sure the price the pay for repairs are in line with local standards.

Another factor that auto insurance companies use when determining the amount of the claim settlement is something called betterment. If, for example, you have repaired our old car with new parts, the insurance company may say that the repairs have actually added value to your car. They can then lower your claim by the amount of value difference between a used part and a new part.

After the claims adjuster returns to the insurance company with a repair estimate, your insurance company will decide whether to pay for your car repairs or to declare the car a loss and give you the book value for the car. If the repairs will cost more than the book value, your insurance company will likely total your car. If you disagree with the insurance company's decision to total your car, you will have no avenue to appeal.

You can argue if you believe the pieces of the car are worth more than they were when they were actually part of a whole car. If you believe you are entitled to more than the book value of your car, you will be required to submit documentation that will include any service history records, and affidavit from your mechanic testifying to your car's worth and any other evidence like mileage records and receipts for custom modifications.