When your car is stolen, there is a good chance that damage will be done to your vehicle because car thieves are not usually delicate with the cars that they steal. If your car is stolen, it is important to know what to do ensure that your vehicle can be repaired or replaced as needed after everything is said and done. The following guide walks you through the process of handling your car being stolen properly.
Report the Theft to Your Insurance Company
Report the theft to your insurance company. If you have full coverage on your car, your policy should cover any damage that is done to your car by the driver. If you do not have full coverage on your car, you will have to sue the thief to get the money for the repairs to your car. When you report the theft to your insurance company, they will require a copy of the police report you filed for the theft in order to verify that it really was stolen.
Get an Appraisal for Damages
Finally, when the car is found, you will need to have a mechanic look at the car and tell you what it will cost to have the car restored to its original condition. The insurance company will then send their appraiser out to look at your car and let you know what they estimate the repair costs to be. There are times when an insurance company may total out a vehicle rather than pay for repairs to be made though. If the repairs will cost more than the car is worth, the insurance company will view the vehicle as a total loss because they do not want to lose money on repair costs. Your deductible will still need to be paid, even though your car was stolen.
Get the Vehicle Repaired
When you get your vehicle repaired, you get to choose the mechanic you use. This allows you to work with a mechanic with whom you have built a rapport and trust to fix your car. If the mechanic finds additional damage to the car that the insurance adjuster did not notice, you can request more money from the insurance company. You will have to prove the additional costs though.
If the car is never found, the insurance company will pay for the value of the car so that you can buy a new car. The insurance company will not necessarily pay whatever amount you owe on the car though. They will pay you for the value of the vehicle in the state it was in before it was stolen. That means that you could still end up having to pay for the car if you owe a lot on it and it wasn’t worth that amount.
Report the Theft to Your Insurance Company
Report the theft to your insurance company. If you have full coverage on your car, your policy should cover any damage that is done to your car by the driver. If you do not have full coverage on your car, you will have to sue the thief to get the money for the repairs to your car. When you report the theft to your insurance company, they will require a copy of the police report you filed for the theft in order to verify that it really was stolen.
Get an Appraisal for Damages
Finally, when the car is found, you will need to have a mechanic look at the car and tell you what it will cost to have the car restored to its original condition. The insurance company will then send their appraiser out to look at your car and let you know what they estimate the repair costs to be. There are times when an insurance company may total out a vehicle rather than pay for repairs to be made though. If the repairs will cost more than the car is worth, the insurance company will view the vehicle as a total loss because they do not want to lose money on repair costs. Your deductible will still need to be paid, even though your car was stolen.
Get the Vehicle Repaired
When you get your vehicle repaired, you get to choose the mechanic you use. This allows you to work with a mechanic with whom you have built a rapport and trust to fix your car. If the mechanic finds additional damage to the car that the insurance adjuster did not notice, you can request more money from the insurance company. You will have to prove the additional costs though.
If the car is never found, the insurance company will pay for the value of the car so that you can buy a new car. The insurance company will not necessarily pay whatever amount you owe on the car though. They will pay you for the value of the vehicle in the state it was in before it was stolen. That means that you could still end up having to pay for the car if you owe a lot on it and it wasn’t worth that amount.
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