A total loss occurs when your car is damaged badly enough in a crash that it would cost more to repair the car than it would to replace it. At this point the insurance company is essentially buying it from you for the actual cash value (ACV) of your vehicle. To verify the AVC of your vehicle, the insurance company is required to provide you with an appraisal report or a market valuation. Insurance companies generally utilize an outside company (Mitchell, CCC or Audatex) to compile the data and issue an appraisal report. If you believe that the insurer’s assessment is wrong or unfair you have the right to challenge their ACV. You achieve this by hiring your own independent auto appraiser to produce a counter-valuation, basically a second opinion in the form of an appraisal report. This is where Collision Safety Consultants comes in. We prepare our own appraisal report to verify the validity of the insurance company report. Generally, the insurance company report is very conservative. More times than not, our report results in a higher ACV payout.