Illinois IL Car Insurance Question

Reader’s Question:

If your vehicle is totaled can you purchase it back from the insurance provider in Illinois? If so, how much is the buy back, is it a percentage of the price the insurance paid as the totaled cost?

Helen

Decatur, IL

The Illinois Department of Insurance states that one cannot normally keep a car after it has been declared a total loss. The Illinois Vehicle Code does not allow you the right to retain the salvage once the insurance carrier has deemed your car a total loss. This is done by the state so in an effort to minimize car “chop shop” crime.

Many insurance companies will permit you to “buy back” a car they have totaled out if you wish to repair it and make it useful again. If the vehicle is paid off, insurance companies will normally take the salvage value out of the settlement payment in fact if you request. The insurance providers determines the salvage value.

If you want to buy back a vehicle from an insurance provider that deemed it a total loss discuss the value of the vehicle and the cost to buy it back.