A total loss decision takes someone's car away and puts a number on it. This guide sets out how a practice makes that decision consistently, evidences the valuation behind it, and keeps the record that answers the complaint when it comes.
When repair cost approaches the value of a vehicle, the assessor decides whether it is economic to repair and, if not, what the vehicle was worth before the accident. That pre-accident valuation is the figure the policyholder or claimant is paid, and it is the figure they dispute most. The FCA has made clear it expects motor insurers to offer settlements that reflect a fair market value and has taken action where they did not, and under the Consumer Duty the evidence for the number matters as much as the number.
For the practice, the challenge is that valuation is judgement applied to evidence. Comparable vehicles, guide values, the condition of this vehicle, its mileage, history, specification and any pre-existing damage all move the figure, and two assessors with the same evidence can reasonably differ. What cannot reasonably differ is whether the evidence was gathered, the adjustments explained and the decision recorded.
The salvage side carries its own record. The ABI's categorisation of salvage, Categories A, B, S and N since 2017, decides what happens to the vehicle next and has to be assigned on evidence of the damage. A category recorded without the photographs and reasoning behind it is a category the practice cannot defend.
Run total loss as a defined stage on the assessment case with its own structure: the repair estimate and its basis, the valuation evidence, the comparison, the decision, the salvage category and the communication to the parties. Each element is recorded when it is produced, with the documents and images behind it, so the decision is never a bare figure.
Valuation evidence is gathered to a standard the practice has written down: which sources, how many comparables, how the vehicle's condition, mileage, specification and history adjust the figure, and how pre-existing damage is treated. The adjustments are itemised on the case with their reasons. The assessor applies judgement; the record shows what the judgement was applied to.
The practice's own history is the check. An assessor valuing a common model can see what the practice recently concluded for similar vehicles and how those held up when challenged, and a figure that is far from the precedent prompts a second look before it goes out rather than a complaint after.
Follow these steps to make total loss and valuation a decision with its evidence attached, consistent across assessors and defensible afterwards.
Define how the practice compares repair cost with vehicle value, including the allowances the instructing party applies, and record the comparison on every case where it is made: the repair estimate and its basis, the valuation, the result and the decision. Where the decision is close, say so.
Which valuation sources the practice uses and in what order, how many comparable vehicles it looks for and how close they have to be, how it treats mileage, specification, service history, MOT history and condition, and how pre-existing damage is handled. Apply it on every valuation and record each element on the case.
Start from the evidence base and record each adjustment with its reason: condition, mileage, options, history, damage unrelated to the claim. The final figure is then the sum of explained steps, and the assessor can see and justify every one of them.
Before issue, show the assessor the practice's recent valuations of similar vehicles and the outcome of any challenges to them. A figure that sits well outside the precedent is reviewed before it leaves, with the reason for the difference recorded if it stands.
Record the category with the photographs and the damage findings that justify it, and the name of the assessor who assigned it. Where the category decides whether the vehicle can return to the road, the evidence has to be complete.
The valuation that goes to the policyholder or claimant states the figure and the basis: the evidence used, the adjustments made and why, and how to question it. A decision that explains itself draws fewer complaints, and the ones it draws are better informed.
A challenge, new evidence from the owner, a revised figure and the outcome are stages on the original case. The practice answers from the record, records what it decided and why, and learns from the pattern: which sources, vehicle types and adjustments draw the most dispute.
Gather the comparables and the condition evidence before forming a view. A valuation that starts from a number and finds evidence for it reads that way.
Owners often know things about the vehicle that the record does not. Recorded, weighed and answered, their evidence improves the valuation or the explanation; dismissed, it becomes the complaint.
Listings, guide pages and adverts attached as captured on the date, not as figures typed into a field. The evidence has to be producible later in the form it was used.
Where repair and total loss were close, record the comparison, the judgement and the reason. Those are the decisions most likely to be questioned and least likely to be remembered.
Whatever the practice's sampling rule for estimates, total loss decisions are reviewed every time. The consequence for the owner is too large for sampling.
Challenge rates by assessor, by vehicle type and by valuation source show where the standard is not being applied or is not good enough. Monthly is often enough to act on.
Set turnaround targets by instruction type and client.
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Bring us a recent total loss and we will show you what the decision looks like with its evidence attached: the comparison, the comparables, the itemised adjustments, the precedent alongside and the letter that explains it to the owner.
