If your car was recently reported as a total loss yet still driveable do you have to have the repairs done?

Answer 1

Yes, you're carrier will drop the full coverage -- collision and comprehensive -- from the vehicle. This is because, in settling the total loss with you, they have already paid the value of the vehicle. Essentially, the vehicle no longer has any value except its salvage value -- to the insurance carrier, at least.

Say, for instance, the vehicle is a total and your carrier agreed to keep the full coverage on it without you repairing it. Later on, you have an accident in the car, causing enough damage to "total" it again. Your carrier has already paid you the value of your vehicle, and if they paid you that value again -- without the repairs having been completed -- you are profiting from the second loss. This is illegal in any state.

Even if you have the repairs completed, by the way, your carrier may decide not to place full coverage on the vehicle. Once deemed a total loss, any vehicle's value -- again, whether repaired or not -- drops significantly because the vehicle is less desirable in a typical market. Most people would definitely prefer to purchase a vehicle that has not been deemed a total loss in the past.

Sounds like yours is just cosmetic damage, though, which is a little different. If you're intent on keeping the car, I say talk to your agent and/or carrier and see what their policy is for reinstituting coverage on a prior total loss. If they'll do it, you can fix the car, have your agent inspect it, and get the coverage back.

On the other hand...you might want to take into consideration just how much you pay in premium for that full coverage. Compared to the actual value of the car, it might be in your best interest to just keep liability on the thing.

And, finally, you're definitely going to face some problems if your state requires you to obtain a salvage title on the car. At that point, the resale value drops hugely, as does your carrier's interest in covering a car with little more than salvage value.