Comparing The Two Auto Insurance Companies As To Which One Will Pay You More For The Total Loss (Sale) Of Your Vehicle.

If you have collision insurance on your own auto insurance policy, and if your vehicle is a "total loss", then your own auto insurance company is only obligated under the terms of your insurance policy to pay you the "cash value" for your vehicle, but no sales tax.  If your vehicle is a "total loss", the auto insurance company on the other side is obligated by law to pay you the "fair market value" of your vehicle, plus sales tax.  Theoretically, "cash value" (the amount that your own collision coverage would pay for your vehicle) is slightly less than "fair market value" (the amount that the insurance company on the other side would pay for your vehicle), because on average, people who buy vehicles with cash pay slightly less for them than people who buy vehicles by making payments over time.  But, before you rush to call the auto insurance company on the other side, remember that unlike your own collision insurance company, the insurance company on the other side, can arbitrarily reduce the amount they pay on your vehicle claim by a percentage equal to the percentage that they blame you (or your driver) for being at fault in causing the accident, such as "50%-50%" (and then offer you only half of what is really owed on your vehicle claim). What's worse, the other side can delay taking action on your vehicle claim for weeks or months to "investigate" who was at fault before it pays anything to anyone (causing storage costs to pile up for which you could be held responsible even though you did not cause the delay). On the other hand, if you have "collision" insurance on your own auto insurance policy, your own auto insurance must pay 100% of what it owes on your vehicle claim (minus any applicable deductible), and it must pay immediately. No delays. No excuses.