Get the fair value you deserve for your totaled vehicle in Louisiana
Louisiana law explicitly recognizes your right to retain an independent appraiser like SecondAppraisal — no special license required.
Key takeaway
Louisiana is the most aggressive bad-faith jurisdiction in the country for total-loss disputes. La. R.S. 22:1892 alone — 50% penalty + reasonable attorney's fees on "arbitrary, capricious, or without probable cause" failure to pay within 30 days — can multiply the financial exposure of an underbid total-loss claim. Stack La. R.S. 22:1973 on top (additional 2× penalty or $5,000, whichever greater, for a defined set of prohibited acts including failing to pay within 60 days when arbitrary and capricious), and even modest contract-amount disputes generate substantial settlement leverage. Pair that penalty exposure with the statutory valuation methods at La. R.S. 22:1892(B)(5) — including the insured's right to override a database value by presenting two independent appraisals based on measurable and discernable factors such as preloss condition — and Louisiana documentary leverage converts directly into penalty exposure.
How SecondAppraisal helps
- •Free consultation — we review your offer before you commit.
- •$1,000 minimum guarantee — if we accept your case and can't deliver at least $1,000 in additional value, you pay nothing.
- •Average increase: ~$3,260 across the appraisals we've negotiated.
How a total loss works in Louisiana
Insurance carriers in Louisiana use the Total Loss Threshold (TLT) method. When the cost to repair your vehicle reaches 75% of its pre-loss actual cash value (ACV), your insurer will declare your vehicle a total loss rather than authorize the repair. From that point, the dispute shifts from "will they fix it?" to "how much will they pay?"
Your appraisal-clause rights in Louisiana
Most US auto policies — including those issued in Louisiana — contain an appraisal clause that lets either you or the insurer demand a binding independent appraisal when you disagree on value. When invoked, you and the insurer each select a competent independent appraiser, and typically those two appraisers will agree to a new actual cash value. In the event those two appraisers are unable to agree on a value, the two appraisers can select an Umpire to break ties. Typically, you will split the cost of the third appraiser/umpire with the insurance carrier 50/50. In the event that the two appraisers are unable to agree on an umpire, the insured or the insurance carrier can petition a court with jurisdiction to select one. This rarely happens, but the chance isn't zero. The resulting valuation from any two appraisers and/or the umpire is binding.
Your Louisiana rights at a glance
50% penalty + attorney's fees under La. R.S. 22:1892
If the insurer fails to pay the claim within 30 days after receipt of satisfactory proof of loss and the failure is arbitrary, capricious, or without probable cause, the insured is entitled to recover the amount of the loss plus a penalty of 50% of the amount found due plus reasonable attorney's fees. The 50% statutory penalty is one of the most aggressive in the country and is the primary financial lever in Louisiana first-party total-loss litigation.
Additional 2× damages or $5,000 (whichever greater) under La. R.S. 22:1973
La. R.S. 22:1973 prohibits a defined set of acts including misrepresentation, failing to pay a claim within 60 days when arbitrary and capricious, and failing to make a written offer of settlement within 30 days of the date the claim was due. On a finding of any of those prohibited acts, the insured is entitled to a penalty of two times the damages sustained or $5,000, whichever is greater. The penalties under §§ 22:1892 and 22:1973 are cumulative on the same facts.
Statutory total-loss valuation methods + two-appraisal override under La. R.S. 22:1892(B)(5)
Louisiana's total-loss valuation methodology is statutory, not regulatory. La. R.S. 22:1892(B)(5) requires a cash settlement for a comparable vehicle to be derived from one of: (a) a fair market value survey of qualified retail dealers in the local market area; (b) a recognized used-vehicle industry source (an electronic database, with the valuation documents provided to the claimant, or a publicly available guidebook); or (c) a qualified expert appraiser selected and agreed upon by the insured and insurer. Critically, under (b) the insured may force use of the local-market value by presenting two independent appraisals based on measurable and discernable factors, including the vehicle's preloss condition. Louisiana imposes no separate licensing requirement on a policyholder's appraiser.
Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 22 § 1892 — Claims Practices
Louisiana has one of the most aggressive statutory bad-faith frameworks in the United States. La. R.S. 22:1892 imposes a 30-day prompt-payment requirement and, on a finding that the insurer's failure to pay was "arbitrary, capricious, or without probable cause," adds a penalty of 50% of the amount due plus reasonable attorney's fees. La. R.S. 22:1973 layers a separate set of prohibited acts (misrepresentation, failing to pay a claim within 60 days when arbitrary and capricious, etc.) and adds a further penalty of two times the damages or $5,000, whichever is greater, on top of the contract recovery. The combination of § 22:1892 and § 22:1973 is one of the most powerful financial levers in U.S. first-party insurance litigation. Below the bad-faith statutes, the total-loss valuation methodology is set by statute at La. R.S. 22:1892(B)(5) — a dealer fair-market-value survey, a recognized used-vehicle database/guidebook (which the insured may rebut with two independent appraisals showing a higher local-market value), or a mutually agreed qualified expert appraiser — and the 75% repair-to-market-value salvage threshold lives at La. R.S. 32:702.
Common things to look for in Louisiana
Recognize these scenarios in your offer letter or comparable report — and what we do about them.
Insurer arguing the failure to pay was "reasonable" because of an honest disagreement over valuation
Louisiana courts have repeatedly held that an honest disagreement does not insulate the insurer from § 22:1892 / § 22:1973 penalties when the insurer's valuation departs from the statutory methods at La. R.S. 22:1892(B)(5) — for example, standing on a database value the insured has rebutted with two independent appraisals showing a higher local-market value, drawing a "survey" from dealers outside the qualified local market area, or refusing the agreed-expert-appraiser path. "Arbitrary, capricious, or without probable cause" is a fact-bound inquiry that turns on the file's documentation.
Insurer asserting § 22:1892 and § 22:1973 are mutually exclusive
Louisiana appellate decisions have confirmed that the penalties are cumulative on the same facts when the predicates of both statutes are met — § 22:1892's 30-day arbitrary-and-capricious failure to pay AND § 22:1973's defined prohibited acts. The combined penalty exposure is part of why Louisiana is a frequently chosen forum for first-party class actions.
Standing on a low database value the insured has rebutted with appraisals
Under La. R.S. 22:1892(B)(5)(b), once the insured presents two independent appraisals — based on measurable and discernable factors including the vehicle's preloss condition — showing a higher local-market value than the database or guidebook figure, the statute requires the local-market value to be used. An insurer that ignores qualifying appraisals and stands on the database number feeds directly into both §§ 22:1892 and 22:1973 "arbitrary, capricious, or without probable cause" findings.
Louisiana Department of Insurance
If you believe your insurer is acting in bad faith, you can file a complaint with Louisiana Department of Insurance — Office of Consumer Services at 800-259-5300 — ldi.la.gov ↗.
Relevant Louisiana precedent
How SecondAppraisal helps Louisiana policyholders
- Free consultation — confirm your offer is below fair market value before you commit.
- VIN-decoded option audit so every factory feature is credited.
- Accurate and appropriate comparable vehicle research.
- Line-by-line audit of the insurer's adjustments.
- Once you invoke the appraisal clause, we carry out the appraisal process.
Frequently asked questions
What is the total-loss threshold in Louisiana?▼
Can I invoke the appraisal clause in a third-party insurance carrier / at-fault insurance carrier claim in Louisiana?▼
What does SecondAppraisal cost in Louisiana?▼
How long does a Louisiana total-loss appraisal take?▼
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