Get the fair value you deserve for your totaled vehicle in New Hampshire

Under RSA 261:22, VI, a damaged vehicle is a total loss when it is determined to be physically or economically impractical to repair in connection with an insurance claim settlement, or when the cost of repairing it is 75 percent or more of its fair market value before the damage and the damage occurs during its model year or the 4 subsequent calendar years. For that test, the repair cost does not include repairing, replacing or reinstalling inflatable safety restraints, tires or entertainment systems. N.H. Admin. Code § Ins 1002.15(a) has insurers determine total losses consistent with these standards. Once your insurer treats your vehicle as a total loss, the dispute shifts from "will they fix it?" to "how much will they pay?"

Most US auto policies — including those issued in New Hampshire — 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.

New Hampshire's total-loss framework is anchored in N.H. Admin. Code § Ins 1002.15. The rule bases a total loss settlement on fair market value derived from a Department-accepted statistically valid methodology, from documented sales of at least 2 vehicles of the same make, model, and year within the previous 90 days in the local market area, or, when those are unavailable, from like-kind-and-quality sales or an average of written quotations from at least 2 licensed local dealerships. With its offer, the insurer must provide a report which explains the basis for the valuation. Within 20 days of receipt of the settlement payment, the insured or claimant may present evidence from 2 reliable sources of a higher local fair market value, and the insurer must recalculate, unless its settlement documentation identified a specified comparable vehicle available for no more than its value. Above the rule sits New Hampshire's Unfair Insurance Trade Practices Act at RSA 417, whose unfair claim settlement practices are listed in RSA 417:4, XV. New Hampshire does not recognize a tort action for an insurer's wrongful refusal or delay in settling a first-party claim: in Lawton v. Great Southwest Fire Insurance Co., 118 N.H. 607 (1978), the New Hampshire Supreme Court held that such allegations "do not state a cause of action in tort," and that an insurer whose failure to pay promptly is meant to coerce the insured into accepting less than full performance breaches the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing; Jarvis v. Prudential Ins. Co., 122 N.H. 648 (1982), follows Lawton on the tort question. Under RSA 261:22, VI, a damaged vehicle is a total loss when it is determined to be physically or economically impractical to repair in connection with an insurance claim settlement, or when its repair cost, which does not include the cost of repairing, replacing, or reinstalling inflatable safety restraints, tires, or entertainment systems, is 75 percent or more of its fair market value before the damage and the damage occurs during its model year or the 4 subsequent calendar years (with title procedures in the Department of Safety's Saf-C 1900 rules).

Recognize these scenarios in your offer letter or comparable report — and what we do about them.

If you believe your insurer is acting in bad faith, you can file a complaint with New Hampshire Insurance Department — Consumer Services at 800-852-3416 — nh.gov ↗.

1. Free appraisal consultation — confirm your offer is below fair market value before you commit.
2. VIN-decoded option audit so every factory feature is credited.
3. Accurate and appropriate comparable vehicle research.
4. Line-by-line audit of the insurer's adjustments.
5. Once you invoke the appraisal clause, we carry out the appraisal process.