---
title: "Total loss claims in Columbia, MO"
canonical: "https://galensautobody.com/services/total-loss/"
description: "Car may be a total loss? Galen's in Columbia, MO inspects it, writes the estimate for your insurer, and stores it until your insurer collects it."
---

When your car may be a total loss, we inspect it, write the estimate for your insurer, help with valuation issues and store it until it's collected.

## At a glance

- Insurance: Your insurance company decides whether your car is a total loss, from the estimate we write for it.

After a serious accident, the first question is often whether your car is worth repairing at all. Your insurance company makes that call, but it makes it from an estimate, and that estimate can come from us. If your car may be a total loss, Galen's helps you from the first inspection until your insurance company collects the car.

## What a total loss is

An insurance company usually declares a car a total loss when repairing it would cost more than the car is worth, or close to it. Instead of paying for the repair, it pays you what it decides your car was worth just before the accident, and it takes the car.

So the decision rests on two numbers: what the repair would cost, and what your car is worth. A complete estimate matters for the first one, and a fair valuation matters for the second.

## How we help with a total loss

1. **Inspection.** We inspect your car to find the full extent of the damage, including what's hidden behind the panels.
2. **An estimate for your insurance company.** We write the estimate your insurance company needs to decide whether to repair your car or declare it a total loss.
3. **Help with the valuation.** If your car is declared a total loss, the insurance company's offer comes from its valuation of your car. When issues come up over that valuation, we help you navigate them.
4. **Storage.** Your car stays with us until your insurance company collects it, so you don't have to find somewhere to keep it in the meantime.

## If you disagree with the valuation

An insurance company usually values a car from its year, make, model, mileage, options and condition, and from the prices of similar cars for sale nearby. If its number seems low, gather what it may not know about your car: maintenance records, recent repairs or new tires, upgrades, and listings for comparable cars in the area. Then talk to us, and we'll help you work through it with your insurer.

If you still can't agree on the figure, a [damage appraisal](/services/damage-appraisal/) for an independent appraisal can help.

## Call us first

Whether your car can be repaired or not, the steps are the same at the start: call your insurance company to file a claim, and call us. We'll inspect your car, write the estimate your insurance company needs, and keep your car here until it's collected.

## Questions

### Can my car stay at Galen's while my insurance company decides?

Yes. We store your vehicle until your insurance company collects it.

### What if I don't agree with my insurance company's valuation?

Talk to us. We help you navigate the issues that come up over your insurer's valuation of your car.