Total loss and diminished value laws by state (50 states + DC)

Key findings

• Of the 51 jurisdictions Fairmark tracks (50 states and DC), 27 require a cash settlement for a total loss on your own policy to include sales tax (in Alaska and Oregon, which have no statewide sales tax, the rule covers fees and any local or vehicle tax), 4 (Florida, Hawaii, Illinois and Ohio) pay it once you buy a replacement, 2 (Missouri and Texas) do not require it, and 18 have no clear state rule.
• In 21 of the 27 jurisdictions that require sales tax, the settlement must also include transfer fees such as title and registration; Hawaii and Illinois reimburse title fees on proof of purchase.
• 24 states and DC set a percentage total-loss threshold. 75% is most common (14 states and DC); the range runs from 65% in Nevada to 100% in Colorado, New Jersey, Texas and Utah. Rhode Island gives a range of 75% to 80%, and how the rule treats a car in between is unsettled. Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington use a total loss formula (repair cost plus salvage value against the car's value), and 20 states set no percentage for insurer-paid claims.
• In 17 of the 25 percentage jurisdictions, the figure is a salvage-title test, not a limit on when an insurer may total a car. Only New Hampshire, North Carolina and Rhode Island tie a percentage to the insurer's own decision.
• Diminished value is recoverable from the at-fault driver's insurer in 31 jurisdictions, limited in 6 (Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, Tennessee and West Virginia), not recoverable in North Dakota and unclear in 13. On your own policy, it may be recoverable only in Georgia, Oregon and Washington, depending on the policy wording; it is generally not covered in 24 jurisdictions and unclear in 24.
• The deadline to sue over damage to a car runs from 2 years (17 jurisdictions) to 10 years (Rhode Island, a figure we have not checked against the statute text); 3 years is most common (18 jurisdictions).
• 34 jurisdictions set a fixed number of days to pay a claim, and 33 set a deadline to accept or deny it or make an offer. 8 (Connecticut, DC, Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Dakota and South Carolina) set no fixed day count for any step. 13 states let you ask the insurer to reopen a total-loss claim if you cannot buy a comparable car for the amount paid.