How to get the valuation report behind your total-loss offer
The offer letter is a summary. The math lives in a separate report the insurer already has, and you are allowed to ask for it. Here is how, in their own process, with the exact words.
- The offer letter and the valuation report are different documents. The report is the one with the comparable vehicles and every adjustment, and it is the one worth reading.
- You do not need a reason to ask. One written sentence to your adjuster is normally enough, and the report already exists the moment you get an offer.
- Several states require the insurer to hand over the valuation basis on request, including Maryland (within 7 business days) and Louisiana (database valuations must come with their documents).
- If they stall, put the request in writing, note the date, and say you want the response in the claim file. That sentence changes behavior.
- Once you have the report, the free check reads it for you: upload the PDF or clear photos of every page.
What the report is, and why the offer letter is not it
When an insurer totals your car, its offer comes from a valuation report built by an outside pricing service. The cover page says which one: a CCC ONE Market Valuation Report, a Mitchell WorkCenter Total Loss report, or an Audatex Autosource report. It usually runs 10 to 30 pages. Inside are the comparable vehicles the service picked, the price of each one, and every adjustment made on the way to your number: mileage, options, and the condition ratings the insurer assigned to your car.
The letter or phone call with the offer is a summary of that report, and summaries do not show the math. Almost everything a total-loss offer gets wrong happens inside the report, in the comps and the adjustments. That is why the first move in any dispute is the same: get the report itself.
The exact words to ask your adjuster
You do not need to argue, explain, or hint that you might dispute. Send your adjuster one sentence, in the claim portal or by email so it is in writing:
"Please send me the complete valuation report used to determine my vehicle's actual cash value, including all comparable vehicle listings and every adjustment or deduction."
That is the whole request. The report already exists, it costs the adjuster nothing to attach, and most send it within a day or two. If your claim runs through an app or portal, the report is often already sitting under documents or attachments; check there first.
When they have to send it
In several states this is not a favor, it is a rule. Maryland requires the insurer to hand over the valuation report, and even the inspection guidelines used to grade your car's condition, within 7 business days of a written request. Louisiana allows database valuations only if the documents the database generated are given to you. Minnesota entitles you to every dealer quotation the insurer obtained. Wisconsin requires a reasonable explanation of the basis of the offer when you ask for one.
Elsewhere there may be no rule that names the report, and it does not usually matter: providing the valuation on request is standard claims practice, and adjusters know a refusal looks bad in the file. Ask plainly and most of the time you get it.
If they stall
Silence or a brush-off ("the offer letter has everything you need") is worth exactly one more sentence, in writing: "I am asking again for the complete valuation report behind your offer of [date]. Please add this request and your response to the claim file." Dating the request and naming the claim file matters, because claim files get reviewed, by supervisors and by regulators.
If it still does not arrive within a week or two, your state insurance department takes complaints online, and a one-paragraph complaint that says "the insurer will not provide the valuation report behind its offer" is the kind regulators act on quickly. That step costs nothing and does not hurt your claim.
Once you have it
Read the cover to see which service made it, then check the offer against the report's own numbers. That is the part most people never do, and it is the part that finds money: comps from the wrong trim, uniform condition deductions, adjustments with no explanation attached.
The free check does this reading for you. Upload the PDF, or clear photos of every page if all you have is paper, and it shows your estimated gap and which parts of the insurer's own math drive it.
Is your total-loss offer too low?
Upload the valuation report your insurer used. The free check shows your estimated gap and which parts of their math drive it. If the offer holds up, it says that instead.
Frequently asked questions
Is the offer letter the same as the valuation report?
No. The letter states a number; the report shows how the number was built, including every comparable vehicle and every adjustment. Disputes are won inside the report, so ask for it even if the letter looks detailed.
Which valuation report do I have?
The cover page says. CCC ONE Market Valuation Report, Mitchell WorkCenter Total Loss, and Audatex Autosource are the three you will see; different insurers use different services, and the free check reads all three.
Can the insurer refuse to send it?
In states like Maryland, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, rules require them to provide the report or the basis of the valuation on request. Elsewhere a refusal is unusual and worth a complaint to your state insurance department, which takes five minutes online and costs nothing.
I only have paper. Do photos work?
Yes. Take a clear photo of every page, in order, and upload them to the free check. Page numbers help, and nothing on the report needs to be retyped.
Will asking for the report slow down my claim or make the insurer difficult?
No. It is a routine request adjusters handle constantly, and it does not commit you to disputing anything. You can accept the offer afterward exactly as before.