Who owns the car once the claim is paid
This surprises people. In Illinois, when an insurance company pays a total loss claim, the insurance company is treated as the owner of the vehicle, and the car is considered salvage. The insurer sends the title to the Secretary of State within 20 days and a salvage certificate is issued in the insurer’s name (625 ILCS 5/3-117.1).
There are two exceptions where the registered owner can keep the car, and only by agreement with the insurer:
- the car is 9 model years old or older, or
- the only damage is hail that doesn’t affect how safely it drives.
A theft claim works a little differently: the insurer only has to apply for a salvage certificate if the stolen car is recovered with damage bad enough to have totaled it.
Your three options, side by side
| Option | What you get | What you deal with | Fits when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Take the payout, insurer takes the car | The full settlement | Signing the title over to the insurer; the insurer arranges the tow | Most cases, and the only option for newer cars |
| Keep it and repair it | The settlement minus the salvage value, plus a car you still have to fix | Repairs, a state inspection and a rebuilt title before it drives again | You can do the work yourself or the damage is mostly cosmetic |
| Keep it and sell it for junk | The reduced settlement plus whatever a buyer pays for the wreck | A tow and a buyer who takes salvage paperwork | The car is old, you’ve been offered a keep option, and you want to choose the buyer |
On the second and third rows: when an owner keeps a totaled car, insurers generally deduct its salvage value from the payout, as Kelley Blue Book’s guide to totaled cars explains. Keeping the car only comes out ahead if the wreck is worth more to you, or to a buyer, than the amount the insurer takes off.
If you keep it: what changes legally
- It can’t be driven. A salvage or junk vehicle may not be driven or operated on Illinois roads; the one exception is driving to or from a state inspection on special plates.
- The paperwork changes. Ask the insurer, in writing, what title or certificate you will hold once you keep the car. A salvage certificate in your name is one of the documents Illinois lists for a scrap sale.
- Village clocks still run. A wreck in the driveway is an inoperable car to the village. In Dolton, a junked car becomes a nuisance after 10 days; in Riverdale, the line is 7 days in a row of not running under its own power.
When no claim was filed
If you didn’t claim, or the other driver’s insurer only paid for injuries, the insurance total-loss rule never applied to your car. It’s simply a wrecked car on its regular title, and selling it is the same as any wrecked car removal: sign the title at the truck, get paid, and the free tow takes it away.
Next step
If the insurer has offered you the keep option, get the settlement with and without the car in writing, then ask us for a price on the wreck. Fill in the form or call us, and say it’s a total loss when you do; we’ll ask which paper you’ll be holding so the answer is right the first time.