It is everybody's worst nightmare. Someone rear ends your car and it is totaled. No one wants to replace a perfectly good car. It is expensive and inconvenient.

If your car is totaled, the insurance company must pay you the fair market value of the car plus 6% sales tax and the cost of transferring your tags. Insurance companies will value your car by using a service like CCC One to determine its value. They will look at comparable vehicles that are the same year, make, and model and in the same geographical area. They will adjust for mileage and different features on the comparable cars.

Under the Code of Maryland Regulations ("COMAR"), you do not have to accept the insurance company's valuation of your car. You are entitled to make a counter offer. In order to comply with COMAR, you must provide proof of your car's worth when making a counter offer. You can do this by pulling comparable vehicles from www.cars.com or other resources. You can also get the offer increased by showing that the total loss report did not include features or options that were on your car.

Once you accept the offer, you will need to send the insurance company a signed title. The insurance company will then pay off any lien on the car and send you a check for the remainder. If the total loss does not pay off the car, you will have a delinquency balance due. You should then check to see if you have GAP coverage that will pay off the loan. You should note that the total loss offer is not affected by the amount due on your car loan.

Lastly, the insurance company must also pay any storage costs, towing fees, and reasonable rental car expenses while the total loss is being resolved. It is always difficult to unexpectedly have to buy a car when one's vehicle is totaled. Hopefully, the insurance money serves as a significant down payment toward your next vehicle.