Auto Insurance Claims: Paint damage to Truck, mixing concrete, paint damage

Question
QUESTION: A Contractor was mixing concrete on a day where combined with a misty rain, the dust fell on my 97 Dodge Dakota Truck and hardened.  Now the paint is starting to peel in a "few" spots.  The body shop said it would have to be completely stripped down to the metal and totally repainted at a cost of around $4800.00.  The Insurance company totalled my Truck and insists I do an R Title if I wish to keep it.  It has a current inspection and is mechanically sound. Do I have to surrender it to a salvage yard if I decide to keep it?

ANSWER: Diane,

No, but once the truck is either repaired or you decide to keep it and drive it as is, the nsurance company will send you a check. If you cash that check you will have to send the title to your state department of transportation and be issued a salvage certificate. At that point you can repair the truck or leave it alone, but may have to have it inspected by an official state inspection station or have a state trooper that specializes in that service. At that point you will be issued a new title to the truck, but it will be permanately branded as a reconstructed title and will have an "R" in the title number.

You can keep the truck at all times and drive it during this process if the damage does not affect the safe operation of the vehicle (which I assume it does not). Call your state department of transportation for the specifics of this process. If you only carry liability coverage on the truck, the insurance company will not have to be notified. If you have collision and comprehensive coverage, you will notify them to the R status of the vehicle and ask for a discount on the coverage, as they will pay you much less if the truck is totaled in an accident.

Charlie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Can you provide me with a PA Code or something from PA (PennDot) that says I can still drive my Truck during this process?  I have an "email" from them saying I have to park it and not drive it.  I am confused.  No mechanical damage was done, and the biggest paint "chip" is smaller than a pencil eraser head.  Most of the damage was to the hood and top of the cab.....maybe two dozen spots are currently visible.

Answer
Evidently, the process requires that your truck be put in limbo, so to speak, until the process is completed. Unfortunately, the total loss provision does not distinguish between cars and trucks that were considered total losses due to severe collision damage and ones totaled due to cosmetic issues.