Ask for the full report, not a summary letter
Many insurers first send a short settlement letter with just a final dollar figure. You are generally entitled to request the underlying valuation report itself — the document that actually shows the comparable vehicles and adjustments behind that number. Ask for it in writing if you weren't sent one automatically (the Claim Letter Builder has a template for exactly this request).
The sections you'll typically find
1. Vehicle description
Year, make, model, trim, engine/drivetrain, mileage, and factory-installed options. Check every field against your actual vehicle and title — an error here (wrong trim, missing options, wrong mileage) can throw off everything that follows.
2. Condition assessment
A grade or description of your vehicle's pre-accident condition (e.g., "average," "clean," or a numeric scale), sometimes based on an inspection, sometimes on the adjuster's notes alone.
3. Comparable vehicles ("comps")
A list of similar vehicles for sale or recently sold nearby, each with its own price, mileage, trim, and distance from you. This is usually the most important section to check line by line.
4. Adjustments
Dollar additions or deductions applied to each comp to account for differences from your car — mileage, trim/options, and condition are the most common. This is also where valuation critiques most often focus, since adjustment amounts aren't always itemized clearly.
5. Final value calculation
How the adjusted comp prices were combined (commonly an average) into the stated ACV, sometimes with taxes/fees or a base-vs-adjusted value shown separately.
What to actually do with this: pull every comp's year, mileage, trim, distance, and adjusted price into the Total-Loss Offer Audit calculator, add your own comparables from the same listing sites, and let it show you the mean, median, range, and a comparable-quality review — all without guessing at what any single number "should" be.
What this guide cannot tell you
Report formats vary by insurer, by state, and by which valuation product was used, so this guide can't promise your report looks exactly like this. If a section is missing entirely — no comps listed, no adjustments shown — that itself is worth raising with your adjuster in writing.