How the Calculators Work
Every calculator is a small, versioned piece of arithmetic. This page explains what each one computes, what it is reviewed against, and what it deliberately leaves for you to verify.
Shared principles
- All money math is done in integer cents internally to avoid floating-point rounding errors.
- Every configuration (formula constants, thresholds, bands) is versioned with an effective and reviewed date.
- No calculator uses a hidden weight, invented score, or unexplained assumption — every number shown traces back to a figure you entered or a disclosed constant.
- All calculators run locally in your browser. Nothing you type into a calculator is sent to a server.
- Every calculator is covered by an automated test suite checking normal, boundary, empty, invalid, negative, and extreme inputs.
Settlement Check Breakdown
Version 1.0 — last reviewed 2026-07-19
Adds and subtracts the figures you enter — stated ACV, tax/fees you say the insurer showed, deductible, loan payoff, retained-salvage deduction, and prior payments — to show the arithmetic path to a check. A possible GAP shortfall is calculated as a separate, clearly labeled scenario.
What it does not do: It does not determine the correct ACV, decide coverage, or confirm GAP eligibility — those depend on your policy and GAP contract terms.
Basis:
- Model reflects a standard first-party/third-party total-loss settlement waterfall as commonly described in state insurance-department consumer guides on total-loss claims; it is a general organizing structure, not a citation to any single statute.
Total-Loss Offer Audit
Version 2.0 — last reviewed 2026-07-29
Compares the insurer's comparable-vehicle prices with your own using mean, median, range, and sample size, and flags a possible outlier using a disclosed percentage threshold. A separate comparable-quality review lists factual differences (year, mileage, trim, distance, listing status, condition) as questions to verify — never a score or dollar adjustment.
What it does not do: It does not calculate the legally correct ACV, weight comps by quality, or tell you what the insurer must pay.
Basis:
- The mean, median, range, and 20% possible-outlier check are descriptive arithmetic only. The outlier threshold is a disclosed review heuristic, not a legal or professional appraisal standard.
- Comparable-quality prompts do not assign dollar weights. They surface year, mileage, trim/configuration, distance, listing status/date, seller type, condition, and adjustment differences for the user to verify.
Diminished Value Baseline
Version 1.1 — last reviewed 2026-07-29
Produces two separate outputs that are never combined: (1) a transparent, disclosed 17c-style comparison baseline (pre-accident value × 10% cap × damage multiplier × mileage multiplier, with every substituted step shown), and (2) a clean-history vs. accident-history market-evidence worksheet built from listings you enter.
What it does not do: It does not treat the formula as a legal standard, does not average the two outputs into one number, and does not calculate what an insurer owes.
Basis:
- The multiplier table is the commonly published version of an insurer-style formula associated with a 2002 Muscogee County, Georgia class-settlement order in the Mabry litigation; it is not presented as a state or national legal standard.
- Georgia Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner Directive 08-P&C-2 (December 2008) states that no formula was approved as determinative of diminished value.
Claim Letter & Evidence Packet Builder
Version 1.1 — last reviewed 2026-07-29
Fills a plain-text template with the facts you enter, leaving obvious bracketed placeholders for anything missing. Nothing is sent automatically or stored remotely.
What it does not do: It does not invent legal citations, threats, deadlines, or 'bad faith' accusations, and it does not file anything with a regulator on your behalf.
Basis:
- Editorial template rules: use a narrow factual request, preserve bracketed placeholders for missing facts, and require the user to verify every name, date, figure, recipient, and attachment.