Nebraska Statutes 60-173. Salvage branded certificate of title; insurance company; total loss settlement; when issued
(1) When an insurance company acquires a salvage vehicle through payment of a total loss settlement on account of damage, the company shall obtain the certificate of title from the owner, surrender such certificate of title to the county treasurer, and make application for a salvage branded certificate of title which shall be assigned when the company transfers ownership. An insurer shall take title to a salvage vehicle for which a total loss settlement is made unless the owner of the salvage vehicle elects to retain the salvage vehicle.
Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes 60-173
- Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
- Company: shall include any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint-stock company, joint venture, or association. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
- Company shall: include any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint-stock company, joint venture, or association. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
- Department: means the Department of Motor Vehicles. See Nebraska Statutes 60-110
- Director: means the Director of Motor Vehicles. See Nebraska Statutes 60-112
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Salvage: means the designation of a vehicle which is:
(a) A late model vehicle which has been wrecked, damaged, or destroyed to the extent that the estimated total cost of repair to rebuild or reconstruct the vehicle to its condition immediately before it was wrecked, damaged, or destroyed and to restore the vehicle to a condition for legal operation, meets or exceeds seventy-five percent of the retail value of the vehicle at the time it was wrecked, damaged, or destroyed. See Nebraska Statutes 60-171
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- Vehicle: means a motor vehicle, all-terrain vehicle, utility-type vehicle, minibike, trailer, or semitrailer. See Nebraska Statutes 60-136
(2) If the owner elects to retain the salvage vehicle, the insurance company shall notify the department of such fact in a format prescribed by the department. The department shall immediately enter the salvage brand onto the computerized record of the vehicle. Beginning on the implementation date designated by the director pursuant to subsection (3) of section 60-1508, the insurance company shall report electronically to the department using the electronic reporting system. The insurance company shall also notify the owner of the owner’s responsibility to comply with this section. The owner shall, within thirty days after the settlement of the loss, forward the properly endorsed acceptable certificate of title to the county treasurer in the county designated in section 60-144. Upon receipt of the certificate of title, the county treasurer shall issue a salvage branded certificate of title for the vehicle unless the vehicle has been repaired and inspected as provided in section 60-146, in which case the county treasurer shall issue a previously salvaged branded certificate of title for the vehicle.
(3) An insurance company may apply to the department for a salvage branded certificate of title without obtaining a properly endorsed certificate of title from the owner or other evidence of ownership as prescribed by the department if it has been at least thirty days since the company obtained oral or written acceptance by the owner of an offer in an amount in settlement of a total loss. The insurance company shall submit an application form prescribed by the department for a salvage branded certificate of title accompanied by an affidavit from the insurance company that it has made at least two written attempts and has been unable to obtain the proper endorsed certificate of title from the owner following an oral or written acceptance by the owner of an offer of an amount in settlement of a total loss and evidence of settlement.