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Why won’t the insurance company pay me enough money to pay off the loan on the car that was damaged in the accident?
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The person that caused the accident (and hence their insurance company) is only obligated to pay you for the fair market value or sometimes called the “actual cash value” of your damaged car. Frequently, especially in long-term loan situations where little money was paid down when the car was purchased, the first couple of years in a purchase agreement will actually have the value of the car depreciating faster than the balance will be paid off. Most of the first two years of payments for a car involve the paying first of the interest on the loan. Usually when a car is driven off of the sales lot, it immediately depreciates a thousand dollars or more. Even if you owe more money on your car than it was worth at the time of the accident, the insurance company is only obligated to pay you what the car is worth, nothing more.