Tennessee total-loss rules

The definition now sits at § 55-3-201(11)(A) in the 2025 code; older references to § 55-3-211 point at the same text before renumbering. It is a certificates-of-title rule, like Michigan's 75%, so whether it binds an insurer's settlement decision is a separate question the insurance code does not answer. Parts are valued at published retail cost and labor at the customary local rate, per subdivisions (B) and (C).

Deduction standard, verbatim from (1)(c): 'Any deductions from the cost...must be as specific as reasonably possible, and specific and appropriate as to dollar amount, and shall be documented in the claim file'. The rule repeats the point in two further places — (5) 'The deductions shall be itemized and specified as to dollar amount' and (9)(b) 'Any deductions...must be measurable, itemized, specified as to dollar amount, and documented in the claim file'. Tennessee is unusually insistent on this, which makes an unexplained condition deduction the strongest available argument here.

The undefined 'local market area' is a verified absence, not an unchecked field: the chapter's definitions rule, 0780-01-05-.04, was retrieved and defines neither 'local market area' nor 'comparable automobile' nor 'actual cash value'. Tennessee therefore sits with California — a real minimum count and recency window, but no distance a comparable can be said to fail. The escalation to 'the closest major metropolitan areas within or without the state' is expressly permitted, so an out-of-state comparable is not by itself objectionable.

Recorded as an absence after reading .09 for a delivery duty. The practical route in Tennessee runs through T.C.A. § 56-8-105(12), which requires a prompt, reasonable and accurate explanation of the basis for a denial or a compromise offer — that is the provision to cite when asking for the comparables, rather than a valuation-report rule, because Tennessee has none.

Expressed as a duty on the insurer ('shall pay'), not merely as a component of the comparable's cost, which makes it harder to argue away than Arizona's formulation. The cash-settlement limb at (1)(b) repeats it as 'including all applicable taxes, license fees and other fees incident to transfer of evidence of ownership'.

Tax and fees share a clause, so an offer that pays one and omits the other is inconsistent with its own stated basis.

Rules.04.08 and.09 of chapter 0780-01-05 were retrieved and none mentions appraisal, an appraisal provision or an umpire. The remaining rules in the chapter and T.C.A. Title 56 were not retrieved section by section, so this is an absence found rather than an exhaustive search.

All periods are CALENDAR days. The 60-day decision window is the longest in the ledger — four times California's 40 — so a Tennessee claimant waiting on a decision usually has less leverage from the clock than elsewhere, and the payment rule is where the pressure sits: 'Tender payment within thirty (30) days of affirmation of liability, if the amount of the claim is determined' (.08(6)). Acknowledgement is dealt with separately at 0780-01-05.07 in terms of 'reasonable promptness'; that rule was not read directly, so no acknowledgement day count is recorded.

Quoted provision is § 56-8-105(12). Importantly, the section opens 'Any of the following acts by an insurer or person constitutes an unfair claims practice:' with NO general-business-practice frequency qualifier — a single mishandled claim can constitute a violation, unlike Arizona or Pennsylvania. Also relevant: (2) failing to acknowledge with reasonable promptness, and (4) not attempting in good faith to effectuate a prompt, fair and equitable settlement where liability has become reasonably clear. Whether the Act creates a private right of action is a separate question.

Six years, commenced within six years after the cause of action accrued. CRITICAL CAVEAT: Tennessee enforces contractual limitation periods written into the policy, and secondary sources describe such clauses as fully enforceable and as overriding the statutory period. Tennessee auto policies commonly carry a one-year suit clause, so the six years in this row may well not be the period that governs a given claim — read the policy first.

The Consumer Insurance Services Section describes its role as third-party mediation of claims disputes, which is a closer fit to a total-loss valuation disagreement than a pure enforcement referral.

Insurance regulation sits inside the broader Department of Commerce and Insurance rather than a standalone insurance department.