Loss of use letter to the insurer when a crash takes your NEMT van off the road: what to claim and attach

This is the letter, ready to fill in. The reasoning behind it, including what loss of use covers, how long the other driver’s insurer owes it, and how to work out lost profit from your own trip history, is in the guide to a loss of use claim for a commercial vehicle. The resale value a crash takes from the van is a separate item, explained in the diminished value guide, and the not-at-fault guide covers choosing between the other driver’s insurer and your own coverage. This page covers the paperwork: what to settle before you write, the letter and a short update, and what to attach and what to leave out.

Before you send it

Send the letter after the shop has given you dates in writing, to the adjuster at the other driver’s insurer. Check these first.

1. Have the shop’s written estimate with parts dates. The letter counts working days out of service, and the shop’s estimate is the document the adjuster measures that count against.
2. Find the adjuster and the claim number. The police report or the exchange at the scene gives you the other driver’s insurer. The Texas Department of Insurance advises a driver who was hit to claim against that insurer and to inform their own insurer as well. If no claim exists yet, open one by phone and write the number on the letter.
3. Choose one method for each day. Days with no substitute van are claimed as lost net profit (Option A in the letter). Days with a rented van are claimed at the rental cost (Option B). The same day never appears under both.
4. Read any release before you sign it. The standard business auto form requires a person the insurer has paid to protect its recovery rights and to do nothing after the loss that would impair them (CA 00 01, Section IV.A.5). Ask your agent before you sign anything that closes the claim.
5. Send it two ways. Email it to the adjuster, then mail a copy with proof of delivery. Under the Postal Service price list that took effect October 4, 2026, Certified Mail costs $5.55, and a Return Receipt adds $4.65 on paper or $2.91 electronically, all on top of postage.
6. Note the reply date where you will see it. The insurance claim log has a follow-up column for it.

The letter

Delete the option that does not apply. A line in brackets is for you to fill in.

Subject: Loss of use claim, claim [number], date of loss [date]

To: [Adjuster name], [Insurer], [email and mailing address]

Your insured: [driver’s name]. Policy number: [number]. Claim number: [number]. Date and place of loss: [date], [street or intersection, city]. Police report: [number].

Dear [Adjuster name],

I own [company name]. On [date], your insured’s vehicle [struck / collided with] my [year, make, model] wheelchair-accessible van (VIN [number], plate [number]) at [place]. [The police report assigns the cause to your insured. / Your insured accepted responsibility on [date].] This letter claims the loss of use of my van for the time it cannot work. My claim for the repair and for any loss in the van’s value is separate, and I am not giving up either.

Days out of service. The van went to [shop name] on [date]. The shop’s written estimate dated [date] is attached. It shows [number] working days of repair, and it lists [parts and the date each was ordered or is due]. [The van returned to service on [date].] [The shop expects the van back on [date].] I count [number] working days out of service, from [start date] to [end date].

Option A: no substitute was available. In the [number] weeks ending [date], the van ran an average of [number] paid trips on each working day and earned $[amount] in payments. During these [number] days my other vehicles took [number] trips a day, and the remaining [number] trips a day, over [number] days, come to $[amount] in lost payments. The expenses I did not have on those trips total $[amount], so the net profit lost is $[amount]. Between [date] and [date] I called [number] rental sources for a comparable accessible van. The list is attached, and none could supply one [at a rate under $[amount] a day].

Option B: a substitute was rented. I rented a comparable [wheelchair-accessible] van from [rental company] from [date] to [date], [number] days at $[rate] a day, for $[amount], plus [other documented charges]. The rental agreement and invoice are attached. [Between [date] and [date], before the rental was available, no substitute could be found, and the net profit lost on those days is $[amount], figured as in Option A.]

Total claimed to date: $[amount]. I will send the final figure when the van returns to service.

Attachments: [Exhibits A through F, listed below.]

Please reply in writing by [date, about 30 days after you send this]. If you accept the claim, please state the amount and the payment date. If you dispute any part of it, please state each reason in writing and tell me which document would resolve it. Please send all communication about this claim to me at [phone and email].

This letter does not release any claim. I reserve the right to update the number of days and the amount, to claim the van’s diminished value, and to claim any other damages caused by the loss.

Sincerely,

[Name, title, company, phone, email]

Optional paragraph for a Texas loss. “For property that is repaired, Texas law allows loss of use damages, which may be measured by the profit lost, the rent paid for a substitute, or what the owner’s own vehicle would rent for. J&D Towing, LLC v. American Alternative Insurance Corp., No. 14-0574 (Tex. Jan. 8, 2016).”

Optional paragraph for a California loss. “California’s civil jury instructions measure loss of use by what it would reasonably cost to rent a similar vehicle for as long as the repair or replacement reasonably takes (CACI No. 3903M), and lost profits as the gross amount the business would have received less the expenses it would have had (CACI No. 3903N).”

A paragraph for another state needs that state’s own authority. Ask a lawyer or your insurance department before you cite one.

The update letter after the van returns

Send a short update the day the van returns to service, so the claim ends on real numbers instead of estimates.

Subject: Update to loss of use claim [claim number]

Dear [Adjuster name],

This updates my letter of [date]. The van returned to service on [date], after [number] working days out of service, from [start date] to [end date]. The final amount claimed is $[amount]: [lost net profit of $[amount] for [number] days] [and] [rental charges of $[amount] for [number] days]. The updated attachments are the final repair invoice, the shop’s release date, [the rental return receipt,] and trip counts through [date].

Please reply in writing by [date]. My reservation of rights in the earlier letter still applies.

Sincerely,

[Name, title, company, phone, email]

What to attach, and what to leave out

Attach six exhibits and no rider’s name on any of them. The right-hand column lists what to remove or ask about before each one goes out.

Rider details do not belong in the letter

Give counts and totals, not a rider-by-rider list. HIPAA’s list of identifiers (45 CFR 164.514(b)(2)(i)) includes names, all elements of dates except year for dates directly related to an individual, account numbers, and any other unique number, characteristic, or code that identifies someone. A list of trips with dates and broker trip numbers can therefore point to one rider, while “11 trips a day in the six weeks before the crash” does not. The guide to HIPAA for NEMT explains when the rule reaches a ride company. If the adjuster asks for trip-level detail, ask whoever handles privacy for your company what may be shared and through what channel, and keep the full records ready.

After you send it

Follow up in writing when the reply date passes, and answer any request for a document the same week. Insurers’ deadlines vary by state, and the insurance claim log shows one state’s clocks, California’s, as an example of what to put in its follow-up column.

• If the insurer offers less. Ask for the reasons in detail and in writing, which is the Texas Department of Insurance’s advice, and answer each one with a document. California requires an insurer that denies or rejects a third party claim, in whole or in part, to do so in writing. Check that the offer covers the same days you counted.
• If the insurer does not answer. Write again, then complain to your state insurance department. The NAIC directory links each one and has a complaint section.
• If the other driver’s limit runs out. The loss of use guide explains your own underinsured motorist coverage as the next step.
• Watch the deadline to sue. Texas allows two years for injury to property (Civil Practice and Remedies Code 16.003) and Virginia five (Code of Virginia 8.01-243(B)). Do not let a claim file run quietly toward the date.

This page is a fill-in template, not legal advice. A denial, a dispute over days, or a large amount is a reason to talk to a lawyer.

Where the trip counts come from

Exhibit C needs counts you can defend. In HealthRide, each leg of a trip carries its van, its driver, scheduled and recorded times and GPS-recorded miles, and the trip log with all of it exports to CSV or PDF. The payer summary shows completed trips, cancellations, and revenue billed for each payer over any period, so the counts and totals come without rider names. See reports.