LR door jamb being closed up like that means definite structural damage (as did the crushed rear body panel in the first photos), but that doesn't mean it's totaled in and of itself. Qualified shop can fix all that no problem. But still maybe totaled depending on price. Total loss is a financial calculation period. Insurance company compares the cost of repairs, with the cost of buying the car and getting money back by selling the salvage. So for example if they decide the car is worth $29K, and salvage value as-is is about $10K, they will total the car ONLY if cost of repair is predicted to exceed $19K. (Obviously I am making up all these numbers for illustration purposes only.)
That is a gross simplification also...much goes into those calculations including predicted hidden damage, loss of value, sales taxes, rental/loss of use costs, etc. but it is still a simple math formula to the insurance company...generally all estimated numbers get spit into a computer and the computer tells the adjuster whether they will proceed with total loss or repair. And this decision could change later, after tear-down. An initial estimate is written, which is usually missing 20% to 50% of the damages. Then tear-down exposes more, then as repairs progress they find yet more. Normal and expected. At any point in the game the insurance company may stop the supplementals and declare it a total loss. Keep in touch with the shop periodically, and the insurance company, to keep yourself informed. But beware this will be a slower process than you want it to be. One month minimum for repairs, and if parts can't be obtained (very likely being a Clarity), many months could go by...and this ongoing loss of use/rental expense may help push the total loss decision also.
You can use Progressive if you want to...sounds like they are the other person's carrier and they are OK, but not great. That company is well-known in the industry for very overworked and somewhat underqualified adjusters, but generalizations do not always describe the person handling YOUR claim, so give that person a chance. Or you can use your own insurance company for repairs and just ask Progressive to forward your deductible and your company will subrogate Progressive after all is said and done -- no charge to you and no claim counted against your policy either way. Both methods are commonly done and acceptable. Also don't sweat the aftermarket parts issue -- for Clarity they don't exist, so the only part alternative for this car is going to be Honda...or salvage, and salvage will also be mostly made of unobtanium because of how rare this car is, plus most insurance companies don't even bother attempting to find salvage parts within the first year of a car's life.
Also be aware that your own policy will have an exclusion for loss of value...you will get zero from your own on that front. So your only hope on loss of value is to make a claim to the claimant carrier (Progressive) and in most states they legally owe it to you, if you can prove loss of value...which is pretty easy in today's world of CarFax, etc. Also keep this in mind if you choose to go thru your own carrier for repairs -- they do not pay loss of value, therefore your own insurance company is LESS likely to total this car than Progressive will be, because your own company will ignore loss of value in their calculations for sure, whereas Progressive is more likely to include it. Something to consider.
So feel free to handle exclusively thru Progressive beginning to end. If they tick you off, call your own carrier and tell them to take over repairs and they will. Then when all is said and done you are on your own go for loss of value directly thru Progressive. That figure can't be calculated until car is fixed and all damage is known/calculated, so that is the last payment you will receive and not something to concern yourself with immediately. Get a repair vs total loss decision nailed down first. DO verbalize you intend to make a loss of value claim after repairs are done...if you have a smart adjuster he/she will consider this in their total loss calculations...dumb ones will not. Remember there's a human aspect to everything. Including insurance calculations and dealing with adjusters...they're humans too, some are better than others at their job, and sometimes they can override what the computer tells them to do within reason.
And remember you, like EVERY SINGLE OTHER CAR OWNER, feels their car should be totaled after a wreck like this. I assure you that no matter what he/she says to you, that insurance adjuster simply doesn't care or consider what you want, nor does their computer. They deal in facts and figures. So if you can help them find and consider facts and figures that support YOUR position, this is your only way to "push" them to total the car. So you want to try to get them to find HIGH salvage value figures, HIGH repair costs, HIGH loss of use/rental costs, HIGH loss of value costs. And as counter-intuitive as this sounds...a LOW value for your car. That combo will get them to mathematically total the car. But your feelings, desires, and opinions will not. Especially with Progressive, as you are a non-paying customer to them that they do not need to retain or please, and they only owe you what they owe you according to state law.
Not to get your hopes up but I see a high likelihood of total loss in a situation like this -- the frame tech will likely have a discussion with manager/insurance about the dangers of pulling/cutting/welding the structure of this car that is likely strained/buckled close to the battery pack in the trunk. And Honda certainly has clear procedures on how to proceed with the process and they will NOT be simple nor cheap!! Might need to remove entire battery pack (which is essentially the floor of this car) before any repairs can be done to the car. I have no earthly idea if/how that is done. I assure you this will be the FIRST Clarity they've seen, so the shop AND the insurance company will be learning along with you and I. And a manager of an insurance company may override everything the computer says and simply say "we ain't taking the liability of fixing this experimental vehicle..." And this is probably what you want to happen...so Godspeed.
Keep us informed. I personally made the repair vs total loss decision on probably 30,000+ different wrecked cars during my career, yet I can't begin to predict this one, so I am genuinely curious how it will work out. Cars like this one frankly contributed to me choosing to end that career--the technology in new vehicles was starting to overwhelm me from the repair and training side, as well as dealing with shops on these types of things. Field appraisers/adjusters like me serve as the intermediary between out-of-touch old-school insurance managers who think everything can be fixed dirt cheap with bubble-gum and bailing wire, state-of-the art repair facilities who think it costs $80 per screwdriver revolution (because you need to be "certified" to hold a screwdriver)...and owners who frankly have zero knowledge of the whole process and usually just get in the way -- yet are our precious paying customers who must be retained and pleased. And the gap between the 3 parties over time has become a wide chasm...so I burned out. I LOVED it for 18 years, tolerated it for 4, and HATED it for 3. Then finally declared career over, blissfully.
FWIW, my $8K to $12K estimate stated earlier is based on all my recent experience with NON-electric cars rear-ended similar to this one. All bets are off with this one due to the battery pack possibly being in the way of necessary repairs. I admittedly have no idea what the final repair cost will be...
And next time anyone wants to complain about the cost of insurance -- keep some of these numbers in mind. This routine rear-ender could have been fixed for $4K about 10 years ago. Today that number triples and/or totals out the entire car, due to the technology in electronics and construction materials/methods in these cars. And rear-end impacts are cheap compared to frontal impacts...collision repair costs are positively skyrocketing like our health care costs are right now. Insurance rate increases follow.
Very sorry you became the crash test dummy for the group...I very much wish you an acceptable outcome.
