Who Pays for the Appraisal in a Comprehensive Claim

As a rule, you do. Comprehensive cover rests on your insurance contract. Your insurer bears the cost of the assessor it appoints; an independently commissioned appraisal is normally commissioned and paid for by the policyholder, unless the policy wording provides otherwise or the expert determination procedure has been invoked.

The distinction that decides this

There are two entirely different situations that people lump together as "the insurance is paying".

A liability claim arises when someone else caused the damage and their insurer answers for it. In that situation German law treats the cost of establishing the damage as part of the damage itself, and the reasonable cost of an appraisal is recoverable from the party at fault.

A comprehensive claim — Teilkasko or Vollkasko — is different in kind. Nobody is at fault. You are calling on your own contract. What the insurer owes you is what the contract says it owes you, and the policy conditions do not generally treat an appraisal you commission yourself as a covered cost.

Hail, storm, fallen trees, flood, theft and vandalism at a campsite are almost always comprehensive claims. Which means: be sceptical of anyone telling you an appraisal in these circumstances costs you nothing.

The three situations where the cost is not yours alone

• The policy wording says so. Some motorhome and caravan tariffs, particularly at the premium end, include a contribution towards an independent appraisal. Read the conditions; it is not the norm but it exists.
• The expert determination procedure has been invoked. Once the procedure under section 84 VVG is running, the policy conditions govern how the costs of the two appointed experts and the chair are shared. That allocation typically depends on how far each side's figure was from the final finding.
• A third party turns out to be liable after all. A tree that fell because it was demonstrably unmaintained, or damage caused by another site user, moves the matter out of pure comprehensive cover and changes the cost picture.

Why an appraisal is still usually worth commissioning

The question is not whether the appraisal is free. It is whether the appraisal changes the outcome by more than it costs. In practice it does so in three recurring situations: where the insurer's figure was produced from photographs rather than an inspection; where the vehicle has a composite or sandwich structure whose damage is systematically underestimated from images; and where the decision between local repair, transport home and write-off is worth four figures and is currently being made without data.

Where it will not change the outcome, we say so before taking the instruction.

How we quote

A fixed price, given before any work begins, based on vehicle type, damage type and location. No percentage of the settlement, no success fee, no open-ended hourly arrangement.

We do not take an assignment of your claim in comprehensive matters. The appraisal fee is not part of what the comprehensive policy covers, so an assignment against that policy would be a construction resting on nothing. You are invoiced directly and you know the figure in advance.

Frequently asked questions

Will my insurer accept a report I paid for myself?

Insurers routinely receive and consider independent reports. What they weigh is the quality of the documentation and the reasoning, not who commissioned it.

Is it cheaper to just accept the insurer's figure?

Sometimes, and we will tell you when we think so. Where the figure came from an actual inspection and the vehicle has simple construction, the margin for dispute is often small.

Does legal expenses insurance cover the appraisal?

Some policies contribute in the context of a dispute. This depends entirely on your legal expenses cover and is worth checking before you instruct anyone.

What does it cost?

It depends on vehicle type, damage type and location, and you get the figure before work starts. We do not publish a single number because a hail survey on a nine-metre integrated motorhome and a glass claim on a caravan are not the same job.

More on how we work

• How an On-Site Damage Appraisal Works: From First Photograph to Report
• Inspection Response Times Across Europe
• Damage Photo Checklist for Motorhomes and Caravans

This page describes the standard pattern of the German motor insurance market and is general information, not advice on your individual contract. Cover always follows your own policy conditions. MOTOEXPERT is a network of certified automotive appraisers (Kfz-Sachverständige). We produce independent technical reports. We do not provide legal representation. Named places and makes are descriptive references only; no commercial connection with their proprietors is stated or implied. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.