An independent examination of vehicles after an accident is carried out to determine the real, market cost of subsequent repairs and the spare parts that will be required for them. The popularity of using the services of independent experts is due to the fact that many insurance organizations artificially lower the cost of repairs and spare parts, as a result of which the amount of payments does not correspond to the damage to the vehicle.
Most often, an independent examination is necessary in disputes regarding compulsory motor liability insurance, as well as during legal proceedings. There will always be a party that would benefit from lowering the cost of car repairs after an accident. Not to mention the banal negligence of insurance company appraisers who are not financially interested in the appraisal results.
Why is an independent examination needed?
As we have already indicated above, to assess the cost of material damage caused to the vehicle. But not just estimates, but calculations. Moreover, it can be initiated not only by the car owner himself, but also by the insurance company.
According to the law, the MTPL insurance company, in order to determine how much needs to be reimbursed in the form of payment or repairs, can carry out 2 procedures on the car:
- simple damage assessment,
- more complex independent technical expertise.
Essentially, these 2 procedures differ little in the order in which they are carried out. But they have the same goal - to obtain a calculation and the final amount for reimbursement. The independent one is carried out according to the Unified Calculation Methodology approved by law.
Despite the fact that the examination from the insurance company is called independent, including by law (Federal Law on Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance), it is essentially not such, since it is carried out at the initiative and choice of the insurance company, although it is carried out by a third-party organization.
And a separate examination initiated by you will be required to oppose the insurance settlement - in court or in pre-trial proceedings. So, the court will not accept your claim for insufficient payment at all if you do not support it with a calculation.
How is the valuation cost determined?
Many car owners are interested in the question of how much an independent examination costs. It is difficult to give specific numbers. The final cost depends on the region of the Russian Federation, on the company’s pricing policy and on a number of additional factors:
- The amount of damage the vehicle received. The cost of the appraisal is greatly influenced by the amount of damage, as all of them must be carefully inspected, photographed and described. If necessary, additional calculations and measurements are carried out;
- Type of expertise and complexity of work. Some types of expert assessment are quite simple to carry out; simple descriptions and photographs are sufficient. Other options require serious mathematical and economic calculations, as well as the use of high-tech and expensive equipment;
- Urgency of expert assessment. High speed and efficiency of examination always implies additional financial costs. On average, from 10% to 15% of the total order cost.
The timing of the independent examination can also vary greatly. But it is recommended to inspect the damage to the car within 5 days after it gets into an accident. It is during this time that all traces of the accident are best visible.
As a rule, each action of an expert has its own fee. On average, you have to pay from 500 to 1000 rubles for an appraiser to visit a car parking spot, and for a detailed report with photographs - from 1000 to 2000 rubles. An expert’s opinion, with which you can go to both the insurance company and the court, costs from 3,000 to 10,000 rubles and more.
The result of the examination is used not only to obtain the correct insurance payments under MTPL, but also to determine the amount of damage in the case where the driver has CASCO insurance. In general, using the services of independent appraisers allows you to receive the fairest financial compensation from the insurer, within a strictly defined time frame by law.
Do I need to seek an independent examination?
A real independent expert assessment is one that can be provided by the policyholder, that is, you. In this case, the expert calculates the damage impartially and without forgetting to calculate anything.
Many car enthusiasts believe that it is necessary to apply for such an examination immediately after the assessment by the insurance company - especially if the car owner did not like the fact that the insurer’s expert, for example, did not remove body parts to look for hidden damage, or there is a suspicion that he I didn’t count everything. But this is completely impractical. Nothing prevents you from waiting for the payment so that your expectations are confirmed... Or they were refuted, and the insurance company paid enough and even more.
Thus, you can determine whether you need an independent examination at all only after you find out the amount for compensation estimated by the insurer. This can be done after the fact of payment or the issuance of a referral for repairs and approval of the work with the car service center or with an application for the provision of a settlement report.
If you have been given a referral for repairs, but the lack of money is determined by the service station employees, who ask you to pay them extra, then there is no point in conducting an independent assessment in this case. But it makes sense to demand repairs from insurance. We described this procedure in more detail in the article about referral for repairs.
When to do it?
As we have already indicated above, it is rational to conduct an independent assessment of the damage after you know the amount of damage. This can be done immediately after receiving an insufficient payment.
To make it easier for you to understand exactly how the examination is carried out, we suggest comparing the insurance payment procedure with further repairs of the car using this money and challenging the payment when the amount is not enough to completely restore the car.
So, if the usual payment procedure looks like this:
- insured event - road accident,
- the victim's appeal to the insurance company,
- inspection of the vehicle and calculation of the amount of compensation,
- payment or referral for repairs,
- restoration of the vehicle by the victim or service from the insurance company in case of referral for repairs.
The correct order, when an independent examination is required, will look like this:
- insured event - road accident,
- the victim's appeal to the insurance company,
- inspection of the vehicle and calculation of the amount of compensation,
- payment or referral for repairs, while the victim finds out that the amount paid is not enough to carry out repairs,
- appointment of an independent examination initiated by the victim (search for a suitable organization and payment for services), with an invitation to a representative of the insurance company,
- carrying out an examination and new calculation of the amount of damage,
- pre-trial demand based on independent expert calculations,
- if the insurer refuses to settle the dispute pre-trial, filing a claim in court,
- winning the court, the latter issuing a writ of execution, according to which the insurance company is obliged to pay the awarded amount,
- another payment from the insurance company in court (usually the difference between what was paid and what was assessed by an independent expert, as well as “bonuses”, which we will discuss below),
- restoration of the vehicle by the victim or service from the insurance company in case of referral for repairs.
Stages of assessing a car after an accident
Carrying out an independent examination consists of the following steps:
- When examining the scene of an incident, cameras and video cameras must be used. Using this technique, hidden damage in the vehicle is recorded. At the same time, the license plates of the vehicle are photographed.
- Then a document is drawn up with a photo report, which includes an assessment of the damage to the car after the accident. This procedure takes 3 days.
The drawn up document is certified by the signatures of all persons present.
What is the price?
The cost of such an examination varies depending on a number of factors:
- degree of damage to the car,
- the need to assess the commodity value,
- region of circulation.
On average, an independent assessment in Moscow and St. Petersburg costs between 8-20 thousand rubles, depending on the above factors. In the regions, the price can range from 5 to 15 thousand rubles.
The main thing to understand is that the amount paid for this is reimbursed if the court wins or is claimed from the insurer in a pre-trial manner.
Loss of marketable value (LCV) is carried out for the purpose of additional payment for the fact that when selling a car after an accident, it loses a little in value. Compensation for TTS is, according to independent firms, on average 7-11% of the total amount of calculated damage.
How to choose a reliable appraisal company - 4 useful tips
Some useful tips for choosing an appraisal company.
Tip 1. Pay attention to the company’s rating and the number of clients over a certain time
There is a lot of information on the Internet about various ratings published by specialized companies. Take the time to look at some of them.
Select the highest-rated companies in your region. For the selected companies, collect more additional information: number of clients, reviews, etc. This will allow you to make the right choice.
Look for such information on forums and specialized websites, read reviews, look at the visitor counter on company websites.
Tip 2. Carefully study the company’s website
Most modern companies have a website. We recommend viewing the materials on the website of the selected company.
Usually on the website you can see scans of licenses, certificates, certificates that the company has and serve as confirmation of its professional competencies.
See which organizations and enterprises are the key clients of the selected expert company. Be sure to study the price offer. For this purpose, the website has a price list or price list for services.
There are calculators on the websites of appraisal companies that can be used to make a preliminary calculation of the cost of the examination online. This will allow you to choose the best offer.
Tip 3. Refuse the services of an appraiser who explicitly or covertly cooperates with insurers
Some appraisers work “on two fronts”: being on the staff of an appraisal company, they unofficially work part-time for insurance companies. Of course, in this case, there can be no question of an independent examination!
Try to find out such points at the very beginning of cooperation, preferably at the stage of choosing an expert company. Typically, such appraisers try to persuade you to conduct an examination of insurers' documents. Be careful!
Tip 4. Don’t choose a company with a wide range of services
You cannot be an excellent generalist and understand all areas of assessment and related areas equally well. As practice shows, highly specialized companies are more professional.
Choose a company that provides only appraisal services. It is ideal if the selected company specializes only in independent assessment services after an accident.
Watch the video on the topic of the article.
How to apply?
- First you need to find a suitable expert organization. She must have the appropriate license to carry out such activities.
- Next, you contact the selected organization, where a competent expert will first simply look at the car and say, even before payment, whether it is worth or not to do an independent examination based on how much damage to the car can be calculated according to a preliminary assessment, taking into account the damage to the car.
- The next step will be to set a date and time for the examination. You will need to invite a representative of the insurer to attend. To do this, it would be correct to send a telegram to the legal address of the insurance company indicating the place, date and time of the event. Insurance companies rarely send their representatives for examinations, but sometimes they are present.
- During rush hour, the expert inspects your car, and then it will take him about a week (maybe less) to draw up documents with calculations. You will need to obtain these documents and another duplicate of them.
- Now it is necessary to send a pre-trial demand to the insurer, where in your own words indicate all the circumstances of the situation: that the payment was made to you, it turned out to be insufficient, and therefore an independent examination was initiated, which counted so much, to demand compensation for the missing amount of money, as well as expenses for telegram and the cost of the examination, indicate a reasonable period (10-20 days) for payment and write your bank details or desire to receive in cash. The pre-trial request must be accompanied by the original payment documents, a cash receipt for the examination and a receipt for payment for the telegram.
- After this period plus 3 banking days, if the required amount has not been credited to the account, you should file a claim in court, where you must attach a duplicate of the examination documents. In this case, it is best to contact an auto lawyer, verified by reviews or by your acquaintances/friends/relatives, since this case is already a little more complicated than a pre-trial claim, and you will also be reimbursed for the costs of a lawyer if you win the trial, the likelihood of which increases when the case is handled well and competent lawyer. However, nothing prevents you from contacting a car lawyer at the pre-trial stage.
Advantages of independent examination
The main advantage is the fact that it is truly independent. If in theory there is reason to believe that an expert from an insurance company is interested in calculating the minimum payment, then an independent expert is impartial (also in theory, of course).
Other advantages are provided not by the examination itself, but by the opportunity to “knock out” additional payments through the court, which include:
- penalty in the form of a calculation of 1% on the day of late payment (or the difference between the amount paid and calculated by an independent expert),
- a fine from the insurance company in favor of the plaintiff in the amount of 50% of the amount of damage (or the same difference) plus all other expenses, including penalties.
In judicial practice in 2021, however, judges often apply the article of the Civil Code on a reasonable reduction of both of the above amounts, down to the very minimum.
For example, if an independent expert calculated your damage at 100,000 rubles, and the insurance company paid 50,000 with a delay of 50 days, you paid 10,000 rubles for the examination, then by law you are entitled to:
- 50,000 rubles in the form of the missing amount of damage to be paid,
- 25,000 rubles in the form of a penalty (1% per day of the amount of damage multiplied by 50 days of delay),
- 10,000 rubles towards reimbursement of examination costs,
- a fine of 42,500 rubles (50% of all the above amounts).
In practice, the judge, at his discretion, can reduce the amount of the penalty and fine to 10,000 rubles each and even less.
