Blog / Mar 07 2023
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Too often, insurance companies undervalue repair or total loss claims. The right to a fair auto insurance appraisal allows consumers to hire an independent, third party appraiser if there is a dispute about the amount it will take to repair the car or the value of the total loss. However, some insurance companies are trying to remove the right to a fair appraisal from policies.
Texas Watch analyzed over 1,000 claims that went to appraisal and found that, on average, the appraisal award for repair claims was $5,307.35 higher than the insurance company’s offer. For total loss claims, the appraisal award was an average of $3,889.27 greater than the insurance company’s offer. Across all claims, the appraisal award was an average of 40% higher than the insurance offer.
From our data alone, fair auto appraisal helped over 1,000 Texans collectively recover over $5 million in property damages. Without the right to a fair auto insurance appraisal, Texans will be forced to pay out of pocket to repair their vehicle safely, or corners will be cut on repairs, resulting in unsafe vehicles on our roads.
Please see the attached report for more information. You can tell your Texas lawmakers that we need the right to a fair auto insurance appraisal here.
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Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.