Appraisal clause
Appraisal clause valuations
Some auto policies include an appraisal clause: when the owner and the insurer disagree about the amount of a loss, each side can name an appraiser, and an umpire may decide where the appraisers cannot agree. The exact rules depend on the policy and the state, and this page is not legal advice. For the appraiser, on either side, the work is the same: assemble evidence, state a value and explain it. VINbasis keeps that work in one case.
The appraiser's work
Each side's appraiser prepares a valuation, and the appraisers compare them. An umpire may decide where they cannot agree. A reader of the report, whichever side engaged the appraiser, looks for the same things: the comparables, how each was adjusted and how the value follows from them.
What the product provides
- The Counsel report: a formal serif report with numbered sections, a written valuation explanation and a photo exhibit.
- The evidence: comparables with every adjustment itemized, an optional guidebook value, adjustments to the vehicle with reasons, and the arithmetic behind the value.
- Rounds: each offer or response from the insurer, the opposing appraiser or an umpire, with its date, amount, source and notes, and up to five supporting documents per offer.
- Revisions: each issued report is a numbered revision that stays in the case permanently. Draft previews are unlimited and watermarked.
- An outcome: close the case as appraisers agreed, umpire award, offer accepted or withdrawn.
What stays in the case
Offers and negotiation history stay in the case, and the PDF is a standalone valuation: the claim, the evidence and the value. The standard certification states that the appraiser has no interest in the vehicle and that compensation does not depend on the value. Counsel is a premium template on paid plans, and every template carries the same valuation.
Read the three sample reports.
Clauses and rules vary by policy and state. The report presents your evidence and your valuation. It does not decide how a claim is settled.