Total loss auto appraiser: your independent second appraisal

When an insurer declares a vehicle a total loss, it owes the policyholder the vehicle's actual cash value. The number it offers comes from a valuation vendor — CCC, Mitchell or Audatex — that the insurer pays, built from comparables the vendor chose and condition adjustments applied without seeing the car.

A total loss auto appraiser does the same job from the other side of the table: researches the specific vehicle (trim, mileage, options, condition, local market), sources genuine comparable listings, audits the insurer's report line by line, and states the difference. Where the policy has an appraisal clause, the appraiser can then be appointed to present that valuation to the insurer's own appraiser, with a neutral umpire deciding what the two cannot.

Across the total-loss consultations we have taken to a result, the average recovery above the insurer's first offer is $3,648 (264 finished consultations that settled at or above the first offer, through Sep 25, 2026, before our fee). We take an engagement only when our review finds at least $1,000 more is likely. At least $1,000 more, or your fee is waived. This applies once we accept your consultation and serve as your appraiser. The starting point is your insurer's offer on the day we accept. If the appraisal award, or a higher offer your insurer makes instead, is less than $1,000 above it, we waive our $495 Appointed Appraiser Service fee. If an umpire is needed, the umpire's fee is separate.

Those are our own outcomes, not an industry estimate.

Call one when the offer will not buy a comparable vehicle in your market, when the insurer's comparables are from far away or a different trim, when the condition adjustments do not match the car you drove, or when the payout is below the loan balance and the difference is landing on you.

Do it before you sign the settlement or release the title. In most states the appraisal clause can still be invoked after a first offer, but it is far harder to reopen a settlement once accepted.

Vehicle appraiser licensing is state-specific. In the states that regulate it, an unlicensed appraiser can compromise your position under the appraisal clause; in states that do not, the appraiser's independence and the quality of the evidence are what carry the argument. We publish every active credential so it can be checked with the state rather than taken from a website.

Independent means one thing here: we are never paid by your auto insurer or its valuation vendor.

The consultation is free. If there is a real gap and you want us to act: The Appointed Appraiser Service is $495. It includes the Appraisal Research, our appointment as your appraiser under your insurance policy's appraisal clause, determining the amount of loss with your insurer's appraiser, and the appraisal award letter. The research is a matter of days once we have the insurer's report and your vehicle details; determining the amount of loss depends on the insurer's appraiser and, where needed, umpire scheduling.

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, SecondAppraisal serves drivers in 43+ states by phone, text, and online. There's no office visit and no need for an appraiser in your town.