¿Qué hago si no estoy de acuerdo con la valoración del perito tras un siniestro?

You have suffered an accident and they send you an expert to assess the damage . However, the expert’s assessment does not seem adequate to you . This usually happens in home accidents and also in car accidents. So, what to do when we do not agree with the expert’s assessment after a claim? We see it in this article.

[UPDATE]

Claims, experts and insurance

Having insurance is essential to deal with any accident that may occur in our home, such as fire, water damage, damage due to theft or vandalism, for example.

When we suffer any loss, it is necessary to notify the insurance company as soon as possible to make the claim. The company will then send an expert to inspect the home and assess the damage. Based on this, it will make an assessment based on which the insured will receive compensation. But, what happens if we do not agree with the assessment made by the expert?

When you disagree with the appraisal of the expert after a claim

The expert sent by the insurer is a qualified and collegiate professional who must be objective in his assessment, although this does not imply that circumstances may not arise in which the insured does not agree with said assessment. When this occurs, the recommended course of action is as follows:

The first thing to do, when you do not agree with the expert’s assessment, is not to accept the official compensation offered by the company based on the report presented. Accepting such compensation implies accepting the evaluation of the expert.

Once this compensation has been rejected, the next step is to hire an independent expert. This, having no relationship with the company, will be completely impartial. Being an equally collegiate professional, his assessment will have the same validity as that of the expert sent by the insurer at first. It must be taken into account that, in this case, the expert’s fees will be paid by the insured ( article 38 of the Insurance Contract Law ).

If the insurer does not agree with the second expert opinion

At this point, the insurance company will most likely decide to hire an independent adjuster as well. This new expert opinion will serve as evidence for the insurer if the disagreement reaches a court.

When a second expert opinion is used , both the insurance company and the insured must accept in writing the designation of the new experts. If one of the parties has not made the appointment of the expert, you have eight days from the date on which it has been requested by the party that has made the appointment to appoint your expert. If you do not do so, it is understood that you accept the assessment of the other party’s expert.

If both experts agree, they will proceed to prepare a joint record in which the decision and compensation will be confirmed. This record will include the causes of the accident and the assessment of the damage, as well as the reasons why the compensation decision was made and the proposal for the cost of said compensation.

In the event that the experts do not agree , the parties will have to appoint a third independent expert. The fees, in this case, will be paid between the two parties at 50%, unless one of them had made a disproportionate assessment of the damage, in which case that party would be solely responsible for the expenses of the new expert opinion.

If, despite this third independent expert opinion, the parties still cannot reach an agreement, the remaining option is to go to a Court of First Instance to resolve the disagreement by judicial means.

More information

In the following articles you will find more information of interest:

• Home insurance: who pays the expert?
• What is the proportional rule and how is it applied in the valuation of damages in a partial loss
• Consultation on invoice of aesthetic damages at first risk
• Taxation of damage insurance: do we have to pay taxes on the compensation received?
• What are property damages or material damages?
• Coverage for cosmetic damage in home insurance