The insurer is sending its own inspector. Should I refuse?

There is no reason to. The inspection is part of how the claim is handled and refusing it helps nobody. What is worth doing is preparing for it: leave the car unwashed and accessible, be present if you can, take your own photographs of the same condition, and note who attended and when.

Will I receive a copy of that inspector's report?

Sometimes, and sometimes not — the document is produced for whoever commissioned it. Ask at the appointment rather than afterwards. If the answer is that it goes to the insurer, then the only record in your own hands is the one you made on the day, which is a good reason to make one.

The inspection took fifteen minutes. Is that enough?

It can be, on straightforward surface damage. It is not enough where damage is hidden by its nature: underbody contact, a suspected structural deformation, a caravan sandwich wall, an electric vehicle after an impact near the battery. In those cases the visible surface is the smaller part of the damage.

Can I commission my own report as well?

Yes, and it is an ordinary thing to do. Who bears the cost depends on the basis of the claim and on your policy, so ask the insurer that question directly. What matters technically is timing: an independent report needs the vehicle in its damaged state, before repair, sale or scrapping.

The two reports disagree. What now?

First look at where they disagree, because it is usually scope rather than opinion: a measurement carried out or not, a panel replaced or repaired, calibration included or omitted, a different market used for the value. Which figure a claim settles at is a legal question for a lawyer, not a technical one.

The insurer sends its own inspector in Croatia: what that visit is and what it is not

Somebody calls and says an inspector will come to look at the car. It sounds like the matter is being taken care of — and in one sense it is. What is worth knowing beforehand is whose question that visit answers, and which questions nobody has asked yet.

Who is actually coming

The word inspector covers several different roles, and telling them apart decides what you should expect from the appointment.

An inspector appointed by an insurer is instructed by that insurer and reports to it. The task is normally defined narrowly: record what is damaged, establish whether it fits the reported event, and produce figures the insurer can settle on. That is legitimate work and it is often done well. It is simply not work commissioned by you.

An independent appraiser is instructed by whoever pays for the report, records the condition and the extent of the damage, and hands the result to that person. The difference is not in the instruments used. It is in who receives the document and who may ask questions about it.

None of this makes anybody an opponent. It does mean that if you want a record you can use — for a second opinion, for a lawyer, for a sale, for the vehicle's own history — you need one that is addressed to you.

What that inspection normally covers

An appointed inspection has a scope, and the scope follows the instruction, not the vehicle.

What is usually recorded: the damaged areas, photographs of them, the registration and mileage, and an estimate of what repair would cost. On a straightforward claim that is genuinely enough and the file closes quickly.

What is often outside the instruction: anything requiring dismantling, an inspection of the underbody, a measurement of the body structure, paint thickness readings on undamaged reference panels, an examination of the interior where restraint components could have been affected, and any judgement on loss of value.

What is almost never covered: the cause and the mechanism. Whether the damage pattern fits the described sequence is a separate question, and it is only asked when somebody disputes something.

This is why an inspection can be entirely correct and still be incomplete for your purposes. A photograph of a bumper answers one question well. It says nothing about the mounting behind it, and on modern vehicles the mounting is where the money is.

How to prepare for the appointment

You will get more out of the visit if a few things are ready, and none of them takes long.

Make the vehicle accessible and stationary. Somewhere flat, in daylight, with the keys available and enough room to open the doors and walk around it. A car wedged between two others in a full summer yard cannot be assessed properly by anyone.

Do not clean it. Dust patterns, transferred material, soot, glass fragments and marks on the paint are all part of the record. Washing removes them and cannot be undone.

Have the documents in one place: registration, the police record or the certificate of the event, the towing or storage paperwork, and the service history if you have it with you.

Be present if you can, and take your own photographs. Not to check up on anyone — simply because you then have your own record of the same condition on the same day, and because the vehicle may be moved afterwards.

Note who came and when. Name, company, date, time. If a question arises later about what was and was not looked at, this is the first thing anybody asks and the first thing nobody remembers.

Ask one question at the end: whether you will receive the report. Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes it is that the document goes to the insurer. Both answers are useful, and the second one tells you that the only record you hold is the one you made yourself.

When a second, independent report is worth it

Not always, and it is worth being honest about that. On a small, clear claim it adds cost without adding much.

It earns its place when the figures are contested and the difference lies in items rather than in the whole: parts priced as repaired rather than replaced, painting limited to the damaged panel, calibration or measurement missing, a deduction applied to parts that are not wear items.

When damage is hidden by its nature. Underbody contact, a caravan sandwich wall, a suspected structural deformation, an electric vehicle after a battery-area impact. In all of these the visible surface is the smaller part of the story.

When the event itself is questioned. If somebody suggests the damage does not fit what was described, the answer is technical: impact height, direction, the character of the deformation and transferred material. That analysis is a separate assignment and it is rarely part of an appointed inspection.

And a timing point that matters more than any of the above: a second report is only possible while the vehicle still exists in its damaged state. Once it has been repaired, scrapped or sold, everything has to be reconstructed from photographs — usually somebody else's.

What happens when two reports say different things

It happens, and it is less dramatic than it sounds. Two competent people can reach different figures without either of them being wrong.

Most differences are about scope, not about honesty. One record includes a measurement of the body structure and the other does not. One prices a replacement panel and the other a repair. One includes calibration after work on the windscreen area and the other leaves it out. Set side by side, these differences are visible line by line.

Some differences are about the market. Vehicle values are derived from what comparable cars actually cost, and a value calculated for a Croatian market is not the same as one calculated for a German or Polish market. Where the vehicle will be replaced matters, and it should be stated rather than assumed.

What is not a technical question: which figure a claim will be settled at, and what to do if the two sides cannot agree. That is a legal matter, and it belongs to a lawyer specialising in traffic law, engaged directly by you.

Where our role stops

MOTOEXPERT works as an independent Kfz-Sachverständiger. We record the condition, the extent and the mechanism of the damage, and we produce the report in the language your insurer works in.

We do not take on legal representation and we do not give legal advice; for anything concerning entitlement, cover or a disagreement with an insurer we recommend a lawyer specialising in traffic law, engaged under a separate agreement with you.

We also do not decide what your policy covers. That is a question for your insurer, and it is worth asking early, because several policy conditions concern the order in which things are done rather than the damage itself.

What is left is deliberately narrow, and that is the point of it: a record of the vehicle that stays open to review by anyone who reads it later.

Frequently asked questions

The insurer is sending its own inspector. Should I refuse?: There is no reason to. The inspection is part of how the claim is handled and refusing it helps nobody. What is worth doing is preparing for it: leave the car unwashed and accessible, be present if you can, take your own photographs of the same condition, and note who attended and when.
Will I receive a copy of that inspector's report?: Sometimes, and sometimes not — the document is produced for whoever commissioned it. Ask at the appointment rather than afterwards. If the answer is that it goes to the insurer, then the only record in your own hands is the one you made on the day, which is a good reason to make one.
The inspection took fifteen minutes. Is that enough?: It can be, on straightforward surface damage. It is not enough where damage is hidden by its nature: underbody contact, a suspected structural deformation, a caravan sandwich wall, an electric vehicle after an impact near the battery. In those cases the visible surface is the smaller part of the damage.
Can I commission my own report as well?: Yes, and it is an ordinary thing to do. Who bears the cost depends on the basis of the claim and on your policy, so ask the insurer that question directly. What matters technically is timing: an independent report needs the vehicle in its damaged state, before repair, sale or scrapping.
The two reports disagree. What now?: First look at where they disagree, because it is usually scope rather than opinion: a measurement carried out or not, a panel replaced or repaired, calibration included or omitted, a different market used for the value. Which figure a claim settles at is a legal question for a lawyer, not a technical one.