Business and finance
Insurance appraisers, auto damage
Appraise automobile or other vehicle damage to determine repair costs for insurance claim settlement. Prepare insurance forms to indicate repair cost or cost estimates and recommendations. May seek agreement with automotive repair shop on repair costs.
Median pay
$78,240
Growth to 2035
−9%
declining
Openings a year
700
Time to qualify*
1.5 years
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Insurance appraisers, auto damage
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- Postsecondary nondegree award
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
- Prior experience
- None
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Outdoors in all weather
Hazardous conditions
Insurance appraisers, auto damage: 52% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Evaluate practicality of repair as opposed to payment of market value of vehicle before accident.
- Review repair cost estimates with automobile repair shop to secure agreement on cost of repairs.
- Examine damaged vehicle to determine extent of structural, body, mechanical, electrical, or interior damage.
- Prepare insurance forms to indicate repair cost estimates and recommendations.
- Estimate parts and labor to repair damage, using standard automotive labor and parts cost manuals and knowledge of automotive repair.
- Determine salvage value on total-loss vehicle.
- Arrange to have damage appraised by another appraiser to resolve disagreement with shop on repair cost.
Also called: Appraiser · Automobile Appraiser (Auto Appraiser) · Automobile Damage Appraiser (Auto Damage Appraiser) · Damage Appraiser · Field Appraiser · Field Inspector · Insurance Appraiser · Material Damage Appraiser
Outlook and AI
Insurance appraisers, auto damage held 13,500 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 12,400 by 2035 (−9%, declining; all jobs: +3.5%).
Productivity change - share decreases as specialized software and artificial intelligence (AI) make the appraisal process more efficient, allowing appraisers to focus on more complex claims.
Compare with
- Insurance appraisers, auto damage vs. Transportation inspector
- Insurance appraisers, auto damage vs. Automotive body and related repairers
- Insurance appraisers, auto damage vs. Auto mechanic
- Insurance appraisers, auto damage vs. Property appraisers and assessors
- Insurance appraisers, auto damage vs. Mechanical engineering technologists and technicians
- Insurance appraisers, auto damage vs. Cost estimator
- Insurance appraisers, auto damage vs. Insurance claims and policy processing clerks
- Insurance appraisers, auto damage vs. Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators
- Insurance appraisers, auto damage vs. Credit authorizers, checkers, and clerks