Expertise is not required in the area of car insurance.

But the law can compel the use of expertise in certain cases. For example, the law provides that expertise is mandatory for claims technological disaster which cause significant damage.

Apart from cases where the law makes expertise compulsory, it is the insurer who decides, following a claim, whether or not an expert opinion is necessary.

In general, the insurer resorts to expert advice when it believes that it will be difficult to reach an amicable agreement on the amount of compensation, or when the value of the damage exceeds a certain threshold.

Indeed, the insurer relies on the expert report to estimate the amount of compensation it will offer you.

If the insurer decides to use the expert opinion, or if it uses the expert opinion to comply with a legal obligation, it will be the insurer who chooses the expert.

But the judge can also order an expert opinion when the dispute over compensation is brought before the courts.

In this case, the judge chooses the expert.

It is then a forensic expert.

The car insurance expert is a person who has extensive technical knowledge of vehicles and who is familiar with the legal rules applicable to insurance contracts and compensation schemes.

The expert must have a professional designation and be included on the national list of automotive experts.

The role of the expert is to ascertain facts or situations, to investigate the causes of the disaster and to assess the damage.

At the end of the mission, the insurer must submit an expert report which indicates, in particular, the following:

• Circumstances of the disaster (events, date, time, persons present, witnesses, etc.)
• Causes of the accident (impact with another vehicle, brake failure, speeding etc.)
• Damage noted (bodywork blows, broken windows, burst tires, etc.)
• Relationship between loss and damage (e.g. bumper already cracked before accident)
• Assessment of damage (possibility of repairing the vehicle or not, cost of repair)

The timeline for submitting the report depends on the severity of the disaster and the complexity of the engagement.

There is no legal deadline for appointing an expert, but insurance companies choose the expert on average within 15 days of the claim being made.

The expert usually travels to the garage where the accident occurred or to the accident site to make the findings.

But he can also work from photos, without personally going to the scene of the disaster or to the garage in case of a small disaster.

The expert will notify you of his visit to the garage and you must arrange for him to have access to the vehicle.

You must also provide all the supporting documents that can help them assess the damage.

For example, invoices for the last repairs, warranty vouchers or photos of the items that disappeared in the disaster.

Yes, the expert chosen by your insurer is required to send you a copy of his report.

If you disagree with the conclusions of the expert appointed by the insurance company, you can request a counter-expertise.

For example, if the expert indicates that responsibilities should be shared between you and the other party involved in the accident, but you do not consider that you are responsible.

In this case, you must call on an expert other than the one appointed by your insurer.

You can choose this expert from the national list of automotive experts.

The second expert must carry out an amicable assessment contradictory with the insurer's expert. You are the one who has to pay his fees.

If the 2 experts cannot reach an agreement, a new expert must be appointed to carry out a third-party expert study.

The third expert must be appointed by common agreement of the two parties. His fees must be shared equally between you and the insurer.

In case of disagreement, the third expert will be appointed by the president of the court of justice or by the president of the commercial court of the place of the disaster.

The insurer pays the expert he has appointed.

However, if you have requested a second opinion, the contract may provide that the costs of this second opinion be borne by you.

Where an expert is appointed by the judge, the judgment shall indicate who is to pay the costs of the expert's examination.

The average cost of an automotive expertise varies between €70 and €400.