Assessing the damage to any piece of heavy equipment involved in some sort of accident is crucial to the repair process. Many times the insurance company will set a price for the damage. Still, it may be beneficial to hire a certified inspector to do a heavy equipment appraisal if you feel the insurance company is not giving you a fair price after the assessment. 

Heavy Equipment Damage

When a piece of equipment is damaged, the repair costs can be significant, so getting the insurance company to cover the bill is often essential. Working with a private firm to get a heavy equipment appraisal that covers the damage to the machine and the parts or components needed is crucial. 

The insurance company may have their own adjuster look at the equipment, but if they are not familiar with the repairs required, their appraisal can come up short of the total damage repair cost of the machine. Working with a private adjuster familiar with heavy equipment repair and restoration is often the best way to cover everything. Most insurance companies are happy to have the report to compare to their own assessment. 

Replacement Value

If the damage to your heavy equipment is greater than the value of the machine, you may need an adjuster to go over the equipment and determine the value in its present state. Typically this value is a pre-damage value that the adjuster sets based on the year, hours on the machine, and overall condition and can be critical for insurance claims aimed at replacing the equipment after an incident. 

The heavy equipment appraisal of this type is often very in-depth and can take a few days for the adjuster to complete. They will go over the equipment carefully to assess the condition of the parts that were not damaged, allowing them to get a better idea of the pre-damage condition of the machine and what the value would be had it not been involved in an accident or incident. 

Selling Your Equipment

If you are selling a damaged piece of equipment instead of repairing it, you may need a heavy equipment appraisal specifically for determining the resale value of the machine in its present condition. The process is essentially the same, but the adjuster doing the appraisal will consider the damage and cost of replacement along with the pre-damage value of the machine to calculate a fair price when the machine is sold. 

Often these appraisals are used when auctioning the equipment off but can also be helpful if you sell the machine to a private buyer. Reach out to a professional who provides heavy equipment appraisals to get started.