How To Become An Insurance Appraiser: What It Is and Career Path

What is an insurance appraiser and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Insurance appraisers help with insurance claims cases where loss has happened. They work with insurance professionals and with people making lawsuits. Most insurance appraisers are automotive damage appraisers. But some appraisers can work in other areas of insurance, such as health care, homeownership, or company. Many insurance appraisers work full time. They also work outside the workplace, inspecting broken structures and vehicles.

Insurance appraisers inspect damaged cars or property following a collision and assess the cost of maintenance. Cost calculations are first forwarded to the adjuster. Insurance appraisers play an important role in insurance firms, and they carry out impartial measurements of maintenance costs.

Although a degree is not mandatory to be an insurance appraiser, many businesses hire practitioners with associate degrees, bachelor's degrees, or other qualifications. Any colleges and universities offer associate or bachelor's degrees in banking, risk management, or similar fields. Degrees in similar fields, such as banking, healthcare, or car technologies, may also support prospective insurance appraisers hoping to work directly in those areas.

ScoreInsurance AppraiserUS Average

Salary

4.2

Avg. Salary $53,229

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.4

Growth rate -6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.50%

Asian 5.58%

Black or African American 11.34%

Hispanic or Latino 15.91%

Unknown 4.44%

White 62.22%

Gender

female 21.02%

male 78.98%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

8.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.9

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.5

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an insurance appraiser

Explore insurance appraiser education requirements

Most common insurance appraiser degrees

Bachelor's

47.7 %

Associate

21.6 %

High School Diploma

13.6 %

Start to develop specific insurance appraiser skills

Skills	Percentages
Windows	94.24%
CCC	1.89%
Insurance Appraisals	0.94%
Sketch	0.77%
Automotive Repair	0.73%

Complete relevant insurance appraiser training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New insurance appraisers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an insurance appraiser based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real insurance appraiser resumes.

Research insurance appraiser duties and responsibilities

Provide detailed written reviews of residential properties ensuring USPAP guidelines, federal regulatory requirements and lender appraisal guidelines are met.
Perform appraisals on business personal property as well as residential and commercial properties for taxation purposes.

Prepare your insurance appraiser resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your insurance appraiser resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an insurance appraiser resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable insurance appraiser resume templates

Build a professional insurance appraiser resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your insurance appraiser resume.