Motorhome, Campervan & Caravan Damage Assessment in Montreux — Certified Appraisers On Site

No, the vehicle does not have to go home first. A certified appraiser travels to Montreux, Switzerland, inspects the motorhome, campervan or caravan where it stands, and issues a report your comprehensive insurer accepts. First response within 2 hours; inspection normally 48-72 hours.

Where we inspect around Montreux

Montreux sits in Vaud, within the Lac Léman / Riviera area. The locality and its surrounding pitches fall inside our inspection area. Inspections take place at the pitch, at a local garage, at a recovery yard or wherever the vehicle currently stands.

What typically goes wrong here

Montreux is a lakeside pitch, where convective summer storms arrive fast, awnings are left open and rising water reaches low-lying pitches. That exposure profile decides what an appraisal has to establish first, and what evidence disappears if the vehicle is moved or cleaned before it is documented.

• Hail damage to motorhomes and caravans
• Storm, gale and fallen-tree damage
• Flood and inundation damage
• Awning, carrier and accessory damage

The four decisions an inspection unlocks

1. Can the vehicle be driven? Structural integrity, load path, lighting, glazing, tyres and brakes assessed against road-safety requirements.
2. Repair here or at home? Local repair cost, parts availability and downtime set against the cost of transporting the vehicle back.
3. Repair or write off? Repair cost measured against replacement value and residual value.
4. Is the insurer's figure correct? If the valuation is disputed, the expert determination procedure under section 84 VVG is the contractual route to settle the amount.

What comprehensive cover pays for

Cover follows your policy wording (AKB). Scope varies between insurers and tariffs — the table shows the standard German market pattern, not a guarantee for your contract.

Vehicles and makes assessed

Coachbuilt, integrated and A-class motorhomes; panel-van conversions and camper buses; touring caravans and twin-axle caravans; car, horse and equipment trailers; and coaches operated commercially. Assessment covers the body structure, the base vehicle and the chassis, plus the accessories that carry a separate line in every estimate — awnings, carriers, rooflights, solar panels, air conditioning and heating.

Makes frequently assessed in this area: HYMER, Dethleffs, Bürstner, Eriba, Sunlight, Carthago.

How it works

1. Send photographs and your location by WhatsApp. First response within 2 hours.
2. Initial triage: is the vehicle safe to move, and must anything be secured before it is touched.
3. On-site inspection, typically 48-72 hours from instruction.
4. Report issued in the insurer's language, with annexes.
5. If the valuation is disputed: expert determination under section 84 VVG.

When the insurer's valuation is disputed

In a comprehensive claim the insurer appoints its own assessor. If the resulting figure is disputed, German insurance contract law provides an expert determination procedure (section 84 VVG, mirrored in the AKB). Each side appoints an expert, the two experts appoint a third as chair, and the finding binds both parties as to the amount of the loss.

MOTOEXPERT acts as the policyholder's appointed expert in that procedure. This is a technical role: establishing facts and figures. It is not legal representation. Where legal representation is required, the matter is referred to a Fachanwalt für Verkehrsrecht.

Who pays for the appraisal

Be careful with claims you may read elsewhere. A comprehensive claim rests on your insurance contract, not on third-party liability. The insurer bears the cost of the assessor it appoints. An independently commissioned appraisal is, as a rule, commissioned and paid for by the policyholder — unless the policy wording provides otherwise, or the expert determination procedure has been invoked, in which case the AKB clause governs how the cost is shared. MOTOEXPERT quotes a fixed price before any work begins.

Languages

The report is written in the language of the insurer handling the claim. A German policy means a German report, whatever country the damage occurred in. Source documents in the local language — police report, garage estimate, campsite operator statement — are attached as annexes with translation. Client communication runs in English, German or Polish.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to take my motorhome back home for the insurance appraisal?

No. The appraiser travels to Montreux. The vehicle is inspected where it stands and the report is issued for your insurer.

How quickly can an appraiser reach Montreux?

First response within 2 hours. On-site inspection normally 48-72 hours from instruction, subject to access and recovery status.

Is my motorhome safe to drive after the damage?

That is the first question the inspection answers. Structure, load path, glazing, lighting, tyres and brakes are checked against road-safety requirements before any recommendation to drive is given.

Will the report be in German?

The report follows the insurer handling the claim. A German policy means a German report. Local-language documents are attached as translated annexes.

My insurer has already valued the damage and the figure looks low. What now?

An independent appraisal establishes the technically correct figures. If the amount remains disputed, the expert determination procedure under section 84 VVG is the contractual route to resolve it.

Should I let a local garage start repairs straight away?

Not before the damage is documented. Once repair begins, the evidence of cause and extent is gone, and that is the evidence the claim rests on.

Related

MOTOEXPERT is a network of certified automotive appraisers (Kfz-Sachverständige). We produce independent technical reports. We do not provide legal representation. Named campsites, places and makes are descriptive references only; no commercial connection with their proprietors is stated or implied. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.