An appraisal is supposed to be an independent opinion of value. In practice, it is too often a number written to satisfy whoever is paying for it. I have been asked, more times than I can count, to "take another look" at a piece — which is the polite way of asking me to find a higher number. The honest appraiser says no. Plenty don't.
The appraisal written for the policy
When a collector insures an object, the premium and the eventual payout both track the appraised value. That gives the owner a direct incentive to find a generous appraiser, and it gives a dishonest appraiser an easy way to win repeat business: say yes to the number the client wants.
How the inflation happens
- "Replacement value" is quietly substituted for fair market value — often 2–4× higher
- Comparable sales are cherry-picked from the top of the range and outliers
- Optimistic attributions are stated as fact rather than opinion
- Condition problems are described in language that minimizes them
A replacement-value appraisal and a fair-market appraisal of the same object can differ by a factor of four. Both can be technically defensible. Only one is the number the claims adjuster should be looking at — and it is rarely the one in the file.
The conflict nobody discloses
The most corrosive arrangement is when the person who sold you the object also appraises it, or refers you to the appraiser who does. The valuation then protects the sale price, not your interests. Insurance fraud and appraisal fraud are usually the same act seen from two sides of the desk.
Protect yourself
- Know which standard of value you are buying: replacement, fair market, or marketable cash
- Use an appraiser with no financial stake in the object or its sale
- Insist on cited, verifiable comparable sales — not "in my experience"
- For a claim, expect the insurer's number and yours to differ; understand why before you argue