Who We Are
A lifetime inside the car business — spent fighting for consumers.
Auto Claim Specialists was founded on a simple, hard-won insight: the way vehicles are valued in insurance settlements contains systemic errors — and someone with a lifetime inside the car business is exactly the person to fight them.
2017
founded in Texas
3,000+
documented case results
30+
state agency licenses
★ 5.0
rated Excellent on Google
The Story
From the wash bay to the state house
The beginning
A life in the car business
Robert McDorman has been in every phase of the automotive business — from washing cars as a teen to owning multiple dealerships by his 20s.
National recognition
National Quality Dealer of the Year
By his early 40s, McDorman had earned national recognition as National Quality Dealer of the Year and Certified Master Dealer.
The insight
A theory about valuations
Years of watching claim settlements led to a theory: systemic errors exist in how vehicles are valued. Market Valuation Reports are algorithmic rough estimates built for speed — not accuracy.
May 2017
Auto Claim Specialists is formed
Licensed as a Public Insurance Adjuster, McDorman founded ACS in Texas to help the public fight valuation errors — with the country's most expert appraisal firms as partners.
Today
National advocacy
From 3,000+ documented case results to testimony before the Texas House Committee on Insurance, ACS leads the fight for consumers' mandatory right to appraisal.
The Problem We Exist To Fix
An estimate is not a settlement.
Anyone who’s had a fender-bender knows how partial loss claims work: the insurer’s estimator makes an initial estimate, and once the shop dismantles the damage, supplements follow — because the first number was never the real number.
Total losses work exactly the same way. The Market Valuation Reports insurers rely on are rough algorithmic estimates built to meet enormous demand — yet they’re presented to vehicle owners as final. We treat them as what they are: a first draft, subject to the evidence.
Our appraisal partners
We work with the most expert vehicle appraisal firms in the country, with a preferred appraiser chosen for each state — for most states, Vehicle Value Experts.
Two ways to know your number
Desk reviews for a quick estimated value range, or formal certified appraisals for Actual Cash Value settlements — fixed cost, no surprises.
“Robert McDorman is the most passionate defender of consumers’ rights I’ve ever known.”
Joel Gausten — Former editor, Texas Automotive
About Auto Claim Specialists
Who is Robert McDorman?
Robert McDorman is the founder and Managing Director of Auto Claim Specialists and a licensed Public Insurance Adjuster. A lifelong automotive professional and former multi-dealership owner, he was recognized as National Quality Dealer of the Year and Certified Master Dealer, and founded ACS in May 2017.
Why do insurance settlement offers so often contain valuation errors?
Insurers are required to use independent appraisal firms whose product — the Market Valuation Report (MVR) — is generated by algorithms designed to produce values quickly at enormous volume. Like an initial repair estimate before the tear-down, an MVR is a rough estimate. Treating it as a final settlement figure is how vehicles get undervalued.
What is Vehicle Value Experts?
Vehicle Value Experts is an independent expert vehicle appraisal firm and ACS's preferred appraiser in most states. ACS works with the most expert appraisal firms in the country — offering desk reviews for quick estimated value ranges, and formal certified appraisals for Actual Cash Value settlements.
See where we’re licensed on the Agency Licenses page.
Free Claim Review
Put a lifetime of car business on your side.
Contact us from anywhere in the U.S. and a local Auto Claim Specialist gets to work for you within 24 hours.
800-736-6816Toll-free, nationwide
Start your free claim review
No cost. No obligation. 24-hour response.