Insurance Appraisal
Insurance Appraiser for Homeowner and Commercial property damage insurance claims.
As your Insurance Appraiser we have the extensive real world experience necessary to properly analyze property damage in great detail to determine the necessary repairs to establish your “amount of loss” or “value of the loss”. Viewing everything with an open mind, a vast array of knowledge and expertise to appraise your damages and negotiate the best possible appraisal award for you.
Although it is only a paragraph or two in a standard policy that can be many, many pages long, it is a powerful tool afforded BOTH the policyholder and the insurance company. Once Appraisal is requested or Demanded, both sides need to pick their own Insurance Appraiser to represent them.
Appraisal Clauses are commonly found in both Residential and Commercial policies.
Typically, the “Appraisal Clause”, which is actually found under Conditions in the policy, can only be invoked or triggered, if you will, when the parties have reached an impasse regarding the cost to repair, rebuild, clean or replace a Dwelling / Building, Other Structure’s or Personal / Business Property among other things. But once it is, both sides need to get their own Insurance Appraiser to move forward.
Both sides should have made a good faith attempt to resolve differences prior to demanding Appraisal and selecting their insurance appraiser. However, should negotiations break down Appraisal may be the best option for resolution. Courts favor appraisal when appropriate as it is an alternative dispute resolution mechanism that can be much less costly than full blown litigation and is typically much faster than litigation, which can potentially take years. Courts are very reluctant to intervene in the appraisal process or to set aside an appraisal award except in rare cases.
The Appraisal Clause was originally only able to be invoked by the insurance company, but that was changed by a Court Decision that opened it up to be fairly used by either the insured (policyholder) or the insurer (insurance company). This became a major game changer, as now the policyholders could access the appraisal provision which is a much more affordable option then the often costly and time consuming lawsuit route. Lawsuits are an option of last resort. They are sometimes necessary but can be very costly and can possibly drag on for quite some time.
A Sample Appraisal Clause:
Appraisal. If you and we fail to agree on the amount of loss, either may demand an appraisal of the loss. In this event, each party will choose a competent and impartial appraiser within 20 days after receiving a written request from the other. The two appraisers will choose an umpire. If they cannot agree upon an umpire within 15 days, you or we may request that the choice be made by a judge of a court of record in the state where the “residence premises” is located. The appraisers will separately set the amount of loss. If the appraisers submit a written report of an agreement to us, the amount agreed upon will be the amount of loss. If they fail to agree, they will submit their differences to the umpire. A decision agreed to by any two will set the amount of loss.
Each party will:
1. Pay its own appraiser; and
2. Bear the other expenses of the appraisal and umpire equally.
Call us now if you need an experienced insurance appraiser and to see if appraisal may be a good option for you? The consultation is Free. What do you have to lose?
How do you go about actually appointing your insurance appraiser and demanding appraisal?
Simply contact us and we will provide you with the necessary documents that you sign and return to us. We will send the document you signed appointing us as your insurance appraiser and establish contact with the appropriate personnel at the insurance company to start the appraisal process moving forward.
