Homeowners Insurance Appraisals

Appraisal is a process afforded to you, per your insurance policy to resolve disputes on the settlement amount of your claim. Both the insured and the insurance company hire disinterested persons to function as appraisers, and these appraisers will resolve the dispute in most cases. If the two appraisers cannot decide on the loss's value and/or scope, an umpire will be selected, and then two of the three parties in the appraisal will decide on the claim.

The time it takes to finalize an appraisal depends on the scope of loss, complexity of the estimate, disagreements between appraisers, weather-related disruptions, etc. However, the process can take several weeks to a couple of months, depending on the dispute resolution between the appraisers and whether an umpire is required.

The appraisal results should be considered final because you will not be able to directly dispute the award with your insurance company. Furthermore, the appraisal award can eliminate and/or decrease your chances for successful legal action against the insurance company. Therefore, it is important that you understand the risks before you engage in appraisal.