Insurance Appraisal
When the dispute is the number, appraisal is the forum.
Insurance appraisal is a provision built into most property policies for one purpose: resolving disagreement over the amount of loss — what it actually costs to repair or replace what was damaged.
What Appraisal Is — and Is Not
A valuation mechanism, not a real estate appraisal.
The word invites confusion. Insurance appraisal has nothing to do with the market value of your home or building. It determines one narrow question: the dollar amount of the covered physical loss — the scope and cost of repair.
Appraisal does not decide coverage. Whether a cause of loss is covered remains a policy question; what a covered loss costs is the appraiser's question. That distinction shapes strategy, and it is where experienced representation changes outcomes.
How the Process Unfolds
Structured, binding, and built for technical disputes.
Invoking Appraisal
When you and the carrier agree a loss is covered but disagree on its value, either side may invoke the policy's appraisal clause in writing.
Two Appraisers
Each side selects a competent, disinterested appraiser. The appraisers independently evaluate the amount of loss and attempt to agree on a figure.
The Umpire & the Award
Where the appraisers cannot agree, an umpire decides. A figure agreed by any two of the three becomes the binding amount of loss.
RCO as Your Appraiser
The appraiser you choose defines the ceiling of the award.
An appraisal is only as strong as the file behind it. RCO brings the same discipline to the appraiser's chair that we bring to adjusting: full inspection, system-level analysis of roofing, water, fire, and restoration scopes, and an estimate prepared to survive cross-examination by the carrier's appraiser and the umpire.
If your carrier has agreed to appraisal — or you are considering invoking it — speak with us before the panel is set.