Resources · Invoking appraisal
Your insurer agrees the loss is covered. The number is where things stalled. Most Ohio property policies contain a process built for exactly this situation, and this page walks through it from the first written demand to the final award.
Appraisal decides the amount of a covered loss, and nothing else. It doesn't decide whether your claim should have been covered, and it can't revive a denied claim. So before anything else, look at what you and your insurer actually disagree about.
If the carrier accepted the claim but its estimate won't come close to funding the repair, you're in appraisal territory. Keep reading.
If the carrier says the damage isn't covered at all, appraisal can't help you, and no honest appraiser will tell you otherwise. Coverage disputes belong with a policyholder-side insurance attorney, and the clock matters here. Policies and Ohio law put time limits on legal action, so make that call soon rather than someday.
This page is an informational overview of a process found in most Ohio property policies. It isn't legal advice, and your policy's exact language controls every step below.
Pull out the policy and find the clause, usually titled "Appraisal" in the Conditions section. It's short. Check three things as you read. Does the demand have to be in writing? It almost always does. How many days does each side get to name an appraiser? Twenty is a common figure. And how does an umpire get chosen if the two appraisers can't agree? Those few sentences govern everything that follows.
A demand for appraisal is a short notice, not a legal brief. Address it to your carrier, reference your claim number, and state that you're invoking the appraisal provision of your policy to resolve the amount of loss. Send it in a way you can prove; email paired with certified mail is the usual approach. Keep a copy. We keep standard demand templates on hand and will share one on request. They're templates, not legal advice.
The clause requires each side to name an appraiser who is competent and impartial. Some policies say disinterested instead. Either way, it means the same two things. Competent means they can accurately value the damage in front of them. Impartial means they have no stake in what the number turns out to be. Before you appoint anyone, ask how they're paid. An appraiser working for a percentage of the award has a stake in the result, and that arrangement invites a challenge to the award later. A fee set in advance, with no tie to the outcome, leaves the number clean. The insurer names its own appraiser under the same standard.
Each appraiser inspects the property and builds a valuation from what the repair actually costs in this market. That means the materials on your particular house and the labor to install them, at real local prices. Then the two compare positions item by item. Where they agree, the figure stands. On many files, that resolves most of the loss right there.
The umpire is a neutral third party the two appraisers usually select together; if they can't agree on a person, the policy provides a fallback for the appointment. The umpire decides only the items still in dispute. Everything already agreed stays agreed.
An award signed by any two of the three (the two appraisers, or one appraiser and the umpire) sets the amount of loss under the policy. A well-built award is itemized by category, showing the full replacement cost and the depreciated value, so it's clear what the number covers. From there, the claim proceeds under the terms of your policy.
You pay the appraiser you appoint, and the insurer pays theirs. If an umpire is needed, the two sides typically split that fee.
Ironclad's fee is set in writing before the engagement begins, and it never depends on the size of the award. That structure is what keeps the valuation credible: nobody bought the number.
Appraisal has edges. Know them before you start.
It can't decide whether a loss is covered, and it can't interpret your policy or resolve a dispute about a denial. An appraiser who offers to do those things is stepping outside the role. If your disagreement involves coverage, talk with a policyholder-side insurance attorney, and do it soon; the deadlines for legal action keep running while a claim sits.
The demand itself is a short written notice, and policyholders send them every day. Whether appraisal is the right move for your situation can be a legal question, though, and coverage disputes always are. When in doubt, a consult with a policyholder-side insurance attorney is money well spent.
It depends on the deadlines in your policy and on how far apart the two valuations begin. Files that resolve at the appraiser stage move fastest; those that need an umpire take longer. Either way, the structure pushes toward a conclusion. That's the point of it.
No. Appraisal decides the amount of a covered loss, not whether a loss is covered. A denial is a coverage question, and coverage questions belong with an attorney.
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