Resources
Plain-language guides to property insurance appraisal in Ohio, written by Ironclad's founder, Travis Haessly. No jargon and no pitch. Just how the process works, so you can decide what your situation calls for.
The whole process
The whole arc in one place, from working out which disagreement you're actually having through to the award, with a route to the detail at every stage.
Start with the question
Three very different problems hide behind that one question, and each takes a different route. How to tell which one is yours.
Hail and storm
Where hail and wind estimates come apart, from what made it onto the list to what the work actually costs here, plus an honest answer on age-versus-storm disputes.
Wind, on its own terms
Hail bruises. Wind lifts, creases, and removes. Where two valuations split over a shingle that's unsealed but still in place.
Repair or replace
Usually the single largest gap between the two numbers. Whether a match can be had, how far the question reaches, and which part a panel actually decides.
Past the roof
Gutters, wraps, screens, and five siding materials that fail in five different ways. The part of the envelope an inspection built around the roof can pass over.
Age and value
Both sides agree on the item and the price and still land far apart. Effective age, service life, and whether labor depreciates at all.
Invoking it
The exact steps once a covered claim is stuck on the amount, from the written demand to the final award.
The foundation
What the clause says, when it applies, and when it doesn't.
The vocabulary
RCV, ACV, depreciation, scope, and the award. How to tell which of the three arguments you're actually having.
Choosing the umpire
The quietest step in the process and one of the most consequential, since the umpire decides everything the two appraisers couldn't close.
The umpire's role
What the umpire does, how one is chosen, and how the award gets set.
Know the roles
Two similar-sounding titles doing very different jobs. Which one fits depends on the problem you're solving.
The award
Binding on what is the better question. What an award settles, what it leaves exactly where it was, and why a well-built one holds up.
What it costs
Who pays whom is set by your policy. And why the way an appraiser gets paid decides whether the number can survive being looked at.
Commercial property
A commercial file isn't a bigger house file. Low-slope roof systems, rooftop equipment, time-element coverage, and who owns what.
Water losses
Two invoices, not one, and a covered part and an uncovered part often sitting in the same room.
Fire losses
A fire claim runs three valuations at once, argued in completely different ways. Structure, contents, and loss of use.
Central Ohio
We serve Columbus, Dublin, Powell, and communities across central Ohio, and surrounding areas on request.
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