Professional Appraisals For Policyholders
An often overlooked form of claim resolution is the Appraisal process. This Process is often a clause in your insurance policy that is similar to arbitration in that it is meant to avoid litigation on Property Insurance claims. Troy Johnson and Josh Hansen are both very experienced in acting as your appraiser on your insurance claim. Feel free to give us a call or fill out a contact form if you are interested in our Appraisal services.
Josh Hansen and Troy Johnson have both been trained and completed the curriculum required to be named certified appraisers and umpires by the IAUA. See link: http://www.iaua.us/
Appraisal is a great tool in the dispute resolution process for insurance claims.
What is Insurance appraisal?
Appraisal has different definitions depending on where you are located. However, most policies are very similar in that appraisal is a dispute resolution process similar to arbitration for Insurance claims. Appraisal is meant to settle claims prior to them rising to the level that litigation is necessary. In an Insurance appraisal, the insurer will hire an appraiser, The Insured (you) will hire an appraiser, and the two chosen appraisers will agree on an umpire. The appraisal panels job is to determine “the amount of loss”. This means, what is damaged and how much will it cost to repair or replace it. It is extremely important that your appraiser does their due diligence on the umpire that is selected. If the two appraisers can not agree on an umpire, either side may request that the court select an umpire.
How do I find an appraiser?
Our recommendation is that you contact someone that is in the insurance or restoration industry that has extensive insurance in the appraisal process. We DO NOT recommend hiring a real estate appraiser unless they have actually performed an insurance appraisal in the past. The two are very, very different processes. If you contact The Adjustment Firm we can help you as we have acted as appraisers hundreds of times and have often been hired as umpires as well.
Is my claim ready for appraisal?
Unfortunately, we get involved in a lot of claims that are simply not to the point that the Insured is ready for appraisal. Remember, an appraisers job is different than that of an adjuster. An adjusters job is to investigate the claim. An appraisers job is to determine “the amount of loss”. We recommend that you have your claim reviewed prior to invoking appraisal. If you are invoking appraisal you should have the following completed:
- A complete estimate from a general contractor.
- A complete list of any contents that you are claiming.
- PICTURES! If there are any photos that you wish to provide as evidence to the panel, this is extremely important. Videos work well too. Don’t forget that photos of your home prior to the loss can often help you remember contents you had in your home.
- Eye witness accounts. Often times people forget they have neighbors that may have been witnesses to a loss. Whether it is a neighbor that helped you remove your things after a house fire or a neighbor that saved hail in there freezer, all of this is evidence that can help substantiate your claim!
If you haven’t completed these items, you will have a difficult time getting your claim approved and your certainly not ready for appraisal. Remember, it is your job to present your claim to the Insurance company!