Appraisal
When the insurance company’s number doesn’t match your loss, the appraisal clause is your leverage. We work it as your appraiser to get your damage valued correctly.
When the offer doesn’t match the damage
You filed a legitimate claim and the carrier came back low. Maybe the estimate skips entire rooms, underprices the work, or recategorizes a covered loss. You are not stuck with that number. Most property policies contain an appraisal clause, a built-in dispute process that lets you challenge the amount of the loss without filing a lawsuit. Knowing how it works is the difference between accepting a shortfall and getting paid what your claim is actually worth.
What the appraisal clause actually does
Appraisal resolves one specific kind of dispute: a disagreement over the amount of the loss, not whether the loss is covered. When you and the insurer cannot agree on value, either side can invoke appraisal in writing. Each party chooses its own independent appraiser, the two appraisers select a neutral umpire, and together they work to agree on the value of the damage. When they cannot agree on an item, the umpire decides it. An agreement signed by any two of the three sets the amount, and that figure is binding as to the amount of loss.
Appraisal settles the value of the loss. Questions of coverage, policy interpretation, and bad faith stay outside the process and are handled separately.
How appraisal works, step by step
Your appraiser, in your corner
Party-appointed appraiser
When you bring me in as your appraiser, I represent your side of the value dispute. I know how carrier estimates are built because I write them in Xactimate every day, so I can find what was missed, mispriced, or left out, and document the real cost to make you whole. My job is to advocate for an accurate, defensible valuation of your loss and to hold the line through the negotiation between appraisers.
Also available as umpire
When two appraisers need a neutral to break a deadlock, I also serve as umpire. Both sides rely on that role being fair and grounded in the actual scope of damage. That time on the neutral seat is part of what makes me effective for you: I know exactly how the other side’s numbers get tested, and I build your position to withstand it.
Is appraisal right for your claim?
- The dispute is about the amount, not whether the loss is covered.
- The carrier’s estimate is clearly short, missing scope, or underpriced.
- Negotiation with the adjuster has stalled.
- Your policy contains an appraisal clause. Most do, and we will confirm it.
Not sure if it applies to your claim? That is exactly what the call is for. We review your situation honestly and tell you whether appraisal is the right move before any engagement begins.
Andrew G. McCabe
Umpire & Appraiser · Expert Witness · Xactimate Specialist
Over 20 years in property damage claims, focused on complex building losses, water damage, and disputed valuations. I am a licensed adjuster and Certified Xactimate Pricing Consultant who serves as a party-appointed appraiser, neutral umpire, and expert witness in state and federal courts. Because I write carrier-grade estimates every day, I know where the other side’s numbers come up short and how to build a valuation that holds.
Licenses & credentials
- Licensed adjuster (PIA): OR, WA, TX, MT, UT · NIPR Producer #6228736
- Certified Xactimate Pricing Consultant, Verisk
- IICRC: Water Loss Specialist (WLS), Applied Structural Drying (ASD), Water Restoration Technician (WRT), Mold Remediation Technician (MRT)
- Expert witness testimony in state and federal courts
- Author, The 24-Hour Tech · Host, The Claim Clinic podcast
Full résumé, by-the-numbers track record, selected expert-witness and appraisal assignments, and a complete publication bibliography.
Start your appraisal review
Tell us about your claim and book a short call. We confirm fit on the call before any engagement begins, and nothing is collected until we both agree it is a match.
Select “Appraisal” below to begin
Appraisal, explained by someone who sits on the panels
Short videos and a cornerstone article on how the insurance appraisal clause really works, when to use it, and how to defend a fair number. Start with the explainer, then dig in.