Insurance Appraisal
The strongest valuation is the one the property supports
Insurance appraisal exists for a narrow and important problem. The loss is covered, but the parties value it differently. One estimate reflects a repair that can actually be built. The other may rely on missing scope, unrealistic sequencing, incomplete quantities, or prices detached from the property in front of the panel.
Loss Recovery Experts has one focus: property insurance appraisal. We inspect the property, determine the repair method, document the loss, and present an independent valuation under the policy's appraisal provision.
What appraisal can decide
Appraisal primarily determines the amount of a covered loss, including disputed scope and repair valuation when those issues fall within the policy's appraisal provision. Pure coverage disputes remain outside the panel's authority.
The panel can address questions such as:
- What work is required to repair the covered damage?
- What quantities did the inspection actually establish?
- Does the repair require access, demolition, detach and reset work, or system shutdowns?
- What materials and assemblies were damaged?
- What does the required work cost in the relevant market?
- Does code-triggered work form part of the valuation under the policy and the repair?
The panel does not become a court. It does not take over every dispute in the claim file.
One party may demand it, or both may have to agree
Whether appraisal can be demanded by one party or requires agreement from both sides depends on the policy. We start every review by reading the appraisal provision itself.
That first read controls the route. The clause may address who can invoke appraisal, when notice must be given, how each appraiser is selected, what qualifications apply, how the umpire is chosen, and how costs are handled. No one should promise a process before reading that language.
What happens after appraisal is invoked
Read the clause before you judge the estimate
The clause is not boilerplate. Two policies can use the same word, appraisal, and create different duties. The review starts with the actual form and endorsements in your claim file.
What we review before accepting an appraisal
Before accepting an assignment, Loss Recovery Experts reviews:
- The complete policy and endorsements.
- The appraisal provision.
- The insurer's estimate.
- Prior estimates and revisions.
- Expert and consultant reports.
- Payment letters and other claim correspondence.
- Photographs and inspection records.
- The current status of the dispute.
We want to understand the dispute before we agree to sit on the panel.
That review also tests economic fit. A technically available process can still be the wrong use of time and money if the amount in dispute is too small.
The appraiser's work
Nathan serves as the appraiser you select. His job is to approach the loss with an open mind, independently evaluate the amount of loss, and support the valuation with evidence, construction knowledge, documentation, and professional judgment.
What anyone can see from the ground.
Assemblies, systems, and hidden conditions examined.
Quantities and damage recorded item by item.
Access, sequencing, matching, and code decided before price.
The supported scope priced with current cost data.
A number the record supports, ready for the panel.
Construction methodology first. Estimate second.
The work includes:
- Inspect the property and identify the damaged assemblies and systems.
- Establish quantities with measurements, photographs, plans, and records.
- Determine the repair methodology before pricing the work.
- Address access, demolition, sequencing, repairability, matching, continuity, and system integration.
- Price the supported scope with current and relevant cost information.
- Compare the independent valuation with the insurer's estimate.
- Work item by item with the other appraiser.
- Present the remaining disputed items and evidence if the panel reaches an impasse.
When appraisal is the wrong tool
- The policy has no appraisal provision.
- The provision requires agreement from both sides and the other party will not agree.
- The main dispute is pure coverage.
- The amount in dispute is too small to justify the time and expense.
- A prior release or agreement affects the dispute.
- A process is already underway and the problem is procedural, so legal review may be needed.
- The policy contains unusual appraisal requirements that must be addressed first.
A clear no protects the claim. It also protects the credibility of the appraisal when the process does fit.
Costs and fee structure
Loss Recovery Experts bills by the hour. The fee reflects the hours the assignment takes, travel time, and any experts the file requires. We confirm the billing terms in writing after reviewing the file. The total cannot be known until the appraisal is complete. No one can honestly quote it in advance, because no one knows at the start how long the assignment will take.
The umpire expense is separate. A typical provision requires each party to pay its selected appraiser and share the umpire's expense. Your policy controls the actual allocation.
Requesting a review costs nothing.
One role on each claim
Nathan Sheppard also holds a Florida public adjuster license. At Loss Recovery Experts, he does not hold the public adjuster role and the appraiser role on the same claim. The engagement letter defines the role before work begins.
Appraisal by property and loss
The process stays focused. The evidence changes with the property.