In the event that a policyholder or the insurance company invoke appraisal via the insurance appraisal clause, the two appraisers must choose an umpire.  Most policies require that the two independent appraisers must attempt to select and agree upon the Insurance Appraisal Umpire within 15-days of the two appraisers being named.  The chosen appraisal umpire must be an impartial, unbiased, and disinterested party in the outcome of the appraisal award.

Have you ever been involved in a mediation, arbitration, or appraisal where the judge or umpire didn’t really do anything except try to reach a happy medium?  To execute the job of Appraisal Umpire properly, not only should one be impartial, unbiased, and disinterested, but one should also be qualified to review the differences between the two parties.

Many appraisal umpires are not willing or are not qualified to review and discuss the details of a structure or contents loss.  An umpire that tries to settle the claim by meeting in the middle or what is known as “splitting the baby,” is not providing the services that he or she was hired to do.  Have your appraisal documents looked at, reviewed, and discussed in an intelligent manner with a qualified insurance adjuster, appraiser, and umpire.

We use our extensive, real life, experiences to evaluate a loss based on the facts!  Our appraisal umpire and claim philosophy is simple… IT IS WHAT IT IS.  We believe that if resulting damages to property covered by an insurance policy can be repaired then it should be repaired.  However, if the property cannot be repaired it must be replaced.  Simply put; the damage… IS WHAT IT IS!

In many cases, independent appraisers can become unreasonable on what can be repaired or what should be replaced.  The repair or replacement must be real, the work and materials used should be replaced with that of materials of like – kind – and quality, and the work should be completed by a professional and competent repair contractor.  Again, the damage IS WHAT IT IS.

So, choose a qualified, experienced appraisal umpire that understands the facts you are presenting, as opposed to a mediator that just wants to split it down the middle.  The independent appraisers on each side of the insurance appraisal clause have a voice… They Deserve To Be Heard!

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(C) Joe Brennan is President and owner/operator of Insurance Claims Group, Inc., a national independent adjusting, appraisal, and umpiring firm. We will answer your claim questions FREE as part of our FREE Insurance Advice and Insurance Claim Consulting Services.

Insurance Claims Group, Inc.
Joe Brennan
Ph: 919-669-9111
Fx: 919-573-9595
info@insuranceclaimsgroup.com

Insurance Claim Help and questions about Independent Appraiser Services is available by visiting Insurance Claims Group | Insurance Appraisal Services | Insurance Appraisal Process | Insurance Appraisal Umpire | Fire Insurance Claims