Uncover the Value of Your Property with an Independent Insurance Appraiser
Getting Owners Through the Trickiness of the Appraisal Clause and Process.
Serving the following Maryland counties: Prince George's, Howard, Anne Arundel, Charles, Montgomery, St. Mary's, and the Mid-Atlantic region.
Disappointed with Your Settlement Offer? We’ll Even the Score!
Even though you’ve been paying your insurance provider faithfully for months (or even years), it’s the job of their insurance adjuster to pay out as little as possible once you’ve made a claim. If you feel you’ve been offered an unfair claim settlement, our certified independent appraisers can help with insurance claims to get you the money you’re owed.
What is the Appraisal Clause in Insurance Policies?
Many people don’t know that they don’t have to accept the claim settlement offered by their insurance company. Most policies have an insurance Appraisal Clause that does not bind either party to the findings so that disputes can be made.
If the costs to repair or replace property, or the value of an item cannot be agreed upon, then the insurance policy allows either party to bring in independent insurance appraisers to represent them and re-evaluate the damages. The Appraisal Clause allows everything to be settled out of court to obtain more timely resolutions. Look to see if your policy has an Appraisal Cause under the “What to Do after a Loss” section or the “Conditions” section of the policy.
How Do I Start the Appraisal Process?
It’s important to understand that either party associated with the insurance policy can invoke the Appraisal Process. The request must be made in writing and each policy will have a time limit of when this can take place. Even if a claim has been closed for many years, either party can often still dispute the claim and reopen it for review. Once the request to invoke the Appraisal Clause has been initiated, each party, the insurance company, and the policyholder appoints an independent appraiser.
Choosing an Independent Appraiser.
While we always recommend using our public adjusting services before filing an insurance claim on your own to avoid this scenario, we’ve helped many clients recoup what they’re owed after the initial settlement offer.
Our independent insurance appraisers will thoroughly assess the situation, bringing in other qualified professionals (engineers, contractors, inspectors, etc.) as needed to back up their analysis. Their goal is to maximize your insurance claim settlement in the shortest amount of time. After all, you’ve paid for coverage—it’s only fair you get to use it!