Appraisal

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Friday at 2 With Chip is going to be interesting today. The Executive Director from FAPIA, Nancy Dominguez, sent me a State Farm policy that I have confirmed was the policy used in an appraisal in Florida. Here is the relevant language:

Appraisal. If you and we fail to agree on the amount of any loss under SECTION 1-PROPERTY COVERAGES, either party can demand that the amount of the loss be set by appraisal. A demand for appraisal must be in writing. You must comply with SECTION I – CONDITIONS, Your Duties After Loss before making a demand for appraisal. At least 10 days before demanding appraisal, the party seeking appraisal must provide the other party with written, itemized documentation of a specific dispute as to the amount of the loss, identifying separately each item being disputed.…
Continue Reading New Requirements for Being a Property Insurance Appraiser—Are Insurers Going to Change Appraisal With New Policy Language?

I was publicly debating at an appraisal conference in Denver with insurance defense lawyer Steve Badger about various matters regarding appraisals. I answered a question posed that if new evidence came up to the insured’s selected appraiser which indicated that the prior payment by the insurance company was more than enough and the insurance carrier clearly overpaid, did the insured’s appraiser have to agree to an value even lower than what was previously paid?…
Continue Reading Do Insurance Companies Select Appraisers Based on Lowered Awards to Their Customers?

Hurricane Sally appears headed to the Mississippi Sound and Louisiana. Adjusters already working Hurricane Laura claims will be shifting efforts to Hurricane Sally. While there is legal authority suggesting that causation can be determined in Louisiana appraisals,1 Mississippi has long held that causation issues will not be allowed in appraisal and that a lawsuit will have to determine those issues.2…
Continue Reading Mississippi Does Not Allow Causation to Be Determined In Appraisal

On August 10, 2020, Merlin Law Group hosted Hurricane Irma Public Adjuster Seminar: One Month Before Claim Submission Deadlines for public adjusters to earn 4 CE credits on hot topics for discussion related to Hurricane Irma. Don’t forget the deadline to submit claims for property damage from Hurricane Irma is September 10, 2020.…
Continue Reading When Can Ordinance or Law Coverage Be Appraised?

Arbitration has been showing up as a requirement more frequently in some property insurance policies. A past President of the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (NAPIA) recently asked me ‘what exactly is arbitration and how is it different than litigation or a trial?’ I figure that it may be a good time to have a Tuesday at 2 With Chip Merlin session to go over the various dispute resolutions involving trial, litigation, arbitration, appraisal, mediation and department of insurance sponsored mediation.…
Continue Reading What Are the Differences Between Mediation vs Arbitration vs Appraisal vs Litigation When It Comes To Resolving a Property Insurance Claim?

Colorado protects its policyholders as well as any other jurisdiction in the United States.1 Most policyholder advocates are familiar with Colorado’s statutory bad faith claims that give policyholders a fighting chance against insurance carrier’s malfeasance. Whether it is incompetence or intentional, claim results are often unreasonable and policyholders are harmed with few remedies to make them whole.…
Continue Reading Colorado Insurance Companies Do Not Have a “Get Out of Jail Free Card” For Delayed and Underpayments Following Appraisal

Occasionally, an attorney representing an insured will run into a Motion to Compel Appraisal filed by the carrier’s attorney. Upon receipt of the motion, a few considerations must be made with the most important being:

  1. Is the demand for appraisal timely? and
  2. Is appraisal proper considering the “amount of loss”?…
    Continue Reading Amount of Loss: Appraisal Considerations in New Jersey