How to invoke the appraisal clause, step by step

First, find the clause

Look in the physical damage part of your own policy, under a heading such as “Appraisal”. Not every policy has one, and the wording is not standard. Some clauses can be invoked by either side, some need both sides to agree, and a few have been removed or narrowed by the insurer. Read yours before you rely on any general description, including this one.

The clause is part of your own policy. If you are claiming against the other driver’s insurer, you are not a party to that policy and its appraisal clause is generally not available to you.

What the clause can and cannot decide

Appraisal decides the amount of the loss, which in a total loss claim means the vehicle’s value. It does not decide whether the loss is covered, who was at fault, or whether the insurer handled the claim properly. Those questions go to the insurer, the state insurance department or a court.

The steps

1. Send a written demand. State that you disagree with the amount of loss and are demanding appraisal under the policy’s appraisal provision. Give the claim number and send it in a way that proves delivery.
2. Name your appraiser. Most clauses require each side to choose a competent appraiser and tell the other side who it is within a set number of days. The number is in your policy.
3. The appraisers value the vehicle. Each prepares a figure. They then compare them and try to agree.
4. The appraisers select an umpire. If they cannot agree on a value, the two appraisers choose a neutral umpire. Many clauses let a court appoint one if the appraisers cannot agree on a name.
5. Differences go to the umpire. Only the points in dispute are submitted.
6. An agreement by any two sets the amount. A written award signed by two of the three, whether both appraisers or one appraiser and the umpire, fixes the amount of the loss under most clauses.

Who pays whom

Under the usual wording, each side pays its own appraiser and the two sides split the umpire’s fee. The Texas Department of Insurance describes it to consumers in those terms: you pay for your appraiser and half of the umpire’s costs.

State law can change the default. In Oregon, where a policy uses appraisal to resolve the dispute, the insurer must reimburse the insured’s reasonable appraisal costs if the final appraisal decision is higher than the insurer’s last offer made before those costs were incurred. Details are on our Oregon total loss claims page.

Deadlines are set by your policy

Three time limits matter: how long you have to demand appraisal, how long each side has to name an appraiser, and how long the appraisers have to pick an umpire. All three come from the policy and, in some states, from statute or regulation. Send the demand before you sign a release or accept payment in full, and do not let the general deadline for a property damage claim run while the process is under way.

Is the result final?

Many clauses say the award is binding on the amount of loss. Whether and how an award can be challenged depends on the policy wording and state law, and that is a question for an attorney in your state. Appraisal can also produce a figure lower than you hoped. It sets a value; it does not promise a higher one.

Where an appraiser fits

The process needs a valuation from your side that stands up to another appraiser’s scrutiny. An independent total loss appraisal from Autoloss documents the vehicle’s pre-loss market value with comparable vehicles, and it can be given to the adjuster or used in your policy’s appraisal process. Our owner’s published background lists: National total-loss umpire since 2008. Autoloss is not a law firm and does not negotiate with insurers.

Appraisal is one of three routes. Your options when an offer looks low compares it with the other two, and the glossary defines the terms used above.