When Appraisal Awards Are Unclear | Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog

What happened

State Farm Fire and Casualty Company 1 presents an interesting question: when an appraisal award contains a dollar figure that seems clear, should a court ever ask the appraisers what they meant? Once the court determined that the $52,482.81 award necessarily reflected a finding that the shingles adequately matched, the inquiry was essentially over. “Sadly, these abuses are ruining a process that was intended to help policyholders promptly resolve disputed claims without the need for litigation.” .

Key details

• Once the court determined that the $52,482.81 award necessarily reflected a finding that the shingles adequately matched, the inquiry was essentially over.
• “Sadly, these abuses are ruining a process that was intended to help policyholders promptly resolve disputed claims without the need for litigation.” .
• The panel’s determination concerning reasonable color matching was a factual matter incidental to determining the amount of loss.

Why it matters to restoration

This belongs on an operator’s radar because insurance behavior sets the rules for documentation, scope disputes, cash flow and customer expectations. If the article points to a carrier, court or coverage trend, the practical question is what proof your next file needs before the argument starts.

What to check next

Check whether your estimates, photos, notes and customer updates would survive the same dispute described in the article.

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