Insurance Support
Scheduling valuables before a loss, and proving what they were worth after one. Independent, USPAP-compliant, and not written by the party paying the claim.
Scheduling before a loss
Insurers schedule high-value items individually — jewellery, firearms, art, instruments. A current appraisal is what sets the scheduled amount, and an out-of-date one is what leaves you underinsured without knowing it.
Proving value after one
After a fire, theft, or flood, the burden of showing what was there and what it was worth falls on you. A retrospective appraisal built from photographs and documentation is how that burden is met.
When the carrier’s number is wrong
Carrier estimates are often desk-produced and rarely appraisals. An independent signed report changes what you are arguing with, and it does not move because the adjuster would prefer a smaller figure.
Replacement cost is not market value
These are different value standards and they produce different numbers on the same item. Replacement cost asks what it takes to replace it with like kind and quality today. Market value asks what it would actually sell for. An insurance schedule generally needs the first; an estate, a donation, or a division generally needs the second.
Applying the wrong standard is one of the most frequent defects in appraisal work, and it is the kind of error that is only discovered when the report is being relied on and it is too late to fix.
Background. Insurance and replacement cost valuation at CBIZ Valuation Group, and more than fifty litigation engagements where valuation was the disputed issue.
Common questions
My carrier says my items are worth less than I paid. Can you help?
That is the most common reason people call. A carrier's figure is frequently a desk estimate rather than an appraisal. An independent USPAP-compliant report gives you something with a signature and a methodology behind it, which is a different kind of document in a dispute.
What is the difference between replacement cost and market value?
They are different standards and they routinely produce different numbers. Replacement cost is what it takes to replace the item with one of like kind and quality today. Market value is what it would sell for. An insurance schedule usually wants the first; an estate or a division usually wants the second. Using the wrong one is one of the most common errors in an appraisal.
Can you appraise items that have already been destroyed?
Often yes. It is a retrospective valuation built from photographs, receipts, prior appraisals, and provenance. The less documentation survives the harder it gets, but loss does not automatically end the assignment.
Do you work for the insurer or for me?
For whoever engages me, and the report says so. What does not change is the conclusion — the fee is fixed in advance and is not contingent on the value reached, which is a USPAP requirement and the reason the report is worth having.
Need it scheduled, or need it proven?
Fixed fee agreed in writing before work begins. Never contingent on the value reached.