When your insurer's number is too low

Policyholders in a disputed claim are usually arguing about one of three things: whether the item was covered, what it was worth, or what it costs to replace. Only the second and third are valuation questions, and an independent appraisal addresses them directly.

The value premise matters enormously. Actual cash value, replacement cost, and fair market value produce different numbers, and the policy specifies which applies. An appraisal prepared under the wrong premise will not move the adjuster, however well-researched.

Many policies contain an appraisal clause — a contractual dispute-resolution mechanism in which each side names an appraiser and the two select an umpire. This is faster and cheaper than litigation, and it is frequently underused because policyholders do not know it exists.

For post-loss personal property claims, documentation is decisive. Photographs taken before the loss, receipts, and prior schedules make a claim far easier to substantiate — which is the argument for scheduling valuables before anything happens to them.