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.
Written by
Jeremy C. Johnson — President / Valuation Specialist. AQB Certified USPAP Instructor, Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser, 21+ years and 7,000+ valuation assignments. Statement of capability →
Related reading
Have a question this didn't answer?
Call and ask. No obligation, and no one is going to put you in a funnel.
What the work actually looks like
Real assignments, client details removed — what each engagement actually turned on, rather than how it felt.
A house, a workshop of machine tools, a forty-year firearms collection and a stake in the family company — four disciplines that three appraisers had only partly covered. One engagement, one effective date, one set of assumptions.
A donation the regulations would have aggregated past the appraisal threshold, which the donor had assessed item by item. One qualified appraisal covering the group, itemized, signed inside the window the regulations allow.
An opposing report whose number was not obviously wrong — which is what made it dangerous. It failed on its own certification, and was answered section by section with an independent valuation to the correct definition of value.