How to Invoke the Appraisal Clause on a Texas Claim (With a Sample Demand Letter)

Step 1: Find the appraisal clause

Open your policy (the full form, not the declarations page) and look in the Conditions section for a paragraph headed "Appraisal." It will say, in substance, that if you and the carrier fail to agree on the amount of loss, either may demand an appraisal, each selects a competent and impartial appraiser, the appraisers select an umpire, and an agreement by any two sets the amount of loss. Note any specific requirements: a time limit for demanding, who selects an umpire if the appraisers cannot, and how costs are split.

If your policy has no appraisal clause, you may need to wait for a renewal on or after March 1, 2027, when the new Texas rules make the clause mandatory in residential policies.

Step 2: Confirm appraisal fits your dispute

Appraisal determines the amount of loss. Use it when the carrier has accepted the loss as covered and the disagreement is over scope, quantity or price. Do not use it to challenge a denial of coverage. If the carrier has paid part of the claim and denied another part on coverage grounds, appraisal can address the paid part's amount while the denied part is handled separately.

Step 3: Choose your appraiser first

Under the 2027 rules you will have 20 days after the demand to name an appraiser and give the carrier their contact details. It is far easier to name the appraiser in the demand itself. Confirm the appraiser is competent for your type of loss, independent of both you and the carrier, and disinterested in the outcome (a flat or hourly fee quoted in writing, and no prior role on your claim).

Step 4: Write and deliver the demand

Keep it short. State the claim number, that you invoke the policy's appraisal provision, the amount in dispute if you know it, and your appraiser's name and contact information. Send it the way the policy or the carrier's letters specify, and in a way that proves delivery: certified mail with return receipt, plus email to the adjuster and the carrier's claims address. Keep copies.

Sample appraisal demand letter

Step 5: What to send to your appraiser

• The full policy, including all endorsements
• Every carrier letter and estimate, including the §542.056 acceptance or rejection letter and any appraisal notice
• Your contractor's or public adjuster's estimate, if any
• Photographs and videos of the damage, dated if possible
• Mitigation and repair invoices paid to date
• Contents inventories and additional living expense receipts, where relevant
• Any engineer, roofer or plumber reports

Step 6: After the demand

Your appraiser will contact the carrier's appraiser, schedule a joint or separate inspection, exchange estimates and attempt to agree. If they cannot, they select an umpire together, and the disputed items go to the umpire for a two-signature award. Under the 2027 residential rules the appraisers have 120 days from the demand to try to agree and any umpire award is due within 240 days. Keep paying your premium, keep mitigating damage, and keep records of everything.

Joseph DittmanCertified insurance appraiser and umpire; licensed Texas public and independent adjuster. 463 appraisals closed in 2025, eight years of carrier-side adjusting, six years in construction. Serves as policyholder-appointed appraiser and as umpire statewide. Full bio