Why Houston claims end up in appraisal
Houston's claim calendar runs on named storms. Hurricane Harvey in 2017, the May 2024 derecho that tore roofing and glass across the west side and downtown, and Hurricane Beryl in July 2024 each produced tens of thousands of wind claims adjusted in a matter of weeks. When that many files move that fast, scopes are written from drone photos and a short walk-through, interior water intrusion is under-measured, and fences, screens and outbuildings fall off the estimate entirely. The carrier accepts the storm; it simply pays for less of it than the storm actually did. That is an amount-of-loss dispute, and appraisal is the tool built for it.
Between storms, Houston's expansive clay soils and slab foundations drive a steady volume of plumbing-leak claims: slab leaks, supply-line failures under kitchens and the tunneling or slab breakouts needed to reach them. Carriers routinely accept the leak and dispute the access cost, the flooring continuity and the cabinet replacement. Those are scope arguments an appraiser settles line by line.
Houston housing stock and the scope fights it creates
Inside the Loop and in the older close-in neighborhoods such as Meyerland, Oak Forest, Sharpstown and the East End, homes from the 1950s through the 1970s carry original hardwood floors, plaster or early drywall, and roofs that have been re-covered more than once. Layered roofs and brittle three-tab shingles make tab-level repairs impractical, which is the heart of most Houston repair-versus-replace disputes. In the master-planned suburbs of Katy, Cypress, Spring and Pearland, the argument is usually about matching: discontinued laminate shingles, large contiguous slopes and HOA appearance rules that make a partial replacement visibly obvious.
Commercially, Houston's strip retail, medical office and industrial flex buildings carry TPO and modified-bitumen roofs with rooftop HVAC that hail and wind-borne debris damage in ways a ground-level inspection never sees. We walk those roofs.
Umpire appointment in Harris County
If the two appraisers cannot agree on an umpire, either party may ask a Harris County civil court to appoint one. Harris County's district clerk publishes a standard umpire-appointment form, and the county's civil courts at law and district courts handle these requests regularly, so a Houston appraisal rarely stalls at the umpire stage. We also serve as a neutral umpire on Houston losses where neither party is connected to us.
Where we go
All of Harris County and the surrounding counties: Fort Bend, Montgomery, Brazoria, Galveston, Chambers and Liberty. Katy, Cypress, Spring, Pearland, Sugar Land, Pasadena, Baytown, The Woodlands, Humble, Kingwood, League City and Friendswood are regular stops, usually within a day or two of appointment.
Questions from Houston policyholders
My Houston claim is from Hurricane Beryl. Is it too late to demand appraisal?
Usually not. Most Texas policies allow an appraisal demand until the limitations period for filing suit runs, often two years from the denial or underpayment. Check your policy's appraisal clause and suit-limitation clause, then call us; we will confirm the deadline for your specific policy.
Do you handle Houston claims that involve both wind and flood?
Yes. When a storm produced both, the homeowners carrier pays for wind and wind-driven rain and the flood policy pays for rising water. Our appraisal estimate separates the two with moisture mapping and photo evidence so the wind portion is fully priced rather than written off as flood.
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