Umpire Availability Request

How an Umpire Is Appointed and What Happens Next

An umpire enters an appraisal only after the two party-appointed appraisers have been named and have been unable to agree — either on the amount of loss or on the scope of covered damage. Most residential and commercial policies in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Colorado, and California follow the same sequence: each side selects a competent, independent appraiser, those two appraisers attempt to agree on an umpire, and only where they cannot does a court or an agreed authority make the appointment. Confirming that the appraisal clause has been properly invoked, and that both appraiser designations are in writing, prevents the most common procedural challenge to an award later on.

Once appointed, the umpire's role is narrow and defined. The umpire does not represent either party, does not negotiate, and does not re-open questions of coverage that belong to the policy itself. The umpire rules on the disputed amount of loss. An award signed by any two of the three — the umpire and either appraiser — is binding as to that amount.

What the Umpire Reviews Before Issuing an Award

The strength of an award rests on the record the umpire is given. The most useful submissions are organized rather than voluminous: line-item estimates in a common format such as Xactimate, dated inspection photographs keyed to specific elevations and slopes, roof and elevation diagrams, and any engineering or structural reports where the disagreement turns on cause or repairability. For hail and wind losses, meteorological data — hail-swath maps, measured stone size, recorded gust speeds, and storm dates cross-referenced to the reported date of loss — often decides whether damage is consistent with the claimed event or with prior wear.

Where the two appraisers' estimates differ, the umpire's task is to identify where and why they diverge: a difference in measured square footage, a disputed number of damaged shingles, an included-versus-excluded slope, or a different unit price for the same scope. A clean side-by-side reconciliation, rather than two competing totals, is what allows an umpire to rule promptly and defensibly.

Damage Patterns Behind the Disputes That Reach Appraisal

The disputes that reach an umpire in this region cluster tightly by peril and season. Across the DFW Metroplex and Fort Worth metro, spring and early-summer hail drives the majority of appraisal disagreements, and the recurring friction point is assessment discrepancy — whether observed marks on a roof represent covered impact damage or pre-existing conditions. In these files, the disagreement is rarely about the policy; it is about the count and the cause. Convective wind events in North Texas and tornado-corridor damage in Oklahoma produce a parallel pattern for wind claims, where the question is whether structural displacement is storm-related.

Outside the major metros, the same hail perils appear but with thinner local inspection records, which makes historical weather data proportionally more important to a clean resolution. Along the Gulf, hurricane and windstorm losses raise scope and causation questions of a different order. Fire and non-weather water losses turn less on meteorology and more on documented repair scope and structural assessment.

One anonymized pattern illustrates how these files resolve. In a set of DFW-area hail disputes where the two appraisers disagreed on the extent of roof damage, the divergence narrowed once dated photographic evidence was matched slope-by-slope against hail-swath and stone-size data for the date of loss. With the physical evidence and the meteorological record aligned to the same event, the amount in dispute became a factual question the appraisal panel could resolve — the purpose appraisal is designed to serve.

Questions This Page Leaves Open

How quickly can availability be confirmed? For most single-property matters, a conflict check and calendar confirmation follow shortly after the disputed claim, both appraiser names, and the relevant dates are received.

What does the umpire need to begin? The policy's appraisal provision, written confirmation of both appraiser appointments, the competing estimates, and the underlying inspection documentation.

Is the umpire truly neutral? Yes. As an IAUA CPAU-certified umpire, Marshall Smith serves the process, not a party — a standard that applies identically whether the request originates from a carrier, a policyholder, a public adjuster, or counsel. To check availability or clear a conflict, call 972-322-0752.