Texas Property Insurance Appraisal Services

Who we work for

Appraisal appointments come from four directions, and we take all of them:

• Homeowners whose claim has reached a genuine amount-of-loss disagreement and who need an appraiser who can build and support an estimate.
• Attorneys who need a competent, independent appraiser on a residential file.
• Public adjusting firms that need appraisal coverage without pulling their own adjusters off active claims.
• Contractors and roofers whose customer needs an independent appraiser rather than more estimate revisions.

What you get in every case: a Texas-licensed public insurance adjuster who writes his own Xactimate scopes and brings measurement and photo documentation to support every line.

What appraisal actually is

Appraisal is the dispute process written into your policy for one question: how much is the covered loss worth. You appoint an appraiser, the insurance company appoints one, and if the two cannot agree, a neutral umpire resolves the difference. Agreement by any two of the three sets the amount, and that figure is binding on both sides except in narrow circumstances such as fraud or material mistake.

It is generally faster and less expensive than litigation. It is also narrow on purpose. Read our homeowner walk-through on when appraisal is the right move on a Texas property claim if you are still deciding.

What appraisal can and cannot decide

Appraisal is broader than a unit-price comparison. In setting the amount of loss, the panel may evaluate the extent of damage, quantities, which items were damaged, how much must be repaired or replaced, whether repair or replacement is necessary, and the pricing that follows. Texas courts have treated questions like how many shingles were damaged and whether repair or replacement was required as amount-of-loss questions for appraisers.

What appraisal cannot do is construe the policy or decide whether the insurance company owes coverage for that loss. Some causation analysis may be unavoidable in valuing a loss, but appraisal does not decide ultimate coverage or liability. That does not make every coverage issue an attorney matter. A licensed Texas public adjuster can understand the policy and apply its provisions to the documented facts of the loss, identify how coverage, conditions, limitations, and available benefits affect the claim, develop the supporting evidence, and present and negotiate your complete claim position with the insurance company.

We identify which issue you actually have and recommend the step that matches it. Sometimes that is appraisal. Sometimes it is a supplement with better documentation or licensed claim representation on the coverage question. Where the issue calls for legal advice, litigation, or evaluation of legal claims and remedies, an attorney is the right professional. We say which, and why. See the side-by-side comparison of public adjusting versus appraisal in Texas, or how underpaid claim representation and denied claim help differ from an appraisal engagement.

How we work, and how we charge

Flat fee or hourly. Never a percentage of the award.

An appraiser is expected to act impartially in determining the amount of loss, and a fee tied to the outcome invites a challenge to the award. Ours is a professional fee for professional work: inspect the property, build the scope, and support it through the appraisal process. The fee is quoted in writing before any work begins. It is a reasonable screening question to ask of any appraiser you are considering.

One firm rule: we do not serve as appraiser on any claim where our firm is the public adjuster. Our PA clients use an outside appraiser. An appraisal engagement is separate from public adjuster representation, with a separate agreement and a separate fee basis.

Why estimating ability matters more than a title

Amount-of-loss disagreements are resolved on the physical facts: what was damaged, quantities and measurements, whether repair or replacement is necessary, code-required work, and pricing. We build these estimates ourselves rather than delegating them, and our scoping comes with the documentation to support it, including aerial measurement reports, measured interiors, and photo mapping tied to the sketch.

The Texas appraisal rules (SB 458 / Chapter 1813)

In 2025 the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 458, adding Chapter 1813 to the Insurance Code. In practical terms:

• Texas law requires qualifying residential property policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2026, to include an appraisal provision.
• Not every policy or every insurer is covered the same way. Exclusions exist, surplus lines and certain plans may be treated differently, and your own policy’s appraisal language controls the process. Send us your policy and we will explain how its appraisal provision applies to your loss.
• Where the provision applies, either side may invoke it, subject to the terms and timelines in the policy and applicable law.
• Appraisal determines the amount of loss only, never coverage.
• The award is binding on both parties except in narrow cases such as fraud or material mistake.

Appraisal provisions carry deadlines, and those deadlines come from your policy and applicable law rather than from a single universal rule. If you have received an appraisal demand or a decision you disagree with, it is worth confirming where you stand in those timelines early.

Straight answers