Insurance appraisal in California

At a glance

Name an appraiser

Twenty days after the written demand (Ins. Code § 2071).

Choose an umpire

Fifteen days; if the appraisers cannot agree, a judge of a court of record in the county of the property chooses on request.

If they cannot agree

A judge of a court of record in the county where the property sits, on request of either party.

Suit deadline paused?

No tolling by appraisal itself. The suit clause in § 2071 gives twelve months, extended to twenty-four months for losses in a declared state of emergency.

Licensing

No appraiser license. California's statutory clause calls for a competent and disinterested appraiser. Appraisal is governed by the arbitration statutes, which include disclosure duties for neutrals.

The clock

Appraisal in California begins with a written demand from one party to the other. The deadlines in the table above run from that demand: first the period to name an appraiser, then the period for the two appraisers to agree on an umpire. Send the demand by certified mail with return receipt, and keep a copy with the policy.

Once the panel is complete, the appraisers inspect the property, prepare their estimates and work through the differences line by line. Only what they cannot settle goes to the umpire.

On the deadline to sue: No tolling by appraisal itself. The suit clause in § 2071 gives twelve months, extended to twenty-four months for losses in a declared state of emergency.

What the panel decides

Amount of loss. In Kacha v. Allstate (2006) the court confirmed that appraisers value the loss as described by the parties and do not decide coverage. California appraisers are expected to note items they believe are outside coverage without deciding the question.

Everywhere, including California, the panel leaves alone whether the policy covers the loss, how the policy language is read, and whether the carrier acted in bad faith. Those are for the courts. An award that strays into them is the one most likely to be set aside.

Who may serve

No appraiser license. California's statutory clause calls for a competent and disinterested appraiser. Appraisal is governed by the arbitration statutes, which include disclosure duties for neutrals.

Whatever the statute says, the policy standard is the one that decides most challenges: an appraiser must be competent and impartial, or in some forms disinterested. The contractor who will do the work, a public adjuster paid a share of the claim, or anyone employed by a party does not meet it. We are paid a flat fee for that reason.

The award

Because appraisal is arbitration under the Code of Civil Procedure, a petition to vacate or correct the award must be filed within one hundred days of service of the signed award (CCP § 1288). Missing that window makes the award final. A petition to confirm may be brought within four years.

Points particular to California

After a government-declared disaster, § 2071 provides that appraisal may be requested by either party but shall not be compelled. In a declared wildfire or storm emergency, appraisal in California is by agreement.

The hundred-day challenge deadline runs from service of the award, not from the loss. Calendar it the day the award is signed.

A California panel may value disputed items with a note that coverage is disputed, and must explain any item it values at zero (Lee v. California Capital Ins. Co., 2015).

Wildfire losses in a declared emergency carry the longer twenty-four-month suit clause and thirty-six months to collect replacement cost (§ 2051.5), among other consumer protections.

Common losses in California

The disputes we see most often in California arise from:

• Wildfire
• Earthquake (separate coverage)
• Water and mudflow after fire
• Wind and winter storm

Flood is insured separately, usually through the National Flood Insurance Program, under federal rules rather than California's. Its appraisal clause settles price only, and its deadlines are its own. How a flood claim works

Authorities

• Cal. Ins. Code § 2071 (standard fire policy)
• Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1288
• Kacha v. Allstate Ins. Co., 140 Cal. App. 4th 1023 (2006)
• The general guide to insurance appraisal

Statutes, regulations and case law change. This page was reviewed against official sources in October 2026 and describes the general rule; it is not legal advice about your claim.

Questions about appraisal in California

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