Insurance appraisal in Georgia

At a glance

Name an appraiser

Twenty days after the written demand.

Choose an umpire

If the two appraisers cannot agree within 15 days, either party may ask a judge of a court of record in the county where the property sits to choose the umpire.

If they cannot agree

A judge of a court of record in the county of the property, on request.

Suit deadline paused?

No tolling, and appraisal cannot be invoked after the policy's suit limitation has run (Aaron v. Georgia Farm Bureau, 2009). Georgia regulation bars suit limits less favorable than the standard fire policy; check the period in your policy.

Licensing

No license. The statutory clause calls for a competent and disinterested appraiser.

The clock

Appraisal in Georgia 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, and appraisal cannot be invoked after the policy's suit limitation has run (Aaron v. Georgia Farm Bureau, 2009). Georgia regulation bars suit limits less favorable than the standard fire policy; check the period in your policy.

What the panel decides

Value and price only, not liability or policy construction (McGowan v. Progressive, 281 Ga. 169 (2006)). In Lam v. Allstate (Ga. App. 2014) a dispute over the extent of damage was treated as a coverage question, so in Georgia it matters that the disagreement is framed as one about cost.

Everywhere, including Georgia, 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 license. The statutory clause calls for a competent and disinterested appraiser.

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

An award is treated as binding on the amount of loss. Courts set awards aside only on narrow grounds such as fraud, mistake, an appraiser exceeding the authority the clause gives, or a partial appraiser.

Points particular to Georgia

O.C.G.A. § 33-4-6 requires a sixty-day written demand before a policyholder can seek bad-faith penalties. It is separate from, and does not replace, an appraisal demand.

Common losses in Georgia

The disputes we see most often in Georgia arise from:

• Hurricane and tropical storm
• Hail and tornado
• Water and burst pipes

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

Authorities

• O.C.G.A. § 33-32-1
• Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 120-2-19
• McGowan v. Progressive Preferred Ins. Co., 281 Ga. 169 (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 Georgia

Nearby: Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia