Insurance appraisal in Michigan

At a glance

Name an appraiser

Twenty days after receipt of the written demand (§ 500.2833(1)(m)).

Choose an umpire

Fifteen days; then the circuit court selects on request.

If they cannot agree

The circuit court for the county of the property, on request of either party.

Suit deadline paused?

Yes, by statute. The time to bring an action is tolled from the time you notify the carrier of the loss until the carrier formally denies liability (§ 500.2833(1)(q)). The suit period is at least one year.

Licensing

No license. The statute requires each appraiser to be competent and independent.

The clock

Appraisal in Michigan 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: Yes, by statute. The time to bring an action is tolled from the time you notify the carrier of the loss until the carrier formally denies liability (§ 500.2833(1)(q)). The suit period is at least one year.

What the panel decides

Amount of loss or actual cash value. Coverage is for the court, and under Auto-Owners v. Kwaiser (Mich. App. 1991) a genuine coverage dispute is decided by declaratory action before appraisal. Which items fall within a covered description is treated as part of determining the loss, and a carrier that concedes coverage and demands appraisal waives later coverage challenges (Angott v. Chubb, Mich. App. 2006).

Everywhere, including Michigan, 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 statute requires each appraiser to be competent and independent.

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 Michigan

Each party pays its own appraiser; the umpire and other costs are split equally (§ 500.2833(1)(m)).

Michigan regulators have criticised carriers that refuse appraisal by relabelling a scope-of-repair dispute as a coverage dispute. Partial payments are generally treated as conceding coverage.

Common losses in Michigan

The disputes we see most often in Michigan arise from:

• Wind and hail
• Ice dams and winter storm
• Freeze and burst pipes
• Water backup

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

Authorities

• Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.2833
• 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 Michigan

Nearby: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin