Insurance appraisal in Nebraska

At a glance

Name an appraiser

Whatever the parties agree to once both have consented to appraisal. There is no deadline either side can impose on the other.

Choose an umpire

By agreement of the parties.

If they cannot agree

By agreement, or by a court only if the parties' agreement provides for it.

Suit deadline paused?

No. Demanding appraisal does not pause the deadline to sue under the policy. Note that deadline before you demand appraisal.

Licensing

No license. Because appraisal in Nebraska is consensual, the parties can and should agree in writing on who serves and how impartiality is assured.

The clock

Appraisal in Nebraska 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. Demanding appraisal does not pause the deadline to sue under the policy. Note that deadline before you demand appraisal.

What the panel decides

Amount of loss, by agreement.

Everywhere, including Nebraska, 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. Because appraisal in Nebraska is consensual, the parties can and should agree in writing on who serves and how impartiality is assured.

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

Binding only to the extent the parties agreed it would be. In Rawlings v. Amco Ins. Co., 231 Neb. 874 (1989), the court held a standard appraisal clause void as a binding non-judicial determination of a future dispute.

Points particular to Nebraska

Nebraska DOI Guidance Document IGD-C11 (October 2022) directs that policies permit appraisal only when both parties agree to it after a dispute arises, and that the 1943 standard fire policy appraisal language not be used verbatim.

In practice, many Nebraska carriers will still agree to appraisal when asked, because it is faster and cheaper than litigation for them too. The difference is that it is a request, not a demand.

Common losses in Nebraska

The disputes we see most often in Nebraska arise from:

• Hail
• Tornado and wind
• Freeze and burst pipes

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

Authorities

• Nebraska DOI Guidance Document IGD-C11
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 44-501
• Rawlings v. Amco Ins. Co., 231 Neb. 874 (1989)
• 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 Nebraska

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