The Appraisal Clause and Your Mitigation Invoice in Virginia
BYSteve Jafari, General ManagerNORTHERN VIRGINIA, MARYLAND & D.C.
An appraisal clause is a provision some insurance policies contain for resolving a disagreement about the amount of a loss. Your policy states whether it has one. Restoration Doctor invoices the property owner, and you are responsible for payment under your signed agreement, whether or not your insurer pays. Coverage depends on your policy and your insurer's decision. Questions about coverage belong with your insurer, your agent, or a licensed public adjuster or attorney.
Call 1-888-29-FLOODWhat is an appraisal clause?
An appraisal clause is a provision some insurance policies contain for resolving a disagreement about the amount of a loss. Whether your policy has one, and what it says, is stated in your policy.
Coverage depends on your policy and your insurer's decision. Questions about coverage belong with your insurer, your agent, or a licensed public adjuster or attorney.
Restoration Doctor is a water mitigation company. We are not a public adjuster or an attorney, and nothing here is legal or insurance advice.
Where can you read about it?
Your policy and the statute are the places to read. Restoration Doctor does not interpret your policy and does not advise on whether or how an appraisal clause applies to your loss.
Who pays the mitigation invoice?
Restoration Doctor invoices the property owner. You are responsible for payment under your signed agreement, whether or not your insurer pays.
What documentation does Restoration Doctor provide?
For every mitigation job we produce the records below, and you receive them. We share these records with your insurer at your request. If your insurer asks us for our records, we provide them with your permission.
- An itemized invoice, priced line by line for the work performed
- Daily moisture readings for each affected area, with the temperature and humidity conditions they were taken in
- A drying record showing what was wet on arrival and what the readings were each day
- An equipment log showing what ran, where it ran and for how many unit-days, a unit-day being one machine running for one day
- Time-stamped photographs of the affected materials, the work performed and the equipment in place
Where do coverage and amount questions go?
Coverage depends on your policy and your insurer's decision. Questions about coverage belong with your insurer, your agent, or a licensed public adjuster or attorney.
Virginia defines public adjusting in Va. Code § 38.2-1845.1 as "soliciting, investigating, negotiating, adjusting, or providing advice to a policyholder in relation to first party claims." Restoration Doctor does not do that work. We document what we found and what we did, and we invoice the property owner.
