Insurance appraisal in Arizona
Arizona requires fire policies to follow the 1943 New York standard fire policy, which carries an appraisal clause with a 20-day window to name appraisers and a 15-day window to agree on an umpire. Arizona courts limit the panel to the amount of loss, and they have held that waiting too long can cost a party the right to appraisal.
At a glance
- Name an appraiser
- 20 days from the written demand, in the standard fire policy that A.R.S. § 20-1503 adopts.
- Choose an umpire
- 15 days for the two appraisers to agree on an umpire.
- If they cannot agree
- On request of either side, a judge of a court of record in the state where the property is located picks the umpire.
- Does appraisal pause the deadline to sue?
- The statute does not pause the suit deadline. In Meineke the policy gave one year from the date of loss to sue, and the court tied the time to demand appraisal to that same year. Find the suit clause in your policy and note the date.
- Who may serve
- No license is part of the clause. The standard text asks for a competent and disinterested appraiser from each side and a competent and disinterested umpire. More below
Deadlines in Arizona
The clock
- Day 0Written demandEither party, in writing
- By day 20Appraisers named20 days for each side
- By day 35Umpire chosen15 days, or a court appoints
- On siteInspectionBoth estimates, line by line
- The awardAward signedAny two of three
- After the awardPayment60 days after proof of loss and a filed award (policy form)
Appraisal starts with a written demand from either side after you and the insurer fail to agree on the actual cash value or the amount of loss. Each side then has 20 days to name a competent and disinterested appraiser and tell the other. The appraisers pick a competent and disinterested umpire first, and if they have not agreed on one within 15 days, either side can ask a judge of a court of record in the state to choose. Each side pays its own appraiser, and the umpire and other appraisal expenses are split equally.
Timing matters on both sides. In Meineke v. Twin City Fire Ins. Co., the policy named no deadline for demanding appraisal, and the court held that a demand must come within a reasonable time. It also held that appraisal is waived if not requested within a year after the loss when the policy requires suit within a year, because a late demand can use up the other side's time to sue.
What the panel decides
Amount of loss only
The standard wording tells the appraisers to appraise the loss and state actual cash value and the loss to each item. In Hanson v. Commercial Union Ins. Co. (Ariz. App. 1986), the court held that this was the panel's only task. The policy gave it no authority over coverage, deductibles, credits or offsets, or over interest and attorney fees, and an award that reached those subjects went beyond the panel's power.
Coverage questions and the reading of the policy stay with the courts. Hanson also treated waiver of an objection to the panel's scope as a question of fact.
Who may serve
The standard text calls for a competent and disinterested appraiser from each side and a competent and disinterested umpire. Each appraiser is paid by the party who chose that appraiser. The two sides split the expenses of the appraisal and the umpire equally. A person with a stake in how the claim comes out is open to challenge on the disinterest standard.
The award
An itemized written award signed by any two of the three, once filed with the insurer, fixes the actual cash value and loss. Arizona courts give an appraisal award the same finality they give an arbitration award, and they do not reopen the number. The exception is an award that goes beyond what the panel was asked to decide, which does not bind the parties unless they ratify it (Hanson). Arizona's Revised Uniform Arbitration Act sets a 90-day window to move to vacate an arbitration award (A.R.S. § 12-3023), but we have not found an Arizona decision applying that window to a property appraisal.
Points particular to Arizona
The statute governs fire policies. A homeowners policy that also covers wind, hail and water carries its own appraisal condition, so read the wording in your form. The policy in Meineke used the same 20-day and 15-day structure.
Late demand can cost the right to appraisal. The fire in Meineke happened in December 1989. The insurer first raised appraisal in November 1990, and it formally demanded it in April 1991, after the policyholders had sued. The court held the demand was unreasonably delayed and that the insurer had waived appraisal. One judge dissented, and the one-year rule applied to a policy with a one-year suit clause, so read the case as fact-specific.
Arizona's claim-handling rules set their own clocks. An insurer must acknowledge a claim within 10 working days, complete its investigation within 30 days unless that cannot reasonably be done, and accept or deny a claim within 15 working days after receiving proofs of loss, or explain in writing why it needs more time (Ariz. Admin. Code R20-6-801).
Common losses in Arizona
Each one links back to how we look at that kind of loss.
Questions
Does my Arizona homeowners policy have an appraisal clause?
Almost certainly. A.R.S. § 20-1503 requires fire policies to conform to the 1943 New York standard fire policy, and that form has an appraisal clause. Your homeowners policy will carry its own Appraisal condition, usually under the policy conditions.
How long do we have to name an appraiser in Arizona?
Twenty days after the written demand, under the standard fire policy wording. Check your own form, which may match it.
Who chooses the umpire in Arizona if the appraisers cannot agree?
If the appraisers cannot agree on an umpire within 15 days, either side can ask a judge of a court of record in the state where the property is located to select one.
Can the appraisers decide whether my loss is covered in Arizona?
No. In Hanson the court held that an appraisal panel's task is to appraise the loss. It has no authority over coverage, deductibles, offsets, interest or attorney fees. Those questions are for the courts.
Does demanding appraisal pause the deadline to sue in Arizona?
The statute does not say it does. Meineke tied the time to demand appraisal to the policy's one-year suit clause. Find the suit clause in your policy, note the date, and demand appraisal well before it.
Can I lose the right to appraisal by waiting in Arizona?
Yes. In Meineke the court held that an insurer's demand was unreasonably delayed and that it had waived appraisal. When a policy sets no deadline, a demand must come within a reasonable time.
Before you decide anything
Has a claim in Arizona stalled on the number?
Tell us what happened and where. We'll read the policy and tell you plainly whether appraisal fits.
When you write to us
- We read the policy, the estimates on both sides and the letters that came with them.
- We tell you plainly whether appraisal fits the disagreement, and if it doesn't, who can help.
- If it fits, we confirm next steps in writing before anything starts.
Reviewed against the sources listed, October 2026. General information, not legal advice.