Insurance appraisal in Kentucky
Kentucky has no appraisal statute and no statutory standard fire policy, so the Appraisal condition in your policy sets the steps and the deadlines. Kentucky courts have treated an award within the clause's scope as binding unless fraud or mistake is shown, and federal courts in Kentucky have let panels decide what caused the damage as well as what it costs. Two statutes frame the dispute: a policy cannot give you less than one year to sue an out-of-state insurer, and insurers must pay claims within 30 days after notice and proof of claim.
At a glance
- Name an appraiser
- Set by your policy. No Kentucky statute sets a number of days, so read the Appraisal condition for the deadline that applies to you.
- Choose an umpire
- Set by your policy. Common wording gives the appraisers a short window to agree and then lets either side ask a judge, but the wording varies by form. Some commercial forms give no number of days.
- If they cannot agree
- A judge, if your policy says so. Homeowners wording often names a judge of a court of record in the state where the property is located. One commercial form litigated in Kentucky federal court says only a judge of a court having jurisdiction. In 2018 the Sixth Circuit upheld a federal court's choice of umpire in a Kentucky case.
- Does appraisal pause the deadline to sue?
- We found no Kentucky statute or decision saying appraisal pauses the deadline to sue. KRS 304.14-370 stops a contract from limiting suits against a foreign insurer to less than one year from when the cause of action accrues, so find your suit clause before you demand appraisal.
- Who may serve
- We found no Kentucky license written for appraisal-clause appraisers or umpires. Kentucky does license real property appraisers (KRS chapter 324A), and a 2026 amendment adds rules for appraisers on insurance claims. We found no ruling on whether it reaches a policy appraisal panel. The policy sets the standard, usually competent and impartial, and some forms say disinterested. More below
Deadlines in Kentucky
The clock
- Day 0Written demandEither party, in writing
- By agreementAppraisers namedNo fixed day count
- By agreementUmpire chosenBy agreement, or a court appoints
- On siteInspectionBoth estimates, line by line
- The awardAward signedAny two of three
- After the awardPaymentPer policy and state rules
Appraisal starts with a written demand under your policy's Appraisal condition. That clause sets the time to name an appraiser and to agree on an umpire. A common homeowners wording gives 20 days to name an appraiser and 15 days to agree on an umpire, but Kentucky does not require those numbers, and some forms, especially commercial ones, give none. The commercial policy in a 2023 Kentucky federal case, for example, gave no day counts at all.
Kentucky has no appraisal-specific payment rule. The general claims rule, KRS 304.12-235, requires an insurer to pay a claim within 30 days after notice and proof of claim are furnished. If the insurer fails to make a good-faith attempt to settle in that time, the final settlement bears 12 percent interest, and the insured can recover reasonable attorney's fees if the delay had no reasonable foundation. We did not find a Kentucky decision applying it to an appraisal award.
What the panel decides
Amount of loss; federal courts in Kentucky also allow cause
Standard clauses ask the appraisers to set the amount of loss, and the umpire resolves only the items they disagree on. Whether the policy covers the damage is for a court. Kentucky's highest court of the time said so in Upington v. Commonwealth Ins. Co., 298 Ky. 210 (1944): the panel could fix the amount of loss but could not decide which property the policy covered, and the part of an award that did so was void.
Cause of damage is less settled. We found no Kentucky state appellate decision on it. Federal courts in Kentucky have repeatedly allowed a panel to decide what caused the damage as well as what it costs, even when the clause does not say so. In January 2023 the Western District of Kentucky sent a hail dispute to appraisal on that basis and told the panel to count only damage from the storm in question, and only within the policy period (Estate of Mattingly v. State Auto Property & Casualty Ins. Co.). Those are federal rulings applying Kentucky law, so a Kentucky state court could see it differently. If the carrier says part of the damage is old or excluded, sort that out before the demand so the panel knows what it is pricing.
Who may serve
The usual wording asks each side to name a competent and impartial appraiser. The standard policy in Kentucky's leading early case said competent and disinterested. Kentucky courts have said that earlier work for insurers does not by itself disqualify an appraiser (Upington, 1944; Continental Ins. Co. v. Vallandingham & Gentry, 116 Ky. 287 (1903)). In Vallandingham, though, the court found that the insurers' appraiser acted like their employee rather than a neutral person, and it treated the insurers' misuse of the clause as giving up their right to insist on appraisal. A person with a stake in the result, such as the contractor doing the repairs, invites an objection.
Licensing is a separate question. Kentucky licenses real property appraisers under KRS chapter 324A. A 2026 act (HB 355, in effect July 15, 2026) amended that chapter, including a new rule that an appraiser may not negotiate for an insured on an insurance claim for real property, though the appraiser may stand behind his or her own appraisal report. We found no Kentucky ruling or statute saying whether this reaches someone serving on a policy appraisal panel, so ask any candidate how they read it and whether they hold a Kentucky license.
The award
Under the usual clause, an award signed by any two of the three sets the amount of loss. Kentucky courts have treated such an award as binding unless fraud or mistake is shown or the panel went beyond the amount of loss. In Upington (1944) the court said the proof needed to set an award aside must be clear and convincing, that a low figure or an error of judgment is not enough on its own, and that an owner who thinks items were missed should show them to the appraisers before the award rather than offer new proof afterward. That decision is old, and we found no later Kentucky state appellate ruling on the point. Kentucky's Uniform Arbitration Act says it does not apply to insurance contracts (KRS 417.050(2)), so its list of grounds for vacating an award is not the test here. Keep your policy's suit deadline in view while the process runs.
Points particular to Kentucky
Kentucky has no statutory standard fire policy. KRS 304.14-140 only requires an insurance contract to contain the standard provisions that other parts of the code require for that kind of insurance, and we found none for property appraisal.
Kentucky's rule that bars arbitration clauses, KRS 304.20-050, applies only to automobile and motor vehicle liability policies. It does not reach property policies.
Kentucky courts have long enforced the appraisal clause as a step before suit when it is limited to the amount of loss (Vallandingham, 1903). That case also warns insurers: one that demands appraisal must name an appraiser in good faith, and one that misuses the clause can lose the right to insist on it. In 2018 the Sixth Circuit upheld a federal court's choice of umpire after the appraisers deadlocked in a Kentucky property case (Cincinnati Specialty Underwriters Ins. Co. v. C.F.L.P. 1, LLC, No. 17-6498).
If a dispute turns on the amount and the insurer is not paying, KRS 304.12-235 and KRS 304.12-230 (unfair claims settlement practices) are the state's claim-handling rules in the insurance code. The Kentucky Department of Insurance takes consumer complaints.
Recent legislation. Of the 2026 bills we checked, only HB 355 (Acts ch. 172) bears on appraisal-type work, through the real property appraiser changes described above. SB 195, which began with unfair-claims provisions for insurers, became law as Acts ch. 97 after those provisions were removed.
Common losses in Kentucky
Each one links back to how we look at that kind of loss.
Questions
Does my Kentucky property policy have an appraisal clause?
Kentucky does not require one by statute, so it depends on your policy. Look in the conditions section under Appraisal. If it is there, it sets how the process starts and how an umpire is chosen.
How long do we have to name an appraiser in Kentucky?
Whatever your policy says. No Kentucky statute sets the number of days. A common homeowners wording gives 20 days after the written demand, but forms differ and some commercial forms give no number.
Who picks the umpire in Kentucky if the appraisers cannot agree?
Usually a judge, if your policy says so. The wording varies. Some forms name a judge of a court of record in the state where the property is located, and others say a judge of a court having jurisdiction.
Can the appraisers decide whether my loss is covered in Kentucky?
No. Coverage and policy wording are for a court, and the appraisers set the amount of loss. Federal courts in Kentucky have also let panels decide what caused the damage, but we found no Kentucky state appellate ruling on that, so it can depend on your policy's wording and on the court.
Does demanding appraisal pause the deadline to sue in Kentucky?
We found nothing saying it does. KRS 304.14-370 sets a floor of one year from when the cause of action accrues for suits against foreign insurers, but your policy may set a longer period. Find your suit clause first and keep that date in view while appraisal runs.
Do appraisers need a license in Kentucky?
We found no Kentucky license written for appraisal-clause appraisers or umpires. Kentucky does license real property appraisers under KRS chapter 324A, and a 2026 amendment added rules for appraisers on insurance claims. We found no ruling on whether it applies to a policy appraisal panel. Your policy usually requires each appraiser to be competent and impartial, and some forms say disinterested.
Before you decide anything
Has a claim in Kentucky 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.