Insurance appraisal in Massachusetts
Massachusetts calls it a reference, not an appraisal. The standard fire policy in G.L. c. 175, § 99 sends a disagreement over the amount of loss to three referees, and sections 100 to 101G set the steps, mostly on ten-day clocks. The award fixes the amount of loss only, and the policy keeps your time to sue open for at least ninety days after it.
At a glance
- Name an appraiser
- 10 days at each step (§ 100). Once the insured makes a written demand, the insurer sends three names within 10 days and the insured picks one within 10 days. The insured sends three names and the insurer picks one within 10 days.
- Choose an umpire
- 10 days from the choice of the second referee for the two referees to agree on a third (§ 100).
- If they cannot agree
- The Commissioner of Insurance appoints the third referee, on a written application made under oath by either referee or either party (§ 100).
- Does appraisal pause the deadline to sue?
- Partly. The standard policy allows two years from the loss to sue. If the amount of loss is referred within those two years, the time to sue is never less than ninety days after a valid award (§ 99).
- Who may serve
- No license is created. The statute requires each referee to be disinterested, a Massachusetts resident and willing to serve. Someone who acted as a referee for either side in the previous four months is disqualified without written consent (§§ 99, 100B). More below
Deadlines in Massachusetts
The clock
- Day 0Written demandEither party, in writing
- By day 10Appraisers named10 days for each side
- By day 20Umpire chosen10 days, or a court appoints
- On siteInspectionBoth estimates, line by line
- The awardAward signedAny two of three
- After the awardPaymentNot before a 10-day fee review ends (§ 101C)
The process starts when the insured makes a written demand for a reference. The insurer then has ten days to send the insured three names with addresses, and the insured has ten days after getting them to choose one in writing. The insured also sends the insurer three names, and the insurer has ten days to choose one. Each name has to be someone who qualifies under § 100B.
The two referees then have ten days from the choice of the second to agree on a third. If they do not, either referee or either party applies in writing, under oath, to the Commissioner of Insurance, who appoints the third. The referees must meet to hear the evidence within ten days after the third is chosen or appointed, and no more than a week may pass between hearings unless all agree (§ 101). Each step can run to its full ten days, so ask for dates in writing as you go.
What the panel decides
Amount of loss; coverage stays with the court
By statute the reference fixes only the amount of the loss, or the sound value of the property. An insurer that takes part does not give up any legal defense, unless both sides agree in writing to arbitrate more under chapter 251 (§ 101E).
The line is not as thin as it sounds. In Augenstein v. Insurance Co. of North America, 372 Mass. 30 (1977), the Supreme Judicial Court explained that the power to fix the amount of loss includes the power to find that the loss is zero. In the earlier Fox decision it held that referees work out the amount of loss under the policy, and have to form their own view of what the policy covers to do it. Where the meaning of the policy is truly in dispute, a court can still review that question if the claim is later litigated.
Who may serve
Each referee has to be disinterested, a resident of Massachusetts and willing to act (§ 100B). Serving as a referee for either side within the previous four months disqualifies a person from being named, unless the other side consents in writing, and the third referee needs the consent of both. The standard policy says the same four-month rule applies if either party objects (§ 99). A name that one side already proposed cannot be offered to the Commissioner for appointment as the third referee (§ 100B). The statute creates no referee license.
The award
A written award signed by a majority of the three referees is conclusive and final on the amount of loss (§ 99). The referees put it in writing and sign it in duplicate, and the third referee delivers a copy to each side (§ 101A). Courts treat the award as presumptively valid. In Augenstein the insurer lost because it did not claim the referees misread the policy, were biased, refused to hear relevant evidence, or made any other illegal or mistaken ruling of law. Those are the kinds of grounds that remain open.
The third referee's charges are split equally if the award is in the insured's favor. If the award favors the insurer, or no award issues, the insurer owes them and may deduct half from any payment to the insured. Either side may ask the Commissioner to review the charges within ten days (§ 101B).
Points particular to Massachusetts
Reference is a step you generally have to take before suing for the amount of loss. The standard policy makes it a condition precedent to suit unless the parties waive it (§ 99). In McCord v. Horace Mann Insurance Co., 390 F.3d 138 (1st Cir. 2004), the First Circuit affirmed dismissal of a fire-loss suit filed without first asking for a reference, and found no waiver where the insurer kept citing the requirement.
The ninety-day rule has a trigger. The extra time after an award applies when the amount of the loss was referred to the referees within two years of the loss. If you wait past the two years to ask, the protection is not there, so the reference demand and the two-year date belong on the same calendar.
Money after the award. Under the standard policy the insurer has thirty days after the insured's statement to pay or replace, with the amount set by the referees if the parties disagree. Section 101C bars the insurer from paying the award to the insured until the ten-day window to petition the Commissioner about the third referee's charges has passed, unless the insured waives that review in writing.
A separate claim path. Before suing an insurer under chapter 93A for an unfair claim practice, a consumer must mail or deliver a written demand for relief at least thirty days before filing (G.L. c. 93A, § 9). That demand is not part of the reference and does not replace it.
Common losses in Massachusetts
Each one links back to how we look at that kind of loss.
Questions
Does my Massachusetts policy have an appraisal clause?
It has something close. Massachusetts does not use the word appraisal for fire coverage. The standard fire policy required by G.L. c. 175, § 99 provides for a reference of the amount of loss to three referees. Look in the conditions of your policy for reference or appraisal wording.
How long do we have to name a referee in Massachusetts?
Ten days at each step. After the insured's written demand, the insurer has ten days to send three names, and the insured has ten days to pick one. The same ten-day period runs for the insured's three names and the insurer's pick.
Who picks the third referee in Massachusetts if the two referees cannot agree?
The Commissioner of Insurance. If the two referees have not agreed within ten days after the second was chosen, either referee or either party can apply in writing, under oath, and the Commissioner appoints the third.
Can the referees decide whether my loss is covered in Massachusetts?
They fix the amount of loss. By statute the proceeding does not waive the insurer's legal defenses, and the meaning of the policy stays with the courts. Referees can find that the loss is zero, and they have to form a working view of the policy to do their job.
Does asking for a reference pause the deadline to sue in Massachusetts?
Partly. The standard policy allows two years from the loss to sue. If the amount of loss is referred within the two years, the time to sue is never less than ninety days after a valid award.
Do referees need a license in Massachusetts?
The statute does not create a license. Each referee has to be disinterested, a Massachusetts resident and willing to serve, and cannot have acted as a referee for either side in the previous four months without written consent.
Before you decide anything
Has a claim in Massachusetts 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.