Insurance appraisal in Michigan
Michigan writes the appraisal clause into its required fire policy terms, so a homeowners policy that covers fire carries it. Each side names an appraiser within 20 days, and the same statute pauses the time to sue from the day you notify the insurer of the loss until it formally denies liability.
At a glance
- Name an appraiser
- 20 days after receiving the written demand (MCL 500.2833(1)(m)).
- Choose an umpire
- 15 days for the two appraisers to agree on an umpire. After that, either side may ask a circuit court judge to choose one.
- If they cannot agree
- A judge of the circuit court for the county where the loss occurred or the property is located, on request of either side.
- Does appraisal pause the deadline to sue?
- Yes, by statute. The time to sue is tolled from the time you notify the insurer of the loss until it formally denies liability. The suit period itself is at least one year after the loss, or the policy period if longer (MCL 500.2833(1)(q)).
- Who may serve
- The statute sets qualifications, not a license: each side picks a competent, independent appraiser, and the appraisers choose a competent, impartial umpire. More below
Deadlines in Michigan
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 awardPaymentWithin 30 days of proof of the amount of loss (MCL 500.2833(1)(p))
Either side starts appraisal with a written demand when the two cannot agree on the actual cash value or the amount of loss. Each side then has 20 days from receiving the demand to choose a competent, independent appraiser and tell the other who it is. The appraisers choose a competent, impartial umpire. If they cannot agree within 15 days, either side may ask a circuit court judge in the county of the loss or the property to pick one.
The appraisers set the amount of loss and the actual cash value for each item. If they agree in writing, that is the number. If they do not agree within a reasonable time, they send their differences to the umpire, and a written agreement signed by any two of the three sets the amount. Each side pays its own appraiser. The umpire and the other costs are split equally. Send the demand in writing and keep proof of when the other side received it, because the 20 days run from receipt.
What the panel decides
Amount of loss or actual cash value; coverage is for the court
The statute lets either side demand appraisal when the two disagree on actual cash value or the amount of loss. Coverage is a different question, and Michigan courts keep it with the court. In Auto-Owners Ins. Co. v. Kwaiser, 190 Mich. App. 482 (1991), the Court of Appeals held that where the parties cannot agree on coverage, a court decides it in a declaratory action before the damage is appraised. The same case says the appraisers' decision on which items fall inside the general description of the property they are valuing reflects the method of determining the loss, not coverage.
The line was applied in Cantina Enterprises II, Inc. v. Property-Owners Ins. Co., 349 Mich. App. 682 (2024), a published decision. The insurer had paid on a restaurant fire claim and so admitted the fire was covered. The court held that whether certain tenant improvements counted as business personal property was a dispute over the scope of the loss, and sent it to an appraiser. The court relied on the rule that once an insurer admits the loss is covered, a court must order appraisal of the amount, but if liability is not admitted the court first decides coverage.
We did not find a published Michigan decision that squarely lets appraisers decide the cause of damage over an insurer's coverage objection.
Who may serve
The statute asks for a competent, independent appraiser from each side and a competent, impartial umpire. It does not create a license. Independence is the practical test. A contractor who will do the repairs, or anyone else with a stake in the number, does not fit the statute's wording.
The award
A written agreement of two of the three sets the amount of loss. The courts in Michigan treat the appraisal as a common-law arbitration agreement, not statutory arbitration, so review is limited. In Kwaiser the Court of Appeals described the grounds as bad faith, fraud, misconduct or manifest mistake. An award that decides coverage is a different matter: coverage belongs to the court.
An insurer that concedes coverage and then demands and pursues appraisal can lose the ability to attack the award for lack of coverage. In Angott v. Chubb Group of Insurance Cos., 270 Mich. App. 465 (2006), the Court of Appeals held that an insurer waived its coverage-based challenge when it conceded coverage in its pleadings and demanded appraisal under MCL 500.2833(1)(m).
Points particular to Michigan
Who pays. Each side pays the appraiser it picked. The umpire's pay and the other expenses of the appraisal are shared equally (MCL 500.2833(1)(m)).
Regulator guidance. In 2006 the state insurance regulator issued Bulletin 2006-07-INS, which said insurers were expected not to delay or refuse appraisal and to submit amount-of-loss disputes to it. The bulletin was rescinded on June 20, 2017. After insurers began refusing appraisal even when coverage was not disputed, the department issued a memorandum on December 20, 2017 clarifying that the rescission did not permit that. A court summarized this history in Cantina. Bulletins and memoranda are agency guidance, not law.
Partial payment. In Cantina the insurer's payments on the claim were treated as admitting that the fire was covered. Whether a payment concedes coverage depends on what the insurer actually accepted, so read the claim letters closely.
Late payment costs money. If benefits are not paid on a timely basis, they bear simple interest at 12 percent a year from a date 60 days after satisfactory proof of loss (MCL 500.2006(4)). Angott held the insured there could be entitled to that interest and to prejudgment interest.
The suit clock. The statute sets a floor: an action must be commenced within one year after the loss or within the time in the policy, whichever is longer, and that time is tolled from notice of the loss until the insurer formally denies liability. Keep every letter from the insurer, because the date of the formal denial matters.
Common losses in Michigan
Each one links back to how we look at that kind of loss.
Questions
Does my Michigan homeowners policy have an appraisal clause?
Almost certainly. Michigan requires every fire insurance policy issued or delivered in the state to contain the appraisal provision in MCL 500.2833(1)(m). Look in the conditions section under Appraisal.
How long do we have to name an appraiser in Michigan?
Twenty days after the other side receives your written demand. Each side picks a competent, independent appraiser and tells the other who it is.
Who picks the umpire in Michigan if the appraisers cannot agree?
If the two appraisers cannot agree within 15 days, either side may ask a judge of the circuit court in the county where the loss occurred or the property sits to select one.
Can the appraisers decide whether my loss is covered in Michigan?
No. They set the amount of loss and actual cash value. Where coverage is genuinely disputed, a court decides it first. Where the insurer has admitted the loss is covered, disputes over which items fall inside the covered property go to the appraisers.
Does demanding appraisal pause the deadline to sue in Michigan?
The statute tolls the time to sue from the day you notify the insurer of the loss until the insurer formally denies liability. That tolling comes from the notice of loss, not from the appraisal demand. The suit period is at least one year after the loss or the policy period, whichever is longer.
Do appraisers need a license in Michigan?
The statute does not create one. It requires each side to pick a competent, independent appraiser and the appraisers to choose a competent, impartial umpire.
Before you decide anything
Has a claim in Michigan 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.