Insurance appraisal in North Dakota
North Dakota requires fire policies to follow the 1943 New York standard fire policy, so the appraisal clause is the familiar one: 20 days to name an appraiser, 15 days to agree on an umpire, and a judge to choose if they cannot. No fire policy may set a deadline to sue shorter than three years. Appraisal fixes the amount of loss and leaves coverage to the courts.
At a glance
- Name an appraiser
- 20 days after the written demand (the 1943 form adopted by N.D.C.C. § 26.1-39-06).
- Choose an umpire
- 15 days for the two appraisers to agree.
- If they cannot agree
- A judge of a court of record in North Dakota, on request of either side, under the standard form.
- Does appraisal pause the deadline to sue?
- No fire policy may limit suit to less than 3 years (§ 26.1-39-06(10)). We found no North Dakota rule that appraisal pauses that period.
- Who may serve
- The statute names no license. The standard form calls for a competent and disinterested appraiser and umpire. More below
Deadlines in North Dakota
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 (standard form)
A written demand from either side starts the clock. Each side then has 20 days to name a competent and disinterested appraiser. The appraisers have 15 days to agree on an umpire, and if they fail, either side can ask a judge of a court of record to select one. The statute governs fire policies. Policies that add wind and hail usually carry a matching clause, so confirm the dates in your own policy.
An itemized award signed by any two of the three and filed with the insurer sets the amount. The standard form makes the loss payable 60 days after proof of loss is received and the amount is fixed by agreement or by a filed award. Two other state rules help with timing. After notice of a loss the insurer must supply a proof of loss form within 20 days, the insured then has 60 days to return it, and if the form is not furnished in time the proof requirement is waived (§ 26.1-32-08). Failing to affirm or deny coverage within a reasonable time after proof of loss is complete is also an unfair claim practice when it reflects a general business practice (§ 26.1-04-03(9)).
What the panel decides
Amount of loss; coverage stays open
In Minot Town & Country v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Co., 1998 ND 215, 587 N.W.2d 189, the North Dakota Supreme Court held that an appraisal fixes only the amount of loss and not liability under the policy. The insurer in that case had reserved its right to deny the claim after appraisal, and the Court treated coverage as open for later decision, possibly in court. It followed the New Jersey Supreme Court's Elberon decision in separating appraisal from arbitration.
Cause of loss is a coverage question, and North Dakota has a statute on it. Under § 26.1-32-01 an insurer is liable for a loss proximately caused by an insured peril even if an uncontemplated peril was a remote cause, and the efficient proximate cause doctrine applies only when separate, distinct and totally unrelated causes contribute to the loss. Section 26.1-32-03 lets an insurer contract out of that doctrine. A panel does not decide any of that.
Who may serve
The standard form calls for a competent and disinterested appraiser and umpire, and the statute sets no license. In Minot the owner questioned an appraiser's impartiality and then let the process go forward, and the award stood. If you have a concern about an appraiser's independence, raise it in writing at the start. Someone with a stake in the result, such as the contractor who will do the repairs, gives the other side something to challenge.
The award
A filed award signed by two of the three sets the amount of loss under the standard form. In Minot, the Court held that North Dakota's Uniform Arbitration Act did not govern the appraisal, so a motion to vacate under that Act failed. We did not find a North Dakota decision that lays out when a court will otherwise set aside an appraisal award, so we do not state a ground here.
Points particular to North Dakota
Total losses to a house. Under § 26.1-39-05, when real property is wholly destroyed by a covered cause of loss, without fraud, the amount of insurance written in the policy is treated as the true value and the amount of loss. If the loss comes within 60 days of the policy start, or within 60 days of a limit increase of 25 percent or more at the insured's request, the payable amount is the lesser of the policy amount or what a partial loss would pay. The rule does not reach personal property, and separate or appurtenant structures are settled at replacement cost or actual cash value unless individually described and valued in the policy. Section 26.1-39-08 treats the standard fire policy as a valued policy. For a true total loss, the amount may not be open to appraisal.
Three-year floor on suit deadlines. Section 26.1-39-06(10) bars any fire policy from setting a time to sue shorter than three years.
Appraisal is not arbitration. Minot held that the appraisal clause before it was not a written agreement to arbitrate, which is why the Uniform Arbitration Act did not apply.
Proof of loss. If you give notice of a loss, ask for the form. The insurer must supply it within 20 days or lose the proof requirement, and you have 60 days from receiving it to return it (§ 26.1-32-08).
Common losses in North Dakota
Each one links back to how we look at that kind of loss.
Questions
Does my North Dakota homeowners policy have an appraisal clause?
Almost certainly. North Dakota requires fire policies to follow the 1943 New York standard fire policy, which includes one, and homeowners forms carry a matching clause. Look in the policy's conditions, usually under the heading Appraisal.
How long do we have to name an appraiser in North Dakota?
20 days after the written demand. The two appraisers then have 15 days to agree on an umpire.
Who chooses the umpire in North Dakota if the appraisers cannot agree?
After 15 days, either side can ask a judge of a court of record in North Dakota to select the umpire.
Can the appraisers decide whether my loss is covered in North Dakota?
No. The panel sets the amount of loss. Under Minot, coverage and liability stay open after an appraisal, and they are decided by the insurer's response or a court.
Does demanding appraisal pause the deadline to sue in North Dakota?
We found nothing saying it does. North Dakota does bar any fire policy from setting a suit deadline shorter than three years, so find the date in your policy and keep it in view while appraisal runs.
Do appraisers need a license in North Dakota?
The statute does not require one. The standard form calls for a competent and disinterested appraiser, so someone paid a share of the award or tied to the repair work is open to challenge.
Before you decide anything
Has a claim in North Dakota 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.