Insurance appraisal in South Carolina
South Carolina has no statute that governs property insurance appraisal, so the process runs on your policy's wording and on court decisions that enforce it. Appraisal sets the amount of loss, can be a required step before suit, and the time to sue on a policy is fixed by statute at three years.
At a glance
- Name an appraiser
- Set by your policy. The older standard fire policy quoted in Harwell gave 20 days from a written demand, and many homeowners forms still use 20 days.
- Choose an umpire
- Set by your policy. The form in Harwell, and many current ones, give the two appraisers 15 days to agree on an umpire.
- If they cannot agree
- Usually a judge of a court of record, on request of either side. The Harwell form puts that judge in the state where the property is located. South Carolina has no statute that picks the umpire.
- Does appraisal pause the deadline to sue?
- No South Carolina statute we found pauses the suit deadline for appraisal. The time to sue on a policy is three years, and a policy cannot shorten it (S.C. Code §§ 15-3-530(8) and 15-3-140). Do not assume appraisal gives you extra time.
- Who may serve
- South Carolina does not set appraiser qualifications by statute. The policy does, usually asking for a competent and impartial (or disinterested) appraiser. South Carolina courts treat an appraiser's partiality as a question of fact (L.D. Jennings Co. v. North River, 1935). More below
Deadlines in South Carolina
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 awardPaymentPer policy and state rules
Appraisal starts when one side makes a written demand under the policy's appraisal clause. In the form quoted in Harwell, each side named a competent and disinterested appraiser within 20 days of the demand, the appraisers had 15 days to agree on an umpire, and if they could not, a judge of a court of record chose one. Current homeowners forms often follow the same pattern but not always, so use the numbers in your own policy.
If the policy keeps you from suing until the amount of loss has been appraised, and the insurer demands appraisal, South Carolina's Supreme Court has held that taking part is a condition of bringing suit. In Harwell the homeowner refused twice, sued, won a verdict, and lost on appeal because the suit was premature. Check what your policy says about suit before you decide to refuse or delay.
What the panel decides
Amount of loss
South Carolina courts uphold appraisal clauses because they settle one factual question, the amount of loss, and leave the question of the insurer's ultimate liability to the courts (Harwell, quoting Jones v. Enoree Power Co.). The panel does not decide whether the policy covers the loss, how its language is read, or whether the carrier acted in bad faith. South Carolina has little appellate law on how far causation can be pulled into an appraisal, so a dispute that mixes the two is best sorted out before the panel is seated.
Who may serve
No statute sets who may serve. The policy sets the test, and the form quoted in Harwell asked for a competent and disinterested appraiser and umpire. In L.D. Jennings Co. v. North River Insurance Co. (S.C. 1935) the Supreme Court said an appraiser who helped prepare a party's proof of loss might be seen as having a fixed view, but it treated impartiality as a fact question for the jury and found no evidence of interest or unfairness there. In practice the safest appraiser is one who has no stake in the claim's outcome beyond doing the work properly.
The award
Under South Carolina decisions, where a policy provides a method for fixing the amount of loss, that method binds both parties (Harwell, quoting Orenstein v. New Jersey Insurance Co.), and neither side may back out of an agreed appraisal before the award is made. In the older form an award in writing signed by any two of the three set the amount. A challenge usually goes to process: whether an appraiser was impartial, whether the umpire did the job the policy gave him, or whether the panel went past the amount of loss. Jennings upheld an award despite some irregularities because they did not substantially affect the result.
Points particular to South Carolina
No appraisal statute. Chapter 75 of Title 38 of the South Carolina Code, which covers property insurance, contains no appraisal provision. That leaves the clause in your policy and the court decisions enforcing it. A 2025 bill (H. 4039) concerning auto policies and arbitration of property damage claims was still in committee when we checked, and it would not touch homeowners policies.
Valued-policy rule for fire. Under S.C. Code § 38-75-20, if the insured real property is a total loss by fire, the insured is entitled to the full amount of insurance stated in the policy. For a partial fire loss the insured recovers the actual amount of loss, up to the policy amount. The section does not apply to personal property. The section speaks only to fire losses.
The suit deadline is set by statute. An action on a policy of insurance must be brought within three years, regardless of any policy clause saying otherwise (S.C. Code § 15-3-530(8)), and a clause that tries to cut the time shorter than the statute does not bar suit (§ 15-3-140). The policy in Harwell had a twelve-month suit clause, but a clause that short does not cut off a suit brought within the statutory three years. Appraisal is not listed as pausing the three years, so count the time from when your claim accrued and keep your own calendar.
An agreement to appraise is a contract, not statutory arbitration. In Harwell the Supreme Court held that an appraisal agreement falls outside the state arbitration statute, and that it cannot be cancelled by either side before the award. The court also confirmed that a clause which bars suit until the loss is appraised is enforceable when the insurer demands appraisal.
Coastal wind and hail. Some coastal owners are insured through the South Carolina Wind and Hail Underwriting Association, created by S.C. Code § 38-75-330. Its policy is its own form, so read its appraisal wording rather than assuming it matches a homeowners policy.
Common losses in South Carolina
Each one links back to how we look at that kind of loss.
Questions
Does my South Carolina homeowners policy have an appraisal clause?
Very likely, but South Carolina does not require one by statute, so check your own policy. Look in the conditions section under the heading Appraisal. If the clause is there, South Carolina courts will enforce it.
How long do we have to name an appraiser in South Carolina?
Whatever your policy says. The form quoted in the Supreme Court's Harwell decision allowed 20 days after a written demand, and many homeowners forms still do. Read your policy for the exact period and count it from the date the demand is received.
Who chooses the umpire in South Carolina if the appraisers cannot agree?
Your policy decides. In the form quoted in Harwell, if the appraisers could not agree on an umpire within 15 days, either side could ask a judge of a court of record to choose one. South Carolina has no statute that names a different method.
Can the appraisers decide whether my loss is covered in South Carolina?
No. South Carolina courts uphold appraisal because it settles only the amount of loss and leaves the insurer's ultimate liability to the courts. Coverage, policy interpretation and bad faith are not for the panel.
Does demanding appraisal pause the deadline to sue in South Carolina?
Do not count on it. South Carolina gives three years to sue on a policy and does not let a policy shorten that time. We found no statute or decision that pauses the three years while appraisal runs, so mark the date and keep it in view.
Can I refuse the insurer's demand for appraisal in South Carolina?
It can cost you. If your policy keeps you from suing until the amount of loss is appraised, and the insurer demands appraisal, the Supreme Court held in Harwell that taking part is a condition of suing. The homeowner there refused and her suit was held premature. Read your policy's suit clause before you decide.
Before you decide anything
Has a claim in South Carolina 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.