Insurance appraisal in Tennessee
Tennessee has no appraisal statute, so the process comes from your policy. Tennessee's Court of Appeals treats appraisal as a way to set the dollar amount of the loss, not as arbitration. When the policy says the panel's agreement sets the amount, that number can bind both sides, but the appraisers cannot decide whether a covered peril caused the damage.
At a glance
- Name an appraiser
- Set by your policy. The homeowners forms quoted in Batts and in Thomas both gave each side 20 days after the written demand to name an appraiser.
- Choose an umpire
- The two appraisers choose the umpire. In the forms quoted in Batts and Thomas they had 15 days to agree.
- If they cannot agree
- In the Batts and Thomas forms, either side could ask a judge of a court of record in the state where the residence premises is located to choose the umpire. Tennessee has no statute that picks the umpire.
- Does appraisal pause the deadline to sue?
- Nothing we found pauses the suit deadline during appraisal. Tennessee courts enforce the suit deadline in the policy and start it at the denial of the claim, or at the end of the policy's settlement-of-loss period if the insurer neither pays nor denies, whichever comes first (Brick Church).
- Who may serve
- The policy sets the test. The form in Batts asked for a competent appraiser. The form in Thomas asked for a competent, independent appraiser and a competent, impartial umpire. We found no Tennessee statute that licenses appraisers as such. More below
Deadlines in Tennessee
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
The clauses quoted in the Tennessee cases follow one pattern. Either side may make a written demand when you disagree on the amount of loss. Each side then names its appraiser within 20 days of the demand. The two appraisers choose an umpire, and if they cannot agree within 15 days, either side may ask a judge of a court of record in the state where the residence premises is located to choose one. Agreement by any two of the three sets the amount of loss. Your policy may use different numbers, and one commercial form in the cases says only that a judge having jurisdiction picks the umpire, so read your clause first.
In practice: put the demand in writing, name your appraiser inside the policy's window, and keep a record of when each step happened. Some forms also say the insurer keeps its right to deny the claim after appraisal, and one commercial form in Artist Building set its own payment date after an award, so look for both in your policy. Tennessee courts read the panel's job narrowly, so expect the carrier to keep its coverage decisions for itself.
What the panel decides
Amount of loss only
In Batts, the appraisers disagreed about which damage the tornado caused, and the umpire sided with the homeowner's appraiser on that question. The Court of Appeals held that the appraisers' authority is limited to what the policy gives them: the amount of the loss, meaning the monetary value of the damage. They cannot decide coverage or liability, including whether a particular item was caused by the covered storm. Those questions are reserved for the courts.
Inside that limit, the panel's decision carries weight. In Artist Building, a commercial fire claim, the parties had asked the panel to set the actual cash value of the building damage, the business income loss, and the reasonable time to repair, and the court treated the panel's answers to those questions as binding. Because the scope comes from the policy and from what the parties submit, read your clause and the written appraisal demand closely before the panel starts.
Who may serve
We found no Tennessee statute that sets who may serve as an appraiser or umpire. The policy sets the test. The form in Batts asked for a competent appraiser. The form in Thomas asked for a competent, independent appraiser and a competent, impartial umpire, and the form in Artist Building asked for a competent and impartial appraiser. Read the exact words in your policy, because they decide how much independence the appraiser needs and what a challenge to the appraiser would be built on. In Thomas, the homeowners did not challenge the umpire's credentials or claim bias, so that court did not rule on those points.
The award
We found no Tennessee statute on confirming or setting aside an appraisal award, so the policy and the cases control. Batts held that a homeowners appraisal clause is not binding arbitration, and that an insurer is not bound by a panel's view on causation or coverage, because those questions were never the panel's to decide. Later cases add the other half. In Thomas v. Standard Fire (2016), the umpire set the loss at $132,793.95 and the insurer's appraiser agreed. The homeowners refused the payment and sued, challenging only the dollar figure. The Court of Appeals held the clause is not arbitration, so the signature rule for residential arbitration clauses did not apply, and held both sides bound by the panel's amount because it stayed within its authority. In short, a number the panel was authorized to set can bind both sides, and anything outside that authority stays open for the carrier and the courts. We found no Tennessee appellate decision on setting aside an award for bias or misconduct, so we do not state a rule on that.
Points particular to Tennessee
The leading case. Merrimack Mutual Fire Insurance Co. v. Batts, 59 S.W.3d 142, is a 2001 decision of the Tennessee Court of Appeals at Nashville. The Tennessee Supreme Court declined to hear it that October. The April 16, 1998 tornado damaged Gloria Batts's house in East Nashville. Her appraiser put the damage at $121,116.75 as a building estimate. The insurer's appraiser found a net loss of $11,457.28 after depreciation. The two appraisers chose an umpire the insurer's appraiser suggested. The umpire sided with the homeowner's appraiser on whether the tornado caused certain damage and set the amount of loss at $45,622.95. The insurer sent checks totaling $21,070.85, which Batts refused. It had left out items it said the tornado did not damage, used actual cash value instead of replacement cost for items not yet repaired, and reduced the allowance for repairs already made. The insurer sued for a declaration. The trial court granted the insurer partial summary judgment, and the Court of Appeals affirmed and sent the case back, with the dispute over whether the tornado caused several items still open.
What Batts decided. First, the appraisal clause is not an agreement for binding arbitration. Second, even if it were, it would be unenforceable under the arbitration statute as it read then, because the homeowner had not separately signed or initialed it. Third, appraisers decide only the amount of loss and cannot decide causation or liability. The court did not hold that a properly limited appraisal figure never binds anyone.
Later cases. In Artist Building Partners v. Auto-Owners Mutual Insurance Co., 435 S.W.3d 202 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2013), a commercial fire claim, the court treated the panel's findings on the questions the parties had submitted as binding and refused to look behind them. In Thomas v. Standard Fire Insurance Co. (Tenn. Ct. App. Feb. 17, 2016), a Chattanooga storm claim, the court applied Batts, held an appraisal clause is not an arbitration clause, and held the homeowners bound by the panel's amount of loss. We read all three opinions in full. We did not find a later Tennessee Supreme Court decision changing them, but our search of newer cases was limited.
What this means for the claim. A carrier may accept an appraisal figure and still dispute which items it covers. If your dispute is about whether the storm caused the damage, appraisal alone will not resolve it. If your dispute is purely about price, expect the panel's number on the questions it was given to bind both sides, so choose your appraiser and frame the questions with care. A commentary on recent federal decisions in Tennessee describes courts ordering appraisal to go ahead where the insurer called the dispute one of coverage or scope, while leaving the insurer free to raise coverage afterward. We treat that as a trend to watch, not settled state law.
The arbitration statute changed in 2023. Batts relied on the old Tennessee Uniform Arbitration Act, Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-5-302(a), which required an arbitration clause in a residential contract to be separately signed or initialed. Public Chapter 319 (2023), effective July 1, 2023, replaced that part of the code. The bill text and the House amendment we read contain no separate-signature rule for residential contracts, and § 29-5-302 is now a definitions section. The main Batts holding, that appraisal is not arbitration, rests on the nature of appraisal and not on that rule, and Thomas applied it in 2016. If you are comparing an old policy or an old case to current law, check which version of the statute is meant.
The suit deadline still runs. Tennessee courts enforce the suit limitation in a policy, for example two years. The period starts when the cause of action accrues, which is when the insurer denies the claim or when the policy's settlement-of-loss period expires without payment or denial, whichever comes first (Brick Church, relying on Certain Underwriters v. Transcarriers). In Brick Church, a suit filed after a two-year clause had run was dismissed. Appraisal was not part of that case, and we found no Tennessee decision saying appraisal pauses the clock, so do not assume it does.
Bad faith penalty. If an insurer refuses to pay a covered loss within 60 days after a formal demand, and a court or jury finds the refusal was not in good faith and caused the policyholder added expense or loss, the policyholder may recover up to 25 percent more of the insurer's liability for the loss under Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-7-105. The statute reaches refusals to pay, so read it before you rely on it for a dispute over price.
Common losses in Tennessee
Each one links back to how we look at that kind of loss.
Questions
Does my Tennessee homeowners policy have an appraisal clause?
Almost certainly, though Tennessee does not require one by statute. Most homeowners forms include it, and the Tennessee Court of Appeals has enforced it as an ordinary policy term. Look in the conditions section under Appraisal.
How long do we have to name an appraiser in Tennessee?
Whatever your policy says. The homeowners forms quoted in the two leading cases gave each side 20 days after the written demand. Check your own clause for the period and for who the request must be sent to.
Who chooses the umpire in Tennessee if the appraisers cannot agree?
Under the forms quoted in Batts and Thomas, either side could ask a judge of a court of record in the state where the residence premises is located to choose the umpire after the appraisers failed to agree within 15 days. Your own policy controls, because Tennessee has no statute that picks the umpire.
Can the appraisers decide whether my loss is covered in Tennessee?
No. The Tennessee Court of Appeals held in Batts that the appraisers' role is limited to the amount of loss. They cannot decide whether the damage was caused by a covered peril or whether the insurer is liable. Those questions go to the courts.
Does demanding appraisal pause the deadline to sue in Tennessee?
We found no Tennessee law that says it does, so do not assume it. Tennessee courts enforce the policy's suit deadline and start it at denial of the claim, or at the end of the policy's settlement-of-loss period, whichever comes first. Find that date before you demand appraisal.
Is a Tennessee appraisal award binding?
On the amount of loss, it can be. In Thomas (2016), the court held homeowners bound by the panel's dollar figure when the policy let any two of the three set the amount of loss. It is not arbitration, and in Batts the insurer was not bound on causation or coverage, which the panel could not decide. Read your clause for the exact wording.
Nearby states
Before you decide anything
Has a claim in Tennessee 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.