Insurance appraisal in Utah
Utah has no appraisal statute, so the process comes from your policy, but one Utah statute matters a great deal: the time to sue is paused while an appraisal is under way. The Utah Supreme Court has held that the pause starts with the written demand, and that appraisal covers the amount of loss and nothing more.
At a glance
- Name an appraiser
- Set by your policy. The homeowners form in Miller gave each side 20 days from receiving the written demand to name a competent, independent appraiser and tell the other side.
- Choose an umpire
- Set by your policy. The form in Miller sent the appraisers' differences to an umpire if they did not agree within a reasonable time, without a fixed number of days.
- If they cannot agree
- Your policy decides. Utah has no statute that picks the umpire. Many forms in other states let either side ask a court to choose one, so check whether yours does.
- Does appraisal pause the deadline to sue?
- Yes, by statute. The limitations period is tolled while the parties conduct the appraisal procedure the policy prescribes (Utah Code § 31A-21-313(5)). Under Stone Flood v. Safeco (2011), when the policy treats a written demand as the event that starts appraisal, the pause starts on the date of that written demand.
- Who may serve
- The policy sets the test. The Miller form asked for a competent, independent appraiser, and the form in Stone Flood asked for a competent and impartial one. Utah's adjuster licensing statute lists an appraiser among the people it exempts when they only gather facts or give technical help to an adjuster (Utah Code § 31A-26-201). More below
Deadlines in Utah
The clock
- Day 0Written demandEither party, in writing
- By day 20Appraisers named20 days for each side
- By agreementUmpire chosenBy agreement, or a court appoints
- On siteInspectionBoth estimates, line by line
- The awardAward signedAny two of three
- After the awardPaymentPer policy and state rules
Either side starts appraisal with a written demand. In the form in Miller, each side then had 20 days from receiving that demand to choose a competent, independent appraiser and tell the other side. The appraisers set the amount of loss, and if they did not agree within a reasonable time, they submitted their differences to an umpire. A written agreement signed by any two of the three set the amount. Your policy may use different periods, so read the clause.
Utah's statute gives you a safety valve that most states do not. The three years you have to sue on a first-party policy run from the inception of the loss, and a policy cannot shorten them. That three-year period is paused for as long as the parties are conducting an appraisal procedure under the policy, by law or by agreement. Even so, write down the date of your demand, the date the award is signed and the date three years from the loss, so the arithmetic is in front of you.
What the panel decides
Amount of loss only
In Miller v. USAA (Utah 2002) the Utah Supreme Court read the appraisal clause according to its plain words. The appraisers set the amount of loss, which means the value of the injury or damage for which the insured may seek indemnity. Claims that go beyond that, such as bad faith, emotional distress and punitive damages, were not within the clause. The court held that sending those claims to appraisal, and dismissing them, denied the homeowners their day in court. Appraisal is also not governed by the Utah Uniform Arbitration Act. The court did not rule on how far appraisers may decide what caused the damage, and we did not find a Utah decision that does.
Who may serve
No Utah statute we found sets who may serve on an appraisal panel. The policy sets the test, and Utah forms in the two leading cases asked for a competent appraiser who is independent (Miller) or impartial (Stone Flood). Utah's insurance adjuster licensing statute, Utah Code § 31A-26-201, exempts from the adjuster license an individual who does not adjust claims but is specially employed to obtain facts about a loss or give technical help to a licensed or company adjuster, and its list includes an appraiser. We did not find a Utah rule that addresses a party-appointed appraiser on a panel specifically, so read that exemption as a clue, not a ruling. The Utah Supreme Court enforces appraisal clauses as written. It says a court must compel appraisal if one side demands it and the dispute is within the clause, so the choice of appraiser is where the independence requirement matters most.
The award
Whether an award is binding depends on the policy. In Miller the Utah Supreme Court held that an appraisal decision is not necessarily binding and enforceable in court the way an arbitration award is. It is either evidence for the court to consider or an award to be enforced, depending on the contract terms. Under the form in Miller, a written agreement signed by any two of the three set the amount of loss. Read your clause for words like will set the amount of loss, because they decide how much weight the award carries.
Points particular to Utah
The tolling statute. Utah Code § 31A-21-313(5) says the period of limitation is tolled during the period in which the parties conduct an appraisal or arbitration procedure prescribed by the policy, by law or as agreed by the parties. In Stone Flood & Fire Restoration v. Safeco (2011 UT 83), the district court started the pause on the date it ordered appraisal and concluded the insured sued three days late. The Supreme Court reversed. Because the policy said a written demand for appraisal triggered the appraisal procedure, the pause began on the date the carrier sent its written demand, and the insured's suit was timely. The result turned on the policy's wording, so check how yours is worded.
The base deadline. Section 31A-21-313(1) requires suit on a written first-party policy within three years after the inception of the loss. Subsection (3) says a policy cannot limit the time to sue to less than the statute allows. Subsection (4) generally bars suing to compel payment until 60 days after proof of loss, a waiver of proof of loss, or the insurer's denial of full payment, unless prejudice from delay is alleged.
Appraisal is enforced strictly, and it is kept narrow. Miller says appraisal clauses, like other agreements to use alternative dispute resolution, are strictly enforceable, and a court must compel appraisal when one side demands it and the dispute is within the clause. It also says the court may compel appraisal of a particular issue only if the parties clearly agreed to it, which is why the extra-contractual claims in that case went back to the district court.
Claim handling deadlines. Utah's property claims rule, Utah Admin. Code R590-190-10, requires an insurer to finish its investigation and tell the first-party claimant whether it accepts or denies the claim within 30 days after a complete proof of loss, unless it cannot reasonably do so. In that case it must say within those 30 days why it needs more time, and write again every 45 days. If settlement talks continue with a claimant who has no lawyer or public adjuster, the insurer must give notice of the date the suit deadline expires at least 60 days beforehand. We did not find a Utah rule that sets a payment deadline after an appraisal award.
Common losses in Utah
Each one links back to how we look at that kind of loss.
Questions
Does my Utah homeowners policy have an appraisal clause?
Almost certainly, though Utah does not require one by statute. Look in the conditions section under Appraisal. The Utah Supreme Court enforces these clauses as written, and a court will order appraisal if one side demands it and the dispute is within the clause.
How long do we have to name an appraiser in Utah?
Whatever your policy says. The homeowners form in the Utah Supreme Court's Miller decision gave each side 20 days from receiving the written demand to choose a competent, independent appraiser and tell the other side. Check your own clause.
Who chooses the umpire in Utah if the appraisers cannot agree?
Your policy decides, because Utah has no statute that picks the umpire. Some forms send the choice to a court. Others leave it to agreement or to a named method. Read the clause before you start.
Can the appraisers decide whether my loss is covered in Utah?
No. In Miller the Utah Supreme Court held that the appraisal clause covers the amount of loss, meaning the value of the damage for which you may seek indemnity, and that extra-contractual claims such as bad faith are outside it. Coverage and bad faith go to the courts.
Does demanding appraisal pause the deadline to sue in Utah?
Yes. Utah Code § 31A-21-313(5) pauses the limitations period while the parties conduct the policy's appraisal procedure. Under the Utah Supreme Court's Stone Flood decision, the pause starts with the written demand when the policy says a written demand begins appraisal. Keep your own record of the dates all the same.
Is a Utah appraisal award binding?
It depends on the policy. The Utah Supreme Court held in Miller that an appraisal determination is either evidence or an award to be enforced, depending on the contract terms. The form in Miller said a written agreement signed by any two of the three would set the amount of loss, which is language that points toward an enforceable award. Read your own clause.
Before you decide anything
Has a claim in Utah 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.