How Umpire Awards Are Drafted and Signed

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The document that ends most appraisals is short compared to the work that produces it. An umpire’s award typically lists the disputed items, states the umpire’s determination on each, and provides a total figure for actual cash value and, where applicable, replacement cost. It is not a narrative brief and it does not usually explain the umpire’s full reasoning the way a judicial opinion might, although many umpires include brief notes on particularly contested items so the parties understand the basis for a given figure.

Drafting typically begins after the umpire has reviewed both appraisers’ final positions, whether those positions were exchanged in a joint hearing or submitted separately following a site visit. The umpire works through the estimate line by line, adopting one appraiser’s figure, the other’s, or an independently derived number that falls between or, in some cases, outside the range the two appraisers presented. Under the appraisal provisions found in most policies, the umpire is not required to split the difference or average the two estimates; the umpire’s role is to reach an independent determination supported by the evidence in the record.

Once the figures are finalized, the standard appraisal clause requires agreement by any two of the three panel members for the award to become binding. In practice this usually means the umpire’s award becomes binding once one of the two party-appointed appraisers signs it alongside the umpire, even if the third participant disagrees with some or all of the figures. Some umpires circulate a draft for a brief period to catch clerical errors such as a misstated address or a transposed quantity before collecting final signatures, though this is a matter of practice rather than a formal step required by most policies.

A signed award does not resolve every aspect of a claim. It sets the amount of loss on the items submitted to appraisal, but questions about whether a given item is covered under the policy, whether a deductible applies, or how payment should be structured between the insurer and any mortgagee remain matters for the policy and the parties to work out separately. The appraisal award is a measurement of loss, not a coverage determination, and umpires generally take care to keep those two things distinct in how the award is written.

The format of an award document tends to be plain and functional by design. Many umpires present the figures in a table that mirrors the structure of the two competing estimates, making it easy for either party to see exactly where the final number came from on each line item. Some awards separate actual cash value from replacement cost value where the policy calls for both, and some include a brief section addressing any items the parties agreed did not need to go to appraisal at all, so the final record is complete even where the umpire’s independent judgment was not required on every point. Challenges to a signed award are relatively uncommon but do occur, typically on narrow grounds such as fraud, corruption, or an umpire who exceeded the scope of authority granted by the appraisal provision, rather than on the theory that the umpire simply reached the wrong number. Courts reviewing these challenges generally give appraisal awards considerable deference, reflecting the idea that the parties bargained for the appraisers’ and umpire’s judgment on questions of amount rather than for a judicial recalculation of the loss. This deference is part of why the disclosure, evidence, and drafting practices described elsewhere in the appraisal process matter as much as they do, since a well-documented award built on a fair process is far less likely to face a serious challenge after the fact.

General education only: the appraisal process described here can vary by state and policy language, and nothing in this article is legal advice.

Russ Lis works nationwide as a property insurance appraiser and umpire, based in Minnesota. Contact Appraisal Resolution.