Even if your insurance company has paid some or all of the “face value” of the appraisal award, you still might be able to recover additional funds.
Examples:
- The failure to pay interest at a rate ranging between 10% and 18%
- Withholding portions (or all) of the award due to causation, “wear and tear” or other denials of coverage
- Recovery of monies held back for depreciation after you complete repairs
- The failure to pay amounts due for “code compliance”
Appraisal is supposed to be a fair and independent process, but sometimes insurers game the system by selecting their own hired guns as appraisers who have conflicts of interest.
Unfortunately, many insurers and their appraisers conceal these conflicts until it’s too late. If they engage in this type of behavior, you might have legal recourse.
What happens after appraisal?
An insurer should pay the award, plus interest. If they don’t pay it in full, or they fail to pay interest on the award, the insurer can be held accountable in court.
Under Section 542 of the Texas Insurance Code and our firm’s Barbara Technologies decision, an insurer will owe interest, and may owe attorney’s fees, if it delays payment of the claim beyond the specific time limits mandated by Texas law.
Have you already been through appraisal?
If you have already been through the appraisal process and your insurer has not paid the award in full, with interest as required under the law, Raizner Slania may be able to help.
A recent landmark decision on one of our cases brought Texas in line with insurance law around the country requiring insurance companies – and not their policyholders – to bear the full cost of delay.
An insurer that is liable for the claim must pay interest at a rate that ranges between 10% and 18% per year. On a large appraisal award, or a portfolio of awards, interest can quickly add up to a very substantial amount.