These are three different tools for three different jobs, and the mistake we see most is using the wrong one first. A public adjuster builds, documents, and negotiates your claim. Appraisal settles a disagreement over the dollar amount. An attorney handles coverage disputes and bad faith. Most storm claims should start with the first and only move to the others if the fight outgrows what we can do.
The public adjuster: build, document, negotiate, escalate
We are the first step. After a homeowner signs with us, we send a letter of representation to the carrier and request the full policy. We read it before we argue anything, then we document the damage with photos, measurements, weather data, contractor and engineer input, and our own estimate at fair market value.
Then comes the back and forth. Carriers say no many times before yes, and twenty or thirty emails on one claim is normal. When a no does not hold up, we escalate: a new adjuster, a reinspection, a manager, a written demand citing the policy and statute, or a complaint to the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
Our fee is a percentage of the approved value of each trade we take on for you (roof, siding, and so on), and we only charge it on a trade if we get the insurance company to approve more than it already had. No increase on a trade, no fee on that trade. The exact percentage is in the written agreement.
Appraisal: a binding decision on the amount
Appraisal is a clause in most property policies. When you and the carrier agree the loss is covered but disagree about how much it costs, each side picks an appraiser, and the two choose an umpire. In most policies, a decision from two of the three is binding on the amount of loss. Check your own clause.
Three things people do not expect.
It costs money. You usually pay your own appraiser and share the umpire's cost, so it makes sense on a large gap and little sense on a small one.
It cannot fix a coverage denial. Appraisal sets a number. It does not decide whether hail damage is covered or whether an exclusion applies. If the carrier said no on coverage, appraisal is the wrong tool.
The carrier can invoke it too. Do not assume it is a tool only you control. We wrote a Minnesota appraisal guide that explains the clause in detail.
Appraisal is a level beyond us. We are not appraisers, and we do not treat it as the plan. We treat it as an option once a documented dispute over amount has reached its limit.
The attorney: coverage disputes and bad faith
An attorney is the right call when the argument is about what the policy means, or about how the carrier is behaving. That includes a coverage denial you believe is wrong, a policy provision applied in a way the language does not support, or conduct that looks like bad faith.
Minnesota law gives a court the power to award additional costs and attorney fees when an insurer denies benefits without a reasonable basis. That is Minn. Stat. § 604.18. It is a court remedy, so it is not available through appraisal, and it is an attorney's tool, not ours.
We're public adjusters, not attorneys. This is how the statute reads and how we use it; for legal advice talk to a Minnesota attorney.
An attorney also costs money, and lawsuits take a long time. For many roof claims the dispute is about proof and documentation, not law, and that is the part a public adjuster handles. We refer homeowners to attorneys when a claim needs one.
The order we usually recommend
A rough guide, not a rule:
- Public adjuster first. Most claims are lost or shorted because the proof is thin or the policy was never read closely. Fixing that comes before anything else.
- Appraisal when the gap is about amount. If the carrier accepts that the loss is covered and the two sides are still apart on price after real documentation, appraisal can close it.
- Attorney when the dispute leaves our role. A coverage denial that holds up against the policy, a suspected bad faith pattern, or a carrier that will not move.
Plenty of claims never need steps two or three. A well-documented position, sent with the right policy language, resolves a lot of them. Our post on what to expect when you hire a public adjuster walks through the steps in order.
Why the order matters
If you go to appraisal or court on a thin file, you are arguing with weak evidence. The carrier will use that. Building the file first costs less than rebuilding it later.
If you start with an attorney for a claim that is really a documentation problem, you can spend a lot on a tool that is more expensive than the job needed. The hail damage was real, the shingles were paid short, and what was missing was proof.
There is one more reason. A public adjuster has the rights of the policyholder on the claim, so the carrier has to deal with us from day one. We can discuss the policy, negotiate, and escalate within the claim. That is why we are the first step and not the last. We cover when a claim needs one at all in our post on whether you really need a public adjuster.
The honest answer
Use the tool that matches the problem. If the carrier denied or underpaid the claim and the file needs building, start with a public adjuster. If you both agree it is covered and only disagree about price, appraisal may fit. If the fight is about coverage or conduct, talk to an attorney. No one can honestly promise a result on a claim, and you should be suspicious of anyone who does.