Independent appraisal · All 67 counties
When the insurer accepts the claim but the check won’t cover the repair, Pennsylvania Insurance Appraiser writes its own line-by-line valuation and carries it through the appraisal clause in your policy.
What we do
Most underpaid claims in Pennsylvania aren’t denied. They’re short. A slate roof priced as asphalt, a rowhome flat roof patched on paper when it needs replacing, plaster walls written up as drywall, a frozen-pipe loss with half the tear-out missing. Pennsylvania Insurance Appraiser exists for the gap between “covered” and “paid in full.”
We value the loss from scratch — our own inspection, measurements and pricing — and we build numbers that hold up in front of an umpire. If your problem is really a coverage denial, a bad-faith question or a looming deadline, we’ll tell you on the first call that you need a Pennsylvania attorney instead.
Services
11 services built around one job: a valuation of your loss that holds up. Start with an estimate review, or bring us in after appraisal has been demanded.
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11Pennsylvania’s claim year
Pennsylvania weather sends a different kind of claim every quarter. Knowing what each season does to a roof, a pipe or a basement is half of writing an accurate estimate.
The Blizzard of 1993, the January 1996 blizzard, the February 2010 storms and Erie’s Christmas 2017 lake-effect snow all left roof and water claims behind.
Western Pennsylvania’s May 31, 1985 tornado outbreak and Agnes in June 1972 are the reminders every adjuster in the state knows.
Remnants of Ivan (2004), Lee (2011), Ida (2021) and Debby (2024) showed how much rain a fading tropical system can drop inland.
Superstorm Sandy in October 2012 brought hours of wind, fallen trees and long outages across the eastern half of the state.
How it works
The appraisal clause turns an open-ended argument into a defined process with a binding result. Here is how a file moves.
We read the policy, the carrier’s estimate and your photos, then tell you plainly whether appraisal fits.
A Pennsylvania Insurance Appraiser inspects, measures and writes a line-item estimate priced for your area.
Appraisal is demanded in writing and your appraiser is named, with the suit-limitation date in view.
Both appraisers compare scope and pricing line by line. Most of the gap is settled here.
An umpire decides anything left. Two of three signatures set the amount of loss.
Quick gap check
Type in the two numbers you already have. A large difference is worth a conversation; a small one may close faster with a documented supplement request.
The full claim gap & fee projector adds appraiser and umpire fees so you see a realistic net.
All 7 free calculatorsStatewide
A flat roof in South Philly, a slate roof in Scranton’s Hill Section and a bank barn outside Lancaster fail in different ways. Here is how claims differ across the state.
Philadelphia and the collar counties: rowhome flat roofs, party walls, burst pipes in old housing and the Ida-era split between flood and covered water.
Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and the Poconos: heavy snow, river flooding history and the coal-region mine subsidence issue.
Harrisburg, Lancaster and York: Susquehanna flooding history, stone farmhouses, bank barns and spring hail.
Harrisburg · Lancaster · York
State College and the ridge-and-valley country: student rentals, ice storms and wind funnelled along the ridges.
Pittsburgh, Johnstown and Erie: hillside homes, flash floods in the hollows and lake-effect snow loads.
Pittsburgh · Johnstown · Erie
Free & private
Run the numbers before you pick up the phone. Every calculator works in your browser; nothing is stored or sent.
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EstimatorChoosing help
Each one solves a different problem. Picking the right one first saves time and fees, and Pennsylvania Insurance Appraiser will point you elsewhere when appraisal isn’t the tool.
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Before you sign the release
A short review now can keep you from accepting a settlement that won’t cover the repair — and from missing a one-year suit date while you argue about it.
FAQ
Straight answers on how appraisal works, what it costs and when it’s the wrong move.
We value property damage when you and your insurer agree the loss is covered but disagree on what it costs. As your appointed appraiser we inspect, write an independent line-item estimate, work with the carrier’s appraiser and, if needed, take unresolved items to a neutral umpire.
No. A public adjuster, licensed by the Pennsylvania Insurance Department, handles and negotiates the whole claim. An appraiser works inside the policy’s appraisal clause on one question: the amount of loss. We don’t negotiate outside appraisal and we don’t give legal advice.
When coverage is accepted, you have the carrier’s estimate, and the gap between it and a contractor’s line-item estimate is meaningful — often more than about 10% or several thousand dollars.
Not automatically. Many Pennsylvania policies limit lawsuits to one year from the date of loss, and appraisal may not pause that clock unless the policy or a written agreement says so. If the date is close, talk to a Pennsylvania attorney.
Each side pays its own appraiser and usually half of the umpire. We put our fee in writing before any work starts, and the first conversation is free.
Yes. We work in all 67 Pennsylvania counties, with frequent work around Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, the Lehigh Valley, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Scranton and Erie.
Guides
Practical guides from Pennsylvania Insurance Appraiser on Pennsylvania policy language, documentation and timing.
The appraisal paragraph is short, but every phrase shapes how your dispute will run. Here’s what each part usually means in practice.
A clause many owners never notice can end their right to sue a year after the loss. Here’s how it overlaps with an appraisal timeline.
When remnants of a tropical storm stall over Pennsylvania, the cause of the water decides which policy pays. Here’s how to sort it out.
Start with a conversation
Tell us what happened and what the carrier offered. We’ll review it and give you a straight answer on whether appraisal is worth pursuing — no pressure, no obligation.