Texas’s new insurance appraisal rules set a required process for many home and auto claim disputes beginning March 1, 2027. The deadlines differ by policy.
The Texas Department of Insurance adopted new appraisal rules implementing Senate Bill 458, which added Chapter 1813 to the Texas Insurance Code. The commissioner’s order, No. 2026-10210, was issued November 6, 2026. TDI’s 2026 rules index lists the adoption filing as November 4, publication as November 20, and the rules’ effective date as November 24, 2026. The separate policy-compliance date is March 1, 2027.
For a homeowner whose insurer’s hail-repair estimate is lower than a contractor’s, or a driver disputing a vehicle’s repair or total-loss valuation, appraisal may offer a formal way to resolve disagreement about the amount of loss. It does not resolve every type of claim dispute.
What Changed, and Which Policies Are Covered?
Policies for personal automobiles and residential property delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in Texas on or after March 1, 2027 must include an appraisal provision that complies with the new rules. The requirements apply to specified insurers and policy types under Texas Insurance Code Chapter 1813.
The law excludes commercial policies and Texas Windstorm Insurance Association policies. The rules also exclude a total loss of real property by fire subject to a separate Texas Insurance Code provision. Policies delivered, issued, or renewed before March 1, 2027 are generally governed by their existing appraisal terms, rather than the new procedures.
The adopted rules require that either party, the insurer or the policyholder, be able to demand appraisal unilaterally. A policy cannot require mutual consent or require the parties to reach an impasse first. Appraisal may apply to partial losses, including repairable damage, as well as total losses, subject to the stated exception.
What Insurance Appraisal Is, and Is Not
An insurance appraisal is a process to determine the amount of loss when the policyholder and insurer disagree about its value. Each party selects an appraiser. If the appraisers cannot agree, an umpire may help resolve the difference. An award generally binds the parties as to the amount of loss, with limited exceptions under the law and policy.
Appraisal is not a decision about whether the policy covers the damage. It does not change applicable policy terms or determine a separate coverage dispute. A disagreement about whether damage is covered, for example, is different from a disagreement about the cost to repair damage accepted as covered. The distinction can depend on the claim facts and policy language.
Home Insurance Appraisal and Auto Insurance Appraisal: Key Deadlines
The new procedures set deadlines from the written appraisal demand. The policy’s appraisal clause must include the applicable process and deadlines. The two options for when the appraisers must choose an umpire may depend on the policy language: selection is due within 15 days after appraisers are named, or within 15 days after they fail to agree by the applicable agreement deadline.
| Process Stage | Residential Property | Personal Automobile |
|---|---|---|
| Demand deadline | Generally, by the policy’s suit-limitations deadline; special rules apply after a qualifying presuit notice or filed lawsuit | Generally, by the policy’s suit-limitations deadline; special rule applies after a filed lawsuit |
| Hire appraisers | Each party hires its appraiser and provides contact details within 20 days of demand | Same: within 20 days of demand |
| Select an umpire | Appraisers select jointly within the policy’s 15-day selection window | Same: within the policy’s 15-day selection window |
| Appraisers attempt agreement | Within 120 days of demand | Within 40 days of demand |
| Award with umpire | Due within 240 days of demand | Due within 180 days of demand |
| If no umpire is agreed | Either party may request judicial appointment in the county or district where the property is located | Either party may request judicial appointment where the vehicle is principally garaged, as identified in the policy |
If an award is not issued by the applicable 240- or 180-day deadline, the umpire’s engagement ends. The appraisers must choose a new umpire within 15 days after that deadline passes. The parties may modify appraisal deadlines by written agreement after the insurer provides the required appraisal notice.
If the appraisers do not agree on an umpire, the policy must preserve the option of judicial appointment. A policy may also offer an independent-vendor selection option, but only the policyholder may invoke it. Any other alternative method requires the parties’ written agreement after appraisal is demanded.
Who Can Serve as an Insurance Appraiser or Umpire?
Appraisers and umpires must be competent to evaluate the type of loss, independent from the parties, and disinterested in the outcome. For a residential dwelling loss, the person must also meet one of the rule’s specified experience or training categories: an adjuster or public adjuster with residential loss-estimating experience; an engineer or architect with relevant residential construction, repair, damage investigation, or estimating experience; or a person with occupational experience or training in constructing, repairing, or estimating that type of loss.
TDI did not establish a general licensing requirement for every appraiser or umpire. Licensing can depend on the person’s occupation and role. Before selecting an insurance appraiser, check the person’s qualifications and independently confirm any applicable license status with the relevant state regulator.
What the Claim-Decision Notice Must Explain
When the rules apply, the insurer must provide an appraisal-process notice at the same time as its acceptance or rejection notice under Texas Insurance Code §542.056. The notice must use plain language and at least 10-point type. It must explain where the appraisal clause appears in the policy, how and where to demand appraisal, the policyholder’s responsibilities and possible expenses, how to request an umpire, including judicial appointment, and the deadlines and effect of an award.
The notice should be reviewed alongside the policy. The policyholder’s responsibilities include hiring an appraiser, and the notice must explain any responsibility for appraisal expenses. TDI’s 2024 report describes the usual arrangement as each party paying for its own appraiser and sharing other appraisal expenses, including umpire costs. The applicable policy and notice should be checked for the specific claim.
How to Dispute an Insurance Claim: A Practical Checklist
For a Texas homeowner with a disputed hail estimate, or a driver questioning a repair or total-loss valuation, these steps can help organize the decision:
- Identify the policy and its dates. Check whether it was delivered, issued, or renewed on or after March 1, 2027, and find the appraisal clause.
- Define the disagreement. Separate the amount-of-loss issue from questions about coverage, exclusions, or policy interpretation.
- Collect claim records. Keep the insurer’s estimate, any contractor or repair-shop estimate, photographs, inspection records, and written claim communications.
- Check the deadline before acting. The ordinary demand period is tied to the policy’s suit-limitations deadline. Special lawsuit rules may change the available window.
- Use the required procedure. Make a written demand and deliver it to the other party as required by the policy. Retain proof of delivery.
- Plan for costs and qualifications. Review the required notice, verify the selected appraiser’s relevant experience, and check any applicable license.
- Avoid assuming appraisal answers every issue. If a coverage dispute or lawsuit is involved, obtain advice about the claim and deadlines before deciding what to do next.
Use-It-or-Lose-It: Litigation Can Change the Appraisal Option
The adopted rules removed a proposed one-year residential demand deadline. Instead, the general residential and auto deadline tracks the policy’s limitations period for filing suit. However, filing suit can limit the unilateral appraisal option. Generally, a plaintiff may no longer demand appraisal after filing suit, subject to a narrow exception where the policy requires appraisal before the case can proceed and the policyholder filed suit before the limitations period expired.
A respondent generally must demand appraisal by the date its answer is filed or due, whichever occurs first. For residential claims involving a presuit notice under Insurance Code §542A.003, an insurer’s appraisal demand must be made within 60 days after that notice. That specific 60-day window concerns residential claims subject to that notice process; it is not the general auto deadline.
This structure reflects a balance between reducing strategic delay and preserving an appraisal option before litigation proceeds. The removal of the proposed one-year deadline avoids creating a separate demand clock, while the 60-day §542A.003 period gives insurers a defined response window after presuit notice. Deadlines remain consequential, and claimants should not assume filing a lawsuit preserves their unilateral right.
What TDI’s Appraisal Data Indicates
TDI’s 2024 Appraisal Experience Data Call Report provides historical context for the new timeframes. For the reported periods, about 75% of residential awards without an umpire were made within 120 days; more than 75% of auto awards without an umpire were made within 40 days. Umpire awards took longer: 75% of residential awards were made within 278 days, and 75% of auto awards within 210 days. TDI reported that an umpire was used in 16% of residential appraisals and 7% of personal-auto appraisals.
The data covered selected insurer groups and claims reported from 2020 through 2023, so it is historical rather than a guarantee of future outcomes. It nevertheless indicates that most reported appraisals concluded without an umpire. The new rules establish deadlines for both stages while preserving a court appointment option if the appraisers cannot agree on an umpire.
For policy questions or a review of the claim-related policy language, Texas insurance agent listings provide a directory of agent profiles. An insurance agent can help explain policy terms but does not replace an appraiser or legal adviser. Licensing and current status should be independently confirmed with the state regulator.
The new process applies prospectively to specified Texas residential-property and personal-auto policies. Eligibility, deadlines, expenses, and the scope of any award depend on the policy and claim circumstances. The policy, required notice, and current regulator information should be reviewed and independently confirmed.