Reviewed and approved by Samuel Corso, licensed Texas insurance agent.

Published September 29, 2026 · Updated October 1, 2026

How does the insurance appraisal process work in Texas?

When you and your insurance company disagree about how much a loss is worth, your policy may give you a formal way to settle the number. This guide covers how the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) describes appraisal for home, auto and Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) claims, what you pay, and which deadlines to check.

The short version. In Texas, a home or auto insurance policy may include an appraisal process, and TDI's What if my insurance isn't paying enough? says you and the company each hire an appraiser, the two choose a third as umpire, and the umpire decides where they disagree on the amount of the loss. The same page says you pay for your own appraiser and half of the umpire's costs.

Start before you invoke it

Before you ask for appraisal on a Texas home or renters claim, the TDI tip page suggests telling the company why you disagree with the adjuster's final estimate. It notes that the company may have overlooked something and may make adjustments, and it suggests sending supporting documentation such as a contractor's estimate for the repairs.

For an auto policy, TDI's advice on that page is to first try to resolve a problem by talking to your adjuster or company.

In practice, that means putting your reasons and your documents, such as the contractor's estimate TDI mentions, in front of the company before any formal step. Appraisal is one of the options TDI lists if you still disagree after that.

Homeowners or renters: how it runs

On a Texas homeowners or renters policy, appraisal is something the policy itself may provide. The TDI tip page words it this way: "Your policy may include an appraisal process to resolve complaints." Where a policy includes it, the page describes these steps:

• Appraisers. You and the company each hire an appraiser.
• Umpire. The two appraisers then choose a third appraiser as the umpire.
• Estimates. Your appraiser and the company's appraiser make their own estimates of your loss.
• Decision. On differing estimates, TDI says: "If they are different, the umpire makes the final decision, which is binding on both you and the company."

TDI's Home insurance guide adds a limit on what appraisal is for. It says the appraisal process is for disputes about the amount of your claim and is not for disputes about whether your policy covers a loss.

If you need help finding an appraiser, the tip page suggests searching for a property damage appraiser or checking with your contractor.

Auto: the same shape, one added wrinkle

On a Texas auto policy that includes appraisal, the process TDI describes has the same parts as the home version. According to the tip page, an auto policy may include an appraisal process, appraisal allows you and the company to hire separate damage appraisers, the two appraisers choose a third to act as an umpire, and the umpire rules on any disagreements.

The wrinkle is what the result covers. On the auto appraisal process a policy may include, TDI says: "The appraisal decision is binding on the amount of the damage." It continues that if there is a dispute about what is covered, you can pursue a settlement of the coverage issue after the appraisal.

TDI's Auto insurance guide adds that you can use appraisal only for disputes with your own insurance company and cannot use it to resolve a dispute with another person's insurance company.

TWIA windstorm claims: its own deadlines

For a claim with the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, TDI's tip page on disputed claims lists appraisal as one option when you disagree with the amount TWIA estimated for your loss, and it gives deadlines that depend on the policy. The page defines the term for TWIA claims: "Appraisal is a formal process to handle disputes over the amount of a covered loss."

Its TWIA text opens by saying you have one year from the date of loss to file a claim with TWIA. If you disagree with the amount, TDI's options are to ask TWIA to look at your claim again and request a supplemental payment, use the appraisal process, or do both. The deadlines it gives, as of the page's last update on May 2, 2025, are:

To use TWIA appraisal, TDI's instructions are to fill out the form provided by TWIA, write a letter, or send an email to claims@TWIA.org with your claim number, stating that you demand appraisal, and to keep a copy of what you send. You can still work with TWIA to request a supplemental payment after you request appraisal, the page adds.

The TDI page does not describe appraisers or an umpire for TWIA claims. Which of the two deadlines applies depends on your coverage type and your policy date, so it helps to confirm both early. Our guide to how the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association works covers TWIA coverage itself in more depth.

What it costs

Appraisal on a Texas insurance claim has a cost to the policyholder, and the TDI tip page describes it separately for each policy type.

The TDI page does not give dollar amounts for these fees. Before you demand appraisal, it can help to ask an appraiser what they charge, since that cost is yours under TDI's description of home and auto appraisal.

Check your policy for the deadline

For a Texas homeowners or renters policy, TDI's tip page does not give a number of days to demand appraisal. Its instruction is: "Check your policy for any deadlines to demand appraisal."

The auto section of that page does not mention a deadline, and the only day counts on the page are the TWIA ones described above. A home or auto appraisal deadline, if your policy has one, may be in the policy wording itself.

If appraisal doesn't end it

Appraisal is one of several options that the TDI tip page lists for a Texas homeowners or renters claim. The page also describes:

• A complaint to TDI. You can file a complaint with TDI if you think an insurance company has treated you unfairly, per the page.
• A public insurance adjuster. TDI notes that some people hire one if they disagree with the number or type of damages listed by the company's adjuster, that public adjusters charge fees, and that you should understand what you'll have to pay before you hire one. Our guide on what a public adjuster does in Texas covers that role.
• Mediation. TDI describes asking for alternative dispute resolution, which uses mediation with a neutral third party.

The same page also covers court routes and what to do if TWIA denied a claim. This guide leaves those to the TDI page itself and to an attorney. Which option fits depends on the facts of your claim and the wording of your policy. TDI's page gives its Help Line as 800-252-3439, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.

Key facts

• TDI's What if my insurance isn't paying enough? says a homeowners, renters or auto policy may include an appraisal process, in which you and the company each hire an appraiser and the two appraisers choose a third as umpire.
• For a homeowners or renters policy that includes appraisal, the same TDI page says the umpire makes the final decision if the two estimates differ, and that the decision is binding on both you and the company.
• For an auto policy that includes appraisal, the TDI page says the decision is binding on the amount of the damage and that a dispute about what is covered can be pursued after the appraisal.
• TDI's Home insurance guide says appraisal is for disputes about the amount of a claim, not about whether the policy covers a loss, and TDI's Auto insurance guide says you can use it only for disputes with your own insurance company.
• On cost, the TDI page says that under home and auto appraisal you pay for your own appraiser and half of the umpire's costs, and that you split the cost of appraisal with TWIA on a TWIA claim, with more details in your policy.
• For TWIA claims, the TDI page as last updated May 2, 2025, gives 545 days to complete repairs if you have replacement cost coverage and your policy started or renewed after January 1, 2020 (with no separate day count for demanding appraisal in that case), and 60 days after getting TWIA's estimate to demand appraisal for claims based on an older policy or without replacement cost coverage.
• For a homeowners or renters policy, the TDI page says to check your policy for any deadlines to demand appraisal.

Sources: Texas Department of Insurance, What if my insurance isn't paying enough?, Home insurance guide and Auto insurance guide.

Take the next step

Before a disagreement comes up, it helps to know whether your policy includes an appraisal process, what it says about deadlines, and what an appraiser would cost you. If your dispute is over a denied claim, our guide on disputing a home insurance claim denial in Texas walks through that process.

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