Independent claim appraisal · All 88 counties
When the insurer accepts the claim but the check won’t cover the repair, Ohio Insurance Appraiser builds its own line-item valuation and takes it through the appraisal clause in your policy.
Why owners call us
Most underpaid Ohio claims aren’t denied — they’re short. A slate roof priced as asphalt. A finished basement scoped as bare block. Ice-and-water barrier left off a snowbelt roof. Ohio Insurance Appraiser exists for that gap between “approved” and “enough to fix it.”
As an Ohio Insurance Appraiser, our job is narrow on purpose: work out what the loss really costs, write it up so every line can be checked, and see it through the appraisal clause if the insurer won’t move. We don’t sell roofs, we don’t take over your claim and we don’t practice law.
What we appraise
Eleven services, one goal: a valuation of your loss that holds up. Start with an estimate audit or bring Ohio Insurance Appraiser in once appraisal has been demanded.
Lake Erie to the Ohio River
Snowbelt ice dams in Ashtabula, hail in Franklin County, tornadoes in the Miami Valley, ice storms in the hills. An Ohio Insurance Appraiser has to know how each region’s weather shows up on a roof — and on an estimate.
Cleveland · Akron · Canton · Youngstown
Lake-effect snow piles up in the snowbelt east of Cleveland, which means ice dams, snow-load damage and burst pipes in century-old homes. Spring and summer bring hail and straight-line wind across Summit, Stark and Mahoning counties.
Toledo · Sandusky · Lima
Flat farmland gives storms a clear run. Tornadoes, derecho winds and hail cross Lucas, Wood, Erie and Allen counties, while Lake Erie adds wind-driven rain and lakeshore exposure.
Columbus and suburbs
Franklin County’s fast-growing suburbs mean big subdivisions of similar homes — and big hail and wind events that hit thousands of roofs at once, as the 2012 derecho showed.
Cincinnati · Dayton · Xenia
The Miami Valley sits in one of Ohio’s busiest tornado corridors, from Xenia in 1974 to the Memorial Day 2019 outbreak. Cincinnati’s hillside homes add tree, wind and water problems.
Zanesville · Athens · Marietta
Appalachian hills, river towns and older frame and brick homes. Ice storms, fallen trees and basement water are the claims that come up most along the Muskingum and the Ohio River.
The process
The appraisal clause turns an open-ended argument into a defined process with a binding result on the amount of loss.
We read the policy, the insurer’s estimate and your photos, then tell you whether appraisal is the right tool.
Our own inspection, measurements and a line-item estimate priced for your part of Ohio.
Appraisal is demanded in writing and we’re named as your appraiser inside the policy’s window.
Line-by-line work with the insurer’s appraiser. Most of the gap usually closes here.
Anything left goes to the umpire. Two signatures set the amount of loss.
Free workbench
Type in the two estimates you already have. A wide gap is worth a conversation with an Ohio Insurance Appraiser; a narrow one may close faster with a documented supplement.
Claim Gap & Fee EstimatorCompare your number with the insurer’s and see three possible awards, net of appraiser and umpire fees.
RCV/ACV Holdback CalculatorWork out the first actual-cash-value check, the depreciation held back and the total after repairs.Roof Area & Pitch CalculatorTurn a footprint and pitch into true roof squares, bundles and steep/high-roof flags.
Percentage Deductible CalculatorSee a 1%, 2% or 5% wind/hail deductible in dollars and what each would leave a claim paying.
Ohio Claim Calendar BuilderBuild a dated timeline from your date of loss and appraisal demand, then export it to your calendar.Appraisal Readiness CheckupTen yes/no questions that score your claim file and build a to-do list before you demand appraisal.Basement Backup Sublimit CalculatorSee how the cause of basement water and your backup endorsement limit change what a claim can pay.Everything runs in your browser. Nothing is stored or sent.
Statewide
Ohio Insurance Appraiser works in every county. These are the places where we’re asked to look at claims most often.
Storm memory
Ohio’s worst weather days still echo in policy language — percentage wind deductibles, flood exclusions and backup sublimits. An Ohio Insurance Appraiser reads every claim against that history.
Rivers across the state overtopped their banks in March 1913, devastating Dayton and swamping Columbus and Zanesville. Flood is still excluded from homeowners policies today.
The deadliest tornado in Ohio history tore through Sandusky and Lorain on June 28, 1924.
An F5 tornado in the April 3, 1974 Super Outbreak cut through Xenia, one of the most destructive tornadoes the state has recorded.
January 1978 brought hurricane-force winds and drifting snow statewide — the benchmark for Ohio winter storms.
On September 14, 2008, the remains of Hurricane Ike crossed Ohio with hurricane-force gusts, leaving roughly two million customers without power and roofs damaged statewide.
On June 29, 2012, a derecho swept Columbus and central and southern Ohio, knocking out power to about a million customers.
Tornadoes, including an EF4, hit Trotwood, Harrison Township, Brookville and Beavercreek around Dayton.
Choosing help
Each solves a different problem. Ohio Insurance Appraiser will point you elsewhere when appraisal isn’t the right tool.
Values the amount of loss
Handles and negotiates the claim
Legal disputes and lawsuits
Q&A
Short, straight answers about appraisal, costs and timing.
We put an independent value on property damage when you and your insurer agree the loss is covered but disagree on what it costs. As your named appraiser we inspect, build a line-item estimate, work through it with the insurer’s appraiser and, if needed, present unresolved items to an umpire.
A public adjuster 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 claims outside appraisal and we don’t give legal advice.
Under the standard appraisal clause, a written award signed by any two of the three panel members sets the amount of loss. It doesn’t decide coverage questions, so read your policy and get legal advice on anything beyond the dollar figure.
Each side usually pays its own appraiser and half of the umpire. We give you our fee in writing before any work starts, and the first conversation is free.
Many finish within a few months of the demand, depending on how fast the panel forms, how big the loss is and whether an umpire is needed. Policy deadlines, including suit limitations, keep running, so keep an eye on the calendar.
Yes. We work in all 88 Ohio counties, with frequent work around Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo, Akron, Dayton and the Mahoning Valley.
Briefings
Practical guides from Ohio Insurance Appraiser on Ohio policy language, documentation and timing.
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A short review now can keep you from accepting a settlement that won’t pay for the repair.
Start with a conversation
Tell us what happened and what the insurer offered. We’ll review it and tell you whether appraisal is worth pursuing — no pressure.
