It's difficult to prepare for a fire loss. This Miami-based client had their Chiefland, Fl. rental property catch fire while the tenants were cooking. The insurance company adjuster wrote an estimate that fell well short of the cost to fix the property. A frustrated owner contacted Tutwiler & Associates Public Adjusters. Florida claim adjuster Nick Chase immediately scheduled inspections with a State Fire Investigator to determine causation and the insurance company field adjuster to reinspect the damages. After unproductive negotiations with the insurance company and being confident in his position, Nick encouraged the client to invoke the Appraisal Clause in the policy. In short, Appraisal is a policy provision that helps avoid litigation. Each side hires an appraiser to try and come to agreement on a settlement. If they can’t agree, each appraiser presents their finding to an Umpire who decides on a fair claim settlement. Upon presenting the facts, the policyholder was awarded $80K, achieving the desired outcome.