When the only dispute is the amount, appraisal settles it.
I'm Leland Coontz. I serve as a party-appointed appraiser and as an appraisal umpire in property insurance disputes — the appraisal-clause process that resolves the amount of a loss without litigation. Twenty years of property claims work on both sides of the industry, based in California and available in all fifty states and the District of Columbia.
This is insurance appraisal, not real estate appraisal. The difference matters.
Party Appraiser
Appointed by a policyholder or an insurer to value the loss, exchange positions with the opposing appraiser, and move the panel to an award. Competent and disinterested — and able to defend every line item.
Appraiser services →Umpire
The neutral the two appraisers agree on — or the court appoints — to decide what they can't. Accepted by carrier-side and policyholder-side appraisers alike, including by Superior Court appointment.
Umpire services →Consulting & Expert Work
Litigation consulting and expert witness engagements on property claims handling and appraisal practice, for counsel who need the process explained or examined.
Start a conversation →Why both sides can agree on me
Nine years carrier-side, ten years policyholder-side. I know both playbooks and owe allegiance to neither.
30+ appraisals since 2017, residential and commercial, from single trades to seven figures.
Panels opposite State Farm, Farmers, AAA, Liberty Mutual, Safeco, Travelers, USAA, Nationwide, Allstate, and others.
CDI committee service: helped revise California's adjuster licensing examination, including fair claims handling content.
Have an appraisal that needs an appraiser — or a name both sides can live with?
Email is best. Include the insured's name or case caption, the carrier, the claim number if you have it, the loss location, and the role you have in mind — appraiser or umpire. I respond to every serious inquiry.