Insurance Appraisal File Checklist
A working checklist of what a complete property insurance appraisal file contains, organized in the order the file actually builds: assignment, intake, inspection, valuation, position, and closeout.
Why the file, not the report, is the deliverable
An appraisal report is one document. The appraisal file is the record that makes the report defensible — the assignment that authorized the work, the observations that support the scope, the correspondence that shows what each party was told and when, and the trail that lets someone reconstruct the conclusion months later.
Files rarely fail because a number was wrong. They fail because a photograph was never associated with a claim, an email lived in one person's mailbox, or nobody can say when the insured was notified of an inspection. Everything below exists to close those gaps.
1. Assignment and authority
- The assignment communication itself, retained in full, including the sender and date received
- Claim number, policy number, and the carrier or client's own reference number
- Named insured and property address, with unit or building identifiers where relevant
- Date of loss and the reported cause or peril
- The scope of what you were engaged to do, and by whom
- Any conflict check or disclosure the engagement required
- Deadlines and service expectations stated in the assignment
2. Policy and coverage context
You are not adjusting coverage, but the file should record the coverage context you were given, because it explains why the scope is what it is.
- Declarations page as provided
- Endorsements provided with the assignment
- Deductible as stated by the client
- Any coverage position already communicated to you in writing
- Prior estimates from the carrier, contractor, or public adjuster
3. Contact and communication record
- Contact details for the insured, the client, and any representative
- The full chain of scheduling correspondence, including unanswered attempts
- Confirmation of the inspection date and window
- Notes of any substantive telephone conversation, recorded the same day
- Every inbound and outbound message attached to the file rather than the mailbox
4. Inspection and field evidence
Field evidence cannot be recreated. Capture more than you expect to use, and organize it while you are still on site.
- Date, time, weather, and who was present at the inspection
- Overview photographs establishing the property and its orientation
- Elevation-by-elevation exterior photographs
- Roof documentation by slope or section, including test squares where applicable
- Interior documentation by room, including undamaged areas that establish a baseline
- Photographs of make, model, and serial plates on affected equipment
- Measurements, diagrams, and sketches supporting the scope
- Moisture, thermal, or other instrument readings and the instrument used
- Field notes recorded on site rather than reconstructed afterward
5. Scope and valuation
- Line-item scope of damage tied to observed conditions
- The estimating platform, price list, and price list date used
- Depreciation applied, with the basis for it stated
- Overhead and profit treatment, and why it was or was not applied
- Any pricing exception, and the support for it
- Comparison against the opposing estimate, item by item, where one exists
6. Position and dispute record
- The position statement or letter as sent, with the date sent
- Opposing appraiser identity and correspondence, where appraisal is invoked
- Points of agreement and the specific items in dispute
- Umpire selection correspondence and the umpire's identity
- The award document and the signatures on it
- Any revision requested, and what changed in response
7. Closeout
- The final package as delivered, in the form the client received it
- Proof and date of delivery
- Invoice, with time or fee basis supporting it
- Payment status through to close
- A complete activity history for the file
- Retention date set according to your own policy and any client requirement
A note on retention
Appraisal files contain personal information about insureds — addresses, loss details, and sometimes financial data. Decide in advance how long you retain closed files and who can open them after close, and apply that consistently rather than case by case.