Attorney Property Claim File Guide

1. Evidence and estimate organization

Property matters generate estimates from several parties, and they rarely line up. Organize them so that any two can be compared item by item, and so that every photograph can be traced to the estimate line it supports.

• Every estimate, from every party, in native format where it can be obtained, with the estimating platform, price list, and price list date identified
• Each estimate labeled with its author, the party it was prepared for, and the date
• Photographs organized by elevation, roof section, and room rather than by who took them or when — and originals preserved separately from anything annotated
• Inspection reports, moisture and thermal readings, and diagrams, each tied to the inspection they came from
• Mitigation, repair, and replacement invoices, with any photographs taken before that work
• Contents inventories and their supporting records, where contents are part of the claim
• A running comparison of the estimates: agreed items, disputed items, and whether each dispute is scope, quantity, price, or causation

2. Correspondence history

The correspondence between the policyholder and the carrier is often the matter. It should be on the file as a complete, dated sequence, not in a client's forwarded emails and an associate's inbox.

• Every letter, email, and portal message between the insured and the carrier, from first notice forward, in date order
• The carrier's written positions captured in full, with the date and author of each
• The firm's own correspondence with the carrier, the client, and third parties, stored on the matter with attachments
• Notes of every telephone conversation with the carrier or its representatives, recorded the same day
• The client's own contemporaneous notes and any recorded statement or examination transcript
• A single index of the correspondence that a new reader can follow without opening every message

3. Deadlines and dates

This section is not about what the deadlines are. It is about making sure the file shows them, that each one has an owner, and that the underlying date each one is calculated from is recorded and sourced.

• The date of loss, the date of first notice to the carrier, and the source document for each
• The date of each carrier request to the insured and the date the insured responded
• The date of each carrier payment and each written coverage position
• Every contractual and procedural date the firm has identified, entered as a dated task with an owner, and the document it was calculated from
• The date appraisal was demanded, the appointment dates, and the award date, where appraisal has occurred
• A record of the date each status changed, so a stalled matter is visible as a status rather than a memory

4. Expert reports

• Each expert identified by name, discipline, and the party who retained them
• The engagement scope given to each expert, in writing
• Every report, draft where the firm's practice preserves drafts, and the materials the expert was given to prepare it
• Site visit dates and who attended
• The expert's file — photographs, readings, calculations — kept separately from the report so the report can be checked against it
• Opposing expert reports organized to the same standard, with a point-by-point comparison where the matter calls for one

5. Appraisal and umpire stages in the file

Many property matters pass through the policy's appraisal provision before or alongside litigation. When they do, the appraisal record is part of the matter and needs to be kept as carefully as the pleadings.

• The appraisal provision as written in the policy in force
• The demand, who made it, how it was delivered, and any response
• Each appraiser's appointment and any disclosure bearing on impartiality
• The exchange of estimates between the appraisers and the list of items they agreed and disagreed on
• Umpire selection — candidates proposed, any court involvement, the appointment, and the umpire's disclosures
• What was submitted to the umpire, so it can be shown the umpire decided only the differences
• The award, its signatures, the date signed, and the date delivered to each party
• Any question the firm has flagged about what the award does and does not resolve, so it is not rediscovered later

6. Production readiness

A well-kept property file is one that can be produced with confidence. Organize for that from the start rather than in the days before a request is due.

• Privileged and work-product material kept in a designated place, separated from the factual record, and labeled at the time it is created
• Every document associated with the matter and identified by its source, date, and author
• Photographs preserved in original form with metadata intact, and any annotated set kept as a separate copy
• Correspondence retrievable as a complete set for a date range or a party without a mailbox export
• A log of what has been produced, to whom, and when
• Personal and financial information about the client identified so that it can be handled appropriately when the file is produced or shared

Where these files break down

• A photograph referenced in a report cannot be found in the file
• Two versions of the same estimate exist and nobody can say which was sent to the carrier
• The carrier's position exists only as the client's description of a phone call
• The appraisal award is in the file but what was submitted to the umpire is not
• A date is docketed but the document it was calculated from is not on the file

Scope note

This is a description of how to organize a file. It is not legal advice and does not address any rule, statute, deadline, or duty. The firm's own professional judgment and the requirements of the jurisdiction control.