A dispute-resolution mechanism most homeowners never hear about, sitting in the policy they already have.
If you and your insurer agree the loss is covered but disagree about how much it costs to fix, most Alberta property policies contain an **appraisal** provision — a process for resolving that disagreement without litigation. Alberta’s Insurance Act contains statutory conditions that apply to property policies, and appraisal is among the mechanisms available.
It is genuinely useful and it is widely unknown. It is also frequently the wrong tool, and knowing which situation you’re in matters more than knowing the process.
This is the distinction that decides whether appraisal helps you.
The mechanics are set out in your policy and the statutory conditions, and the shape is consistent.
Appraisal costs money and takes time, and it is not free leverage. Work through the cheaper steps first — they resolve most disputes.
If the dispute is coverage — a denial, an exclusion, a date-of-loss argument, an allegation of pre-existing damage — appraisal cannot help you and invoking it wastes months. That’s a complaint to the insurer’s ombudsperson, then to the General Insurance OmbudService, and potentially a legal question. Getting this distinction wrong is the most common mistake we see homeowners make with this process.
We are a roofing contractor. We can document the damage and produce the itemised scope that either resolves the dispute or forms the basis of your position — and in most cases that’s what actually settles it. We are not appraisers, not adjusters and not lawyers, and we’re not going to advise you on invoking a statutory process. Read your policy, and if the amount at stake justifies it, get advice from someone qualified to give it.
Most Alberta property policies do, via the statutory conditions and policy wording, but read yours rather than assuming. Search the wording for “appraisal”, or ask your broker to point you at it.
Each side pays its own appraiser and the umpire’s fee is generally shared. That makes it disproportionate for a small gap and reasonable for a large one. Weigh it against the amount actually in dispute.
It’s a mechanism written into your own policy — using it is not adversarial in itself. In practice most disputes resolve before it gets that far, often because a properly documented supplement makes the gap disappear.
Generally no. A denial is a coverage question and appraisal addresses amount. Your routes there are the insurer’s internal complaints process, then the General Insurance OmbudService, and the Alberta Insurance Council for conduct issues.
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