Privacy Policy

What Claim Information We Receive and Why

Because we perform property insurance appraisal, umpire, and dispute-resolution work, the documents you send us are rarely limited to a name and an email address. A typical appraisal file may include your declarations page and policy form, adjuster estimates, contractor or engineer reports, Xactimate line-item estimates, dated photographs and video, moisture readings, and correspondence relating to the claim. We ask for these because appraisal determines the amount of loss, and an amount can only be supported by evidence — not because we retain anything beyond what the assignment requires. Whether a particular loss is covered at all remains a separate question decided under your policy by your carrier and, where the parties disagree, by a court; we do not collect information for the purpose of making that determination.

Drone imagery deserves specific mention. Aerial roof and elevation photographs captured under FAA Part 107 authorization are stored as part of the claim file and are treated with the same confidentiality as any other document you provide. Geolocation metadata embedded in those images is used only to associate photographs with the correct property and inspection date.

How Your Information Moves Through the Appraisal Process

Appraisal is not a private conversation between you and us. By its nature the process involves other parties, and it helps to know in advance where your information travels. When appraisal is invoked, each side names an independent appraiser, and if those two cannot agree on the amount of loss, they select — or an appraiser petitions for the appointment of — an umpire. Evidence supporting a valuation is exchanged among the appraisers and, where one is engaged, the umpire. Photographs, estimates, and measurements that you intend to rely on will be seen by the opposing appraiser as part of that exchange. We share only what the assignment reasonably requires and only with the parties entitled to receive it under the appraisal provision.

Certain roles carry heightened confidentiality. In expert-witness and attorney file-review work, materials are frequently covered by protective orders, common-interest arrangements, or attorney work-product protections. Where those apply, we handle your file according to counsel's instructions and the terms of any order in the matter.

Documentation, Retention, and De-Identification

A recurring pattern in our DFW-area work illustrates why documentation matters and how we treat it. Hail disputes in the Metroplex commonly turn on the extent of damage rather than its existence, and files resolved through detailed, dated photographic evidence and line-item justification are frequently the ones that reach agreement without further escalation. That evidence is only useful when it is well-organized and securely held, so we retain closed appraisal and umpire files for the period necessary to support the award, to respond to later questions from the parties, and to satisfy professional and legal obligations.

When we describe claim patterns publicly — on this website, in educational articles, or in aggregate reporting — we work exclusively from de-identified data. We do not publish client names, property addresses, policy or claim numbers, or specific settlement figures, and we do not attribute outcomes to any individual policyholder. Carrier names appear, if at all, only in aggregate-pattern context.

Questions About Your File

If you want to know what we hold on a specific matter, how long we will keep it, or how to request a copy, contact us at 972-322-0752. We will confirm your relationship to the file before releasing anything, because a claim file often contains information about more than one party. For active umpire assignments, please note that our neutrality obligations may limit what we can discuss with either side outside the formal process.