The appeal
An appeal is a written request for reconsideration, decided from the file. It works when it does the reviewer's job for them: the stated reason answered point by point, the new evidence attached and labeled, the policy language quoted back. This page is that craft.
The full letter, with the wording for each reason-shape (wear and tear, cosmetic, excluded peril, closed claim), is the kit's version of this page. The structure above is the free skeleton — it is genuinely enough for a clean evidence case.
| Reason | The appeal's job |
|---|---|
| Wear and tear | Separate the event from the age: storm-date records, dated before/after evidence, an inspector's or roofer's written opinion tying the damage to the event. Age explains condition; it doesn't create creased shingles or a puncture pattern. |
| Cosmetic | Read the exclusion's own words — many reach only damage that doesn't impair function. Argue function (water shedding, manufacturer spec, code) and, in rule states, the matching standard. Your state's matching position is in the matching table. |
| Excluded peril / not covered | A language fight: quote the grant, quote the exclusion, and show the facts sit in the grant. If the amount justifies it, this is the shape where an attorney's coverage opinion earns its fee. |
Then the doors narrow to the procedural ones: appraisal if any part of the dispute is about the amount (it cannot reopen coverage, but carriers often re-examine a file an appraisal demand lands on); the state insurance department complaint, which forces a written answer on a clock; and counsel, measured against the suit deadline in your policy. Appeals also matter for the record: a regulator or a court reads the file you built, and a clean point-by-point appeal is the spine of it.
Run your own numbers. The free checker takes your state, your dates, and the figures on the insurer's estimate — and returns the dollars still held back, your real deadline, and the next document to send. Run the checker →
The pages above are the map. The kit is the paperwork: the proof packet that releases the money, the letters that protect the clocks, and the complaint pack for when the stall continues.
One payment, yours to keep. We never ask you to upload your policy — you file everything yourself. See everything inside the kit →