Report: Lower Pricing Made Up 85% of the Estimate Gap on Disputed Property Claims
Disputed claims in the study typically settled at 1.41 times the insurer’s figure.
Most of the dollar difference between insurer and public adjuster estimates on disputed property claims came from insurers pricing the same repairs lower, according to a new report.
Finch Claims’ Q3 2026 State of the Claim Report examines estimates, settlements and payment timelines from a database of 11,530 property claim files handled by public adjusters, with data through Oct. 16.
According to the report, on 46 disputed claims where both the insurer and the public adjuster itemized the work, lower pricing on repairs that appeared in both estimates accounted for $7.2 million of the $8.5 million difference, or about 85%. Repairs left off the insurer’s estimate accounted for the remaining $1.3 million.
Across those shared repairs, the insurer priced lower 236 times, higher 77 times and the same 35 times. Cabinetry showed one of the widest gaps. The insurer’s price was typically 45 cents for every dollar in the adjuster’s estimate, and it was lower on 19 of 21 claims.
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Most line-item differences were modest. On a typical repair priced by both sides, the adjuster’s figure was 1.20 times the insurer’s, and the insurer matched or beat the adjuster’s price on about a third of repairs. The largest dollar amounts came from a small number of very large gaps.
Tom McLaughlin, founder and CEO of Finch Claims, said the platform turns every estimate, policy, document and email into structured data, organized by claim, once an adjuster connects an inbox. Adjusters can then compare estimates line by line, trace each figure to its source and surface missing costs, conflicting details and facts buried deep in the file.
“Our job is to bring the truth of the claim to light and give public adjusters what they need to act on it,” McLaughlin said. “This report is what that record looks like across more than 11,000 claims.”
On 61 finished claims where a letter stated both sides’ figures, the claim typically settled at 1.41 times the insurer’s figure. Public adjusters had typically asked for 1.6 times. Across a broader set of 171 finished claims, the final amount was typically 37% above the insurer’s earliest recorded valuation.
Claims in the study generated a lot of paperwork. The typical claim involved about 77 emails across 17 threads, along with 16 stored files. The busiest 5% of claims topped 460 emails.
The median time from intake to final insurer payment was 321 days across 5,050 paid claims. Claims under $50,000 took a median 170 days, compared with 524 days for claims above $1 million.
Fire claims took the longest by cause of damage, at 378 days. Vehicle impact claims were resolved fastest, at 143 days.
Georgia had the longest typical timeline at 395 days, followed by Tennessee at 387 days and Delaware at 382 days. California was quickest at 186 days.
Policyholders tended to move quickly. The typical policyholder brought in a public adjuster 10 days after the loss, and 44.2% did so within a week.
Finch Claims builds claims intelligence software for public adjusters, including Estimate Comparison and Ask Finch. The full Q3 2026 State of the Claim Report is available at finchclaims.com, where firms can also book a demo. Findings come from public adjusters’ claim files and are not a representative national sample.