Alternative dispute resolution, party-appointed appraisal, neutral umpire service, expert witness testimony, and litigation support on property damage scope, causation, valuation, and claims handling standards. Retained by policyholder counsel and by insurer and defense counsel, and appointed as a neutral under the policy appraisal clause.
Six situations account for most retentions.
Retained opinions and testimony on property damage scope, causation, actual cash value and replacement cost, estimating methodology, and depreciation, supported by a written report meeting the applicable disclosure rules.
Areas of opinionOpinion work on whether a claim was investigated, documented, reserved, and adjusted consistent with accepted property and casualty customs and practices, informed by leadership built inside carriers.
Claims handling standardsService as a competent and independent party-appointed appraiser under the policy appraisal clause, separately stating actual cash value, replacement cost, and the amount of loss.
How appraisal worksUmpire appointments accepted by agreement of the appraisers or by court appointment, with disclosure of anything bearing on impartiality made up front.
Umpire serviceTranslation of loss facts, coverage questions, and scope gaps into a clear technical position for mediation or arbitration, including a damages narrative counsel can use at the table.
ADR supportSend the caption, the parties, counsel of record, and the carrier. Most checks clear the same day, before any substantive discussion of the matter.
Run a conflict checkAn opinion on how a property claim should have been scoped, valued, or handled is only as good as the experience behind it. This practice is led by Chris Chambers, an Executive General Adjuster who spent more than 25 years inside the work: catastrophe deployments, slab team leadership after Hurricane Katrina, and commercial losses valued up to $85 million, along with carrier-side leadership inside national property and casualty carriers.
That record supports opinions that are specific rather than theoretical. Where the question is whether a roof system failed from wind or from age, whether an estimate captured the scope the policy owes, whether an actual cash value calculation applied depreciation correctly, or whether a claim was investigated consistent with accepted industry customs and practices, the analysis comes from having done the work.
The practice is balanced by design. The firm accepts retention from both sides of the bar and serves as a neutral. That balance is itself part of the qualification, and it is what makes the same discipline usable in an appraisal panel, in a mediation, in a deposition, and in front of a jury.
Work concentrates on first-party property claims, the valuation mechanisms that resolve them, and the standards that govern how they are investigated, scoped, valued, and paid.
Retained expert opinions and testimony delivered in clear, defensible language for attorneys, mediators, arbitrators, judges, and juries. Written expert reports meeting the applicable disclosure rules, deposition testimony, and trial testimony, grounded in real catastrophe and large loss experience rather than theory.
Non testifying analysis, early case assessment, estimate reconstruction, identification of scope and documentation gaps, and support for examination of the opposing expert. Often the least expensive point in a matter to find out what the file actually supports.
Service as a competent and independent appraiser under the policy appraisal clause, separately stating actual cash value, replacement cost, and the amount of loss, then working the panel toward an award. A disciplined path to resolve disputed valuations without protracted litigation.
Impartial umpire service when the two party-appointed appraisers cannot agree. Scope, causation, and valuation evaluated on the evidence, with a fair and timely decision that any two of the three panel members can sign. Procedural fairness, disclosure up front, and no stake in the outcome.
Technical analysis and support for mediation and arbitration. Complex loss facts, coverage questions, and scope gaps translated into clear, defensible positions and a damages narrative that strengthens the technical foundation for negotiation.
Opinion work on whether a claim was investigated, documented, reserved, and adjusted consistent with accepted property and casualty customs and practices. This is the industry standards analysis at the center of most first party coverage and extracontractual disputes.
Whether the damage claimed was caused by the covered peril, by an excluded cause, by wear and deferred maintenance, or by pre existing conditions. Actual cash value and replacement cost analysis, depreciation methodology, overhead and profit, and code upgrade and ordinance or law considerations.
How catastrophe operations are staffed, supervised, and quality controlled, what is reasonable under surge conditions, how large commercial losses differ from daily claims, and flood claim handling under the National Flood Insurance Program at every authority level.
Service as a designated corporate or party representative where a proceeding requires senior claims expertise at the table, including technical liaison and claims subject matter support through the life of the matter.
| NAICS | Description | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 541990 | All Other Professional, Scientific and Technical Services | Primary here |
| 541690 | Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services | Secondary |
| 524291 | Claims Adjusting | Firm primary |
Okla Risk Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. The firm's principal is not a licensed attorney. The Master of Legal Studies is a non-attorney graduate degree. Nothing on this page is an offer to represent any party or a prediction of any outcome.
Rules and reference material that come up in retention discussions and in qualification sections.
Okla Risk Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. These links are provided for reference only.
Both. The practice is deliberately balanced. The firm accepts retention from policyholder counsel and from insurer and defense counsel, and serves as a party-appointed appraiser or as a neutral umpire under the policy appraisal clause. Opinions follow the facts regardless of which side retains the firm.
Property damage scope and causation, valuation including actual cash value and replacement cost, estimating methodology and depreciation, catastrophe and large loss claim practices, NFIP flood claims, and industry claims handling and bad faith standards. The opinions rest on more than 25 years of catastrophe experience and an Executive General Adjuster designation.
Yes. The firm provides written reports, deposition testimony, and trial testimony, along with pre suit consulting, mediation and arbitration support, and appraisal process representation. A curriculum vitae, fee schedule, and testimony list are available on request.
Same day in most cases. Send the caption, the parties, counsel of record, and the carrier, and the firm will confirm availability and clearance before any substantive discussion of the matter.
Yes. The firm accepts umpire appointments by agreement of the appraisers or by court appointment. In that role the firm takes no position for either party, evaluates scope, causation, and valuation on the evidence, and renders a decision that any two of the three panel members may sign.
No. The firm accepts one role per matter. A party-appointed appraiser does not also serve as a retained testifying expert in the same dispute, and a file the firm adjusted is not one it will opine on as a neutral. Role conflicts are cleared before any substantive discussion.
Counsel, carriers, and appraisal panels can request a curriculum vitae, fee schedule, testimony list, and availability for a specific matter. Conflict checks are usually cleared the same day.
Okla Risk Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. The firm does not act as a public adjuster and does not represent policyholders. The firm is not affiliated with or endorsed by FEMA, DHS, SBA, BIA, IHS, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, or any other government or tribal government. Indian Economic Enterprise status is self-certified under the Buy Indian Act and the SBA 8(a) application is pending. Read the full disclosures.