Mediation & Other Services

Alabama Public Adjusters Site Homepage Video (2)_edited.jpg

Mediation, Appraisal, and Umpire Services in Alabama

Alabama MEDIATION SERVICES

Jonathan Alden's diverse background—spanning automobile claims adjustment, public property insurance adjusting (including storm damage for homes and commercial properties), law enforcement, commercial banking, and his roles as an attorney and mediator—provides him with a unique perspective for mediating a wide range of cases and disputes.

Jonathan is listed on the Roster of Alabama State Court Mediators of the Alabama Center for Dispute Resolution.

other services offered through gulf coast dispute resolution

Appraisal and Umpire Services
If you and your insurance company disagree on the value of your property insurance claim, hiring a lawyer is not your only option.

Property Insurance Appraiser and Umpire

Jonathan Alden is an Insurance Appraisal and Umpire Association (IAUA) Certified Appraiser and Umpire as well as a Windstorm Insurance Network Certified Appraiser and Umpire.

What is an IAUA Certified Appraiser and Umpire?
Those who hold an IAUA certification have passed an examination administered by the IAUA, an organization that exists to maintain the highest level of professional standards and services for the purposes of protecting the rights of the insured and insurers in the appraisal process.

What is a Windstorm Insurance Network Certified Appraiser and Umpire?
Those who hold a Windstorm Insurance Network certification have completed a program that focuses on ethics and professionalism, process, case law, and the “how-to” of acting as a property insurance appraiser.

How does the insurance appraisal process work?
According to the Insurance Appraisal and Umpire Association, the insurance appraisal process is a policy provision found in the Loss Settlement section. It is a form of alternative dispute resolution, which can resolve a disagreement when the carrier and policyholder do not agree on the amount of loss.

Once the insurance appraisal clause is invoked, the insured's appraiser and the insurance carrier's appraiser will estimate the damage and try to come to an agreement on the amount of loss. If the appraisers fail to agree, they will submit their differences to the umpire.

What does an insurance umpire do?
When a property owner has filed a claim under their property insurance, but the property owner’s appraiser and the insurance company’s appraiser cannot come to an agreement, an insurance appraisal umpire is called in to resolve the dispute. Both parties must agree on the appraisal umpire. Once agreed upon, the appraisal umpire will decide between both positions.

According to the Insurance Appraisal and Umpire Association, an itemized decision agreed to by two of these three will set the amount of loss. Such award shall be binding. Each party will pay its own appraiser and bear the other expenses of the appraisal and umpire equally.

Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution

Experience

Unlike most attorney mediators, Jonathan Alden has years of experience as a public adjuster. He adjusted thousands of insurance claims for homeowners and business owners involving damage and losses caused by hurricanes, other storms, wind, rain, and flooding. Damages caused by wind and water can be extensive, and the terms of property insurance policies can be very confusing.

A property dispute mediator with extensive experience handling such property insurance claims can save parties time and money by quickly grasping the issues and constructively helping the parties negotiate a reasonable and fair resolution.

Certifications & Admissions

Mediator Jonathan Alden is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil Mediator (Registration number 40631-R) and is a Louisiana Civil Mediator qualified under LA R.S. 9:4106 and listed on the LSBA ADR Section’s Mediator Registry. Jonathan is also listed on the Roster of Alabama State Court Mediators of the Alabama Center for Dispute Resolution.

About Jonathan Alden

Jonathan served as an Independent Adjuster in New York City from 1994 to 2003, handling more than 15,000 losses involving collisions and recovered thefts.

In 2019, he began working as a Public Adjuster and adjusted over 1,000 hurricane claims in 2020. He is licensed as a Public Adjuster in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and South Carolina, and now serves as a mediator, appraiser, and umpire.

Jonathan is a Certified Appraiser and Umpire through the Insurance Appraisal and Umpire Association and the Windstorm Insurance Network. He is also a Certified Fire Investigator through the National Fire Academy and the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress, a Certified Fire and Smoke Damage Restoration Technician through the IICRC, and a member of the International Association of Arson Investigators.

Jonathan is admitted to practice law in New York, Florida, and Alabama and is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil Mediator.