Appraisal interest calculator
The award was higher than what the carrier paid. Calculate the statutory interest on that gap — and check whether the interest the carrier sent was enough.
Why appraisal doesn’t automatically end the interest
Appraisal settles one thing: the amount of loss. It does not decide whether that amount was paid on time. Three Texas Supreme Court decisions put that distinction into law:
- Barbara Technologies Corp. v. State Farm Lloyds, 589 S.W.3d 806 (Tex. 2019) — an insurer’s payment of an appraisal award is not an acknowledgment of liability and does not, by itself, bar a claim for prompt-payment damages.
- Alvarez v. State Farm Lloyds, 601 S.W.3d 781 (Tex. 2020) — applied the same rule.
- Hinojos v. State Farm Lloyds, 619 S.W.3d 651 (Tex. 2021) — a reasonable payment made within the statutory deadline does not protect the insurer from interest on the amounts it owed but had not paid when the deadline expired.
So the calculation is: what did the policy owe (the award, less the deductible), what had been paid by the deadline, and how long did the rest take? Interest runs on the unpaid balance from the deadline until each later payment — usually the award payment — brings it down.
A worked example
A weather claim is made in 2024. The carrier receives what it requested and its §542.058 deadline passes on May 21, 2024. It has paid $48,000. Appraisal awards $226,500 and the deductible is $2,500, so the policy owed $224,000. The carrier pays the remaining $176,000 on July 18, 2025 — 423 days late. At 12.00%, the interest on $176,000 for 423 days is $24,476.05. At 18% it would be $36,714.08.
What changed in 2024: Rodriguez v. Safeco
In Rodriguez v. Safeco Insurance Co. of Indiana (Tex. Feb. 2, 2024), the Texas Supreme Court held that in a Chapter 542A weather case, an insurer that pays the appraisal award plus any statutory interest that could be owed leaves nothing to be “awarded in the judgment” on the claim, so the formula in §542A.007(a)(3) allows no attorney’s fees. Since then many carriers pay an interest figure along with the award. That makes the calculation itself the issue: was the right deadline used? The right rate? Were the earlier partial payments credited on the right dates? Enter what they paid in the “interest already paid” box to see whether it falls short.
Enter the award as the amount of loss under the policy’s valuation (replacement cost or actual cash value, as the award states). If the award separates recoverable depreciation that only becomes payable after repairs, that portion may have a different due date — model it as a separate component in the main calculator.
Questions about this tool
Does Hinojos apply to weather claims under Chapter 542A?
Yes. The holding concerns §542.058 and §542.060, which apply to weather claims too; Chapter 542A changes the rate (to the floating §542.060(c) rate) and adds notice and attorney-fee rules.
The carrier paid the award with interest. Is there anything left?
Possibly not — but check the math. A different start date, the wrong rate, or partial payments credited too early can all understate the interest. If the payment fully covered every possible dollar of statutory interest, Rodriguez means attorney’s fees under §542A.007 are unlikely in a weather case.
My appraisal was years ago. Is it too late?
Limitations depends on the policy’s suit clause and when the claim for interest accrued; it is a legal question for an attorney. Contractual limits can’t be shorter than two years in Texas (§16.070).
Related tools
Statutory interest calculator
§542.060 interest on late payments, partial payments and supplements, at 18% or the floating rate.
Open toolJudgment interest rate tracker
Every OCCC §304.003 rate since 2005 and the matching §542.060(c) rate (12.00% now).
Open tool542A notice & fee calculator
61-day pre-suit notice dates, the insurer’s inspection window and the attorney-fee ratio.
Open toolThink your claim was paid late? Let’s run the timeline.
Send us your claim file for a free review. We rebuild the dates, calculate the statutory interest and tell you plainly whether there is anything to recover. No upfront cost. Texas claims only.