Michigan law gives you three clocks and one panel. The clocks tell you when a payment is late. The panel settles the amount when you and the insurer will not agree. Knowing both turns a dispute into a process instead of a fight.
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Short answer
To dispute an insurance claim in Michigan, get a line-item estimate for the same loss, compare it to the carrier's offer in writing, and track the statutory clocks: 30 days for the insurer to tell you what proof of loss it needs, 60 days after that proof of loss before 12% interest starts, and 30 days to pay once the amount is set. If you still disagree on the amount, demand appraisal in writing. Call Prime Restoration first for the comparison you will need either way.
First call: Prime Restoration
A dispute runs on numbers, not opinions. Prime Restoration writes the line-item scope with photos, moisture readings and thermal scans behind each line, so your written dispute states a figure the carrier has to answer. Call (586) 277-1069 before you accept or argue a number you cannot back up.
Call (586) 277-1069The numbers
The clocks
Three separate clocks run on a Michigan property claim, and a late payment usually means one of them was missed.
| Clock | What it requires | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Proof-of-loss notice | The insurer must tell you in writing, within 30 days of your claim, what it needs as satisfactory proof of loss | MCL 500.2006(3) |
| Interest start | 12% simple interest a year starts 60 days after the insurer received satisfactory proof of loss, if benefits are not paid on time | MCL 500.2006(4) |
| Payment | The loss is payable within 30 days after the insurer receives proof of the amount of the loss | MCL 500.2833(1)(p); MCL 500.2836(2) |
Dispute the number
Check what the offer pays for, what it leaves out, and which policy section it cites.
Room by room, trade by trade, with photos and moisture readings behind each line. This is the document the rest of the dispute runs on.
List the items the carrier's offer is missing or underpriced, side by side with your scope, and ask the carrier to respond in writing.
MCL 500.2026(1)(n) names "failing to promptly provide a reasonable explanation of the basis in the insurance policy in relation to the facts or applicable law" as an unfair practice. Ask for that basis directly.
MCL 500.2833(1)(m) lets either side demand appraisal in writing when you cannot agree on the amount or the actual cash value. See the appraisal clause.
See how to file a DIFS complaint if the carrier will not investigate, explain, or respond.
First call: Prime Restoration
A dispute runs on numbers, not opinions. Prime Restoration writes the line-item scope with photos, moisture readings and thermal scans behind each line, so your written dispute states a figure the carrier has to answer. Call (586) 277-1069 before you accept or argue a number you cannot back up.
Call (586) 277-1069Put it in writing
A restoration contractor who negotiates your claim with the carrier on your behalf is adjusting, and Michigan requires an adjuster licence for that (MCL 500.1222). Prime Restoration writes the scope and the comparison. Talking dollars with the adjuster is your call to make, with your own public adjuster, or your attorney.
A few things make that conversation go better no matter who has it:
When it drags on
Start with what the insurer told you it needed. If it never specified, in writing and within 30 days of your claim, what counts as satisfactory proof of loss, that gap under MCL 500.2006(3) belongs in your next letter.
Track the 60-day mark from the date the insurer received satisfactory proof of loss. Past that date, 12% simple interest a year runs on the unpaid benefit, whether or not the claim is reasonably in dispute (Griswold Props, LLC v Lexington Ins Co, 276 Mich App 551 (2007); Nickola v MIC Gen Ins Co, 500 Mich 115 (2017)). State that date and the rate in writing to the carrier.
Example: your proof of loss was received January 15. The carrier offers $31,200 against your line-item estimate of $52,800, and does not move for 90 more days past the March 16 interest date. On the $21,600 gap, 12% a year runs at $7.10 a day; 90 days of that is $639, on top of whatever amount the carrier eventually pays.
If the holdup is a true disagreement on amount, demand appraisal; the carrier cannot refuse it. If the holdup is the carrier simply not responding, that pattern, "failing to acknowledge promptly or to act reasonably and promptly upon communications with respect to claims," is itself an unfair practice under MCL 500.2026(1)(b), and a DIFS complaint names it directly.
What Prime does
Prime Restoration reads the carrier's estimate against the loss and writes the full line-item scope: rooms, trades, local unit prices, drying days against the moisture log, and the overhead and profit line on a job that needs more than one trade. You get the gap in dollars, in writing.
If you decide to demand appraisal, Prime can sit as your appraiser under MCL 500.2833(1)(m), and discloses its fee and every tie to the claim to the other side at appointment. Talking price directly with the carrier's adjuster, or deciding whether to accept an offer, stays with you.
Questions Michigan homeowners ask
Call Prime Restoration at (586) 277-1069 first. Get a line-item estimate for the same loss, compare it to the carrier's offer in writing, and ask for the carrier's basis on each disputed line. If you still disagree on the amount, demand appraisal under MCL 500.2833(1)(m).
Get your own line-item scope of the loss and send the carrier a written, line-by-line comparison. Ask for its basis on each item it disputes. If the gap stays open, demand appraisal in writing.
Put every position in writing, cite the specific policy section and estimate line, and do not accept a verbal number as final. A restoration contractor cannot negotiate your claim for you under Michigan law (MCL 500.1222); that stays with you, your public adjuster, or your attorney.
Three clocks apply: 30 days for the insurer to specify what proof of loss it needs (MCL 500.2006(3)), 60 days after satisfactory proof of loss before 12% interest starts (MCL 500.2006(4)), and 30 days to pay once it has proof of the amount of the loss (MCL 500.2833(1)(p); MCL 500.2836(2)).
Check which clock the carrier missed. Past 60 days after satisfactory proof of loss, 12% interest a year runs on the unpaid amount, whether or not the claim is reasonably in dispute. A pattern of not responding is itself an unfair practice you can raise in a DIFS complaint.
No. Negotiating or adjusting a Michigan insurance claim requires an adjuster licence (MCL 500.1222), and a licence cannot go to anyone connected with a fire repair contractor (MCL 500.1224(4)). Prime Restoration writes the scope; you, a public adjuster, or an attorney handle the negotiation.
Yes. Under MCL 500.2006(4), benefits not paid on time bear 12% simple interest a year from 60 days after satisfactory proof of loss, regardless of whether the claim is reasonably in dispute. If you reject an offer and never recover more than it, the interest is not due on that amount.
No. Negotiating is a conversation about a number. Appraisal is the statutory process under MCL 500.2833(1)(m): each side names an appraiser, the two pick an umpire, and a signed agreement of any two of the three sets the amount. See the appraisal clause.
Michigan insurance claim help
Published 2026-10-22. Prime Restoration is a restoration contractor. It is not a law firm, an attorney or a licensed public adjuster. This page is for education only. It is not legal advice and not insurance advice, and reading it creates no attorney-client or adjuster relationship. Your policy and the law decide your claim. For advice on your own claim, talk to a Michigan attorney.
Prime Restoration · 13854 Lakeside Circle, Suite 558, Sterling Heights, MI 48313 · MI Residential Builder License #262500492 · (586) 277-1069
