Mahnke

When an insurer and its insured fail to agree on the amount of loss following a fire, the Insurance Code requires each of them to select a “competent and disinterested appraiser,” who are in turn required to agree on a “competent and disinterested umpire” (or request appointment of one by the court) to form a three-member panel to adjudge the amount of loss. (Ins. Code, § 2071.) California courts have concluded this adjudication must be conducted pursuant to the provisions of the California Arbitration Act, Code of Civil Procedure section 1280 et seq. (Arbitration Act). (See, e.g., Lambert v. Carneghi (2008) 158 Cal.App.4th 1120, 1129 [ 70 Cal.Rptr.3d 626 ].)

Section 1281.9 of the Arbitration Act requires proposed neutral arbitrators to disclose to opposing parties the existence of any potential grounds for disqualification. If a party objects to the proposed neutral arbitrator, section 1281.91 requires the objecting party to serve a notice of disqualification within 15 days of receipt of the disclosure statement. Do these disclosure and disqualification provisions apply only to the jointly proposed umpire in a loss appraisal proceeding or also to the “competent and…