Roof claim guides

Eight articles covering how a residential roof claim is actually settled — what each figure on the worksheet means, how to get the withheld half released, and the rules that decide the rest. Nothing here is a lead form.

What recoverable depreciation means The withheld half of your claim, why insurers hold it back, exactly how to get it released, and the deadline that ends the right to it. Start here
How to read an adjuster’s worksheet Where RCV, depreciation, ACV, net claim and O&P appear on the summary page, and which of those four totals is the cheque. Guide
ACV vs RCV policies One line on your declarations page decides whether a hail claim funds a new roof or a depreciated one. Plus the endorsements that quietly change the answer. Guide
What overhead and profit is, and when you’re owed it The ten-and-ten near the bottom of the summary: what it pays for, the trade-count test insurers apply, and how to make the case in writing. Guide
How to file a supplement The routine mechanism for closing the gap between the adjuster’s estimate and the job your roofer will actually perform — and the photographs it depends on. Guide
Matching statutes, and undamaged slopes When an insurer owes a full roof rather than one slope, the three approaches states take, and how to find the rule that applies where you live. Guide
Why roofers offer to cover your deductible It sounds like a discount. It is claim inflation, specifically illegal in at least 28 states, and the exposure lands on you as well as on the contractor. Guide
If you miss the completion deadline The recoverable depreciation expires. What to send before the date passes, what is left afterwards, and the one thing you must never agree to. Guide

How to use these

If a cheque has just arrived and it is far smaller than you expected, start with recoverable depreciation — that single article explains most of the surprise. If you are holding the estimate and cannot tell which number is which, start with the worksheet guide.

If you are not yet in a claim, the most valuable fifteen minutes you can spend is on your declarations page. Whether your roof is insured on a replacement cost or actual cash value basis is fixed at renewal and cannot be changed after a storm.

Every article works from the same figures the roof claim calculator uses, so you can move between them without re-reading your paperwork each time.

What these guides are not

They are general explanations of how standard residential property policies operate. They are not legal advice, claims advice or public adjusting, and they cannot tell you what your policy says — only your policy can do that. Where a question turns on your state’s law, we say so and point you at the department of insurance rather than guessing on your behalf.