ACV stands for actual cash value: the replacement cost of the damaged roof minus depreciation for age and wear. On a replacement cost policy, ACV minus your deductible is usually the first check, and the withheld recoverable depreciation (what people call the depreciation check) is released after the work is completed and invoiced. On an actual cash value policy, or under a roof payment schedule, that depreciation may be non-recoverable.
Get My Free Estimate →- Start With the Summary Page: Where the Money Lives
- Then Read the Line Items
- Overhead and Profit: What "10 and 10" Means
- Find the Roof Endorsements in Your Own Policy
- What to Check Before Anyone Starts Work
- Missing Items and Partial Approvals
- If the Claim Was Denied
- Your Insurance Estimate Is Not a Contractor's Quote
- Get a Second Set of Eyes on It, Free
- FAQs
A roof insurance estimate has two parts: a summary page that shows the money, and line items that show the work. Read it in that order. The summary tells you what you're getting paid and when, and the line items tell you whether the insurer priced your actual roof.
Most of these documents come out of Xactimate, the estimating software most insurers use. That's why they all look alike: dense columns, abbreviations, and a stack of numbers nobody walks you through. Here's how to read yours.
Start With the Summary Page: Where the Money Lives
The summary (often labeled something like "Summary for Dwelling" or "Recap") answers one question: how much am I getting, and when. It stacks in a predictable order.
Replacement Cost Value (RCV). What the insurer says it costs to replace the damaged items today, before deductions. The big number at the top.
Less depreciation. The reduction for age and wear on the old roof. Depreciation splits two ways:
- Recoverable depreciation. Held back from the first payment and payable after the work is completed and invoiced. Typical on replacement cost policies.
- Non-recoverable depreciation. Not paid back. Typical on actual cash value policies, on some older roofs settled under a roof payment schedule, and on anything you choose not to repair.
If you see a column labeled "Dep %" or "Deprec," that is the percentage taken off that row. Our depreciation explained page covers how it works and when it comes back to you.
Actual Cash Value (ACV). RCV minus depreciation. On a replacement cost policy, this is the basis for the first check. If you're not sure which kind of policy you hold, ACV vs RCV roof insurance policies spells out the difference, and it drives your out-of-pocket more than anything else on the page.
Less deductible. Your share. Watch this line, because many policies apply a separate wind and hail deductible, sometimes a percentage of your dwelling coverage instead of a flat amount. If the number startles you, read how percentage wind and hail deductibles work and pull your declarations page.
Less prior payments. Anything already issued, such as for emergency tarping.
Net claim. What's coming now. Look nearby for a line showing the depreciation still recoverable after the roof is finished.
One illustration of the math
This is an illustration of how the arithmetic works, not a typical claim and not an estimate of your loss.
- Replacement cost (RCV): $20,000
- Recoverable depreciation: $6,000
- Actual cash value (ACV): $14,000
- Minus deductible: $2,000
- First payment: $12,000
- Recoverable depreciation released after the work is completed and invoiced: $6,000
The homeowner in that example doesn't get $20,000 up front. They get $12,000 now and $6,000 after the work is done, and their out-of-pocket is the deductible. If you have a mortgage, your lender may be named on the check and release the money in stages.
Then Read the Line Items
The line items are the scope of work. This is where you find out whether the insurer priced your roof.
The columns
Each row reads left to right: description, quantity, unit, unit price, tax, O&P (if applied), then RCV, depreciation and ACV for that row. Every row tells you what is being paid for and how much is held back. Go down the depreciation column line by line and see what was actually applied, because insurers differ on what they depreciate.
Units and abbreviations
- SQ = a roofing square, 100 square feet. A 24 SQ roof is 2,400 square feet of roof surface, not floor area.
- LF = linear feet (drip edge, ridge cap, step flashing, gutters).
- SF = square feet (underlayment, ice barrier, decking).
- EA = each (pipe jacks, vents).
- R&R = remove and replace.
- D&R = detach and reset (gutters, satellite dishes and similar items that come off and go back on).
Roof items worth checking for by name
- Tear-off and disposal, with the correct number of layers
- Underlayment
- Ice and water barrier at eaves and valleys
- Drip edge at eaves and rakes
- Starter course and ridge cap as their own lines
- Step and counter flashing, chimney flashing, pipe jacks and boots
- Roof vents, plus bath and kitchen exhaust terminations
- Steep-roof charge for steeper pitches and high-roof charge for roofs two stories or more
- Waste, which should reflect valleys, hips and dormers
- Debris removal
- Permit allowance
A general pattern on a short estimate
As a general pattern, not any one job: a first estimate can come back with a slope left out, ridge cap priced as regular shingle instead of its own linear-foot line, or a basic shingle listed where a laminated architectural shingle is actually installed. The documentation that fixes items like that is specific: measurements showing every slope with its pitch, a dated close-up of the shingle type, test squares and photos on the omitted slope, and a measured ridge run. If your roof has four slopes and the estimate measures three, that is a phone call worth making.
Overhead and Profit: What "10 and 10" Means
O&P is overhead and profit, often written "10 and 10," meaning 10% overhead and 10% profit, roughly 20% on top of the job. It reflects a general contractor coordinating the work, pulling permits, scheduling trades and standing behind the job.
Whether it is included depends on the insurer and the policy, and it is most often tied to losses that need real coordination across several trades, such as roofing plus gutters plus siding after a hailstorm. On a roof-only claim you may be told it doesn't apply. If your loss involves several trades and O&P is missing, it's a fair question to ask in writing: why wasn't general contractor overhead and profit applied? Ask for the answer in the claim file.
Find the Roof Endorsements in Your Own Policy
Two endorsements can change a roof claim more than anything an adjuster says, so check for them on your declarations page and the forms attached to it.
Roof payment schedule. Some policies settle an older roof on a sliding scale by age and material instead of full replacement cost, with the rest treated as non-recoverable depreciation. If you have one, there may be no second check.
Cosmetic damage exclusion. It lets the insurer decline hail dents that don't affect function, such as dented metal roofing, gutters, vent caps or trim. This is behind many "cosmetic only" denials.
Search the attached forms for "roof," "cosmetic," "windstorm" and "hail." If you can't find them, ask your agent in writing whether your policy has a roof payment schedule, a cosmetic damage exclusion or a percentage wind and hail deductible.
What to Check Before Anyone Starts Work
Measurements. Total squares, every slope counted, and the correct pitch. Pitch drives waste and steep charges, and an undersized roof shrinks every line below it.
Shingle type and layers. The wrong shingle grade means the wrong material cost. Two layers up there against one layer of tear-off on the estimate means the wrong labor and disposal.
Code-required items. Local building departments decide what a reroof needs, including how far up from the eave the ice barrier must run, and they differ on permits and inspections. Have your contractor confirm the requirements, then make sure those items appear as line items.
Everything else the hail hit. Gutters, downspouts, fascia wrap, vent caps, flashing, window wraps, AC condenser fins and siding. Hail that bruised a roof rarely stopped at the roofline. For the bigger picture, see our guide to hail damage roof replacement and what insurance covers.
Anything a roofer found that the estimate skipped. Soft decking, failed pipe boots, crushed ridge vent. Photograph it before tear-off, because once the old roof is in the dumpster the evidence is gone.
Your deadline. Replacement cost policies usually set a time limit for completing the work and submitting the final invoice to collect the held-back depreciation. Find that date in your policy or ask your adjuster in writing, and if weather pushes the job, ask in writing for an extension.
Not sure the scope matches your roof? A free on-site inspection can compare it against what's actually up there. Call Buckshot Exteriors at (608) 909-9109.
Want a straight answer on your roof?
We'll inspect it, document everything, and tell you honestly what you're looking at, even if the answer is patch it for now. No pressure.
Missing Items and Partial Approvals
If something is missing or mispriced, don't argue; document it. The request to revise an estimate is called a supplement, and it works best with dated photos of the specific condition, accurate measurements, a written scope from your contractor, and any building department requirement behind the item. Supplements also happen mid-job, when decking that looked sound turns out to be soft; that gets photographed and submitted before it's covered back up.
If only one slope was approved, or a repair instead of a replacement, ask for the adjuster's photos, measurements and test-square results so you can see what they counted and where. Then have a roofer document the other slopes with dated close-ups, and request a reinspection in writing if the documentation disagrees with the inspection.
If your shingle is discontinued, get written confirmation from a supplier that it's no longer available and ask the insurer in writing how they'll handle a repair that can't match.
We meet insurance adjusters on site to document hail and wind damage. It's part of our storm damage and hail restoration work, and there's more on our insurance claims help page.
If the Claim Was Denied
A denial usually comes with one of a few labels: wear and tear, no storm damage, or cosmetic damage only. Ask for the denial in writing with the exact policy language and the adjuster's photos. Hail bruising looks different from age-related cracking and granule loss, and close-ups of fractured shingles, dated storm reports and spatter marks on soft metals help show what happened.
Then escalate in order: a reinspection with your contractor present, the appraisal clause many policies include for disputes over the amount of the loss, and a complaint to the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance if you believe the claim was handled improperly.
Your Insurance Estimate Is Not a Contractor's Quote
They are two different documents, and they won't match line for line. The insurance estimate is the insurer's opinion of scope and price from a software database. A contractor's quote is a specific company telling you what it will install, how, and for what price.
A reputable contractor works inside the approved scope, flags what's missing, and supplements with documentation instead of quietly cutting corners to make the money fit. To compare the two side by side, here's how to read a contractor's roofing estimate and its line items, and here's what a complete residential roofing scope covers.
Two more things: your deductible is yours to pay, and any offer to waive, rebate or hide it can amount to insurance fraud with your name on the claim. And you choose your contractor; an insurer's preferred list is optional.
Get a Second Set of Eyes on It, Free
If you're holding a stack of pages full of RCV, Dep % and ACV with no idea whether you've been treated fairly, a free on-site inspection can help you read the estimate against what's actually on your roof.
Buckshot Exteriors is family-owned and has been in business since 1979, with offices in Madison, Wisconsin and Centerville, Iowa. We meet insurance adjusters on site to document hail and wind damage, and we keep a 24-hour storm line. You can read what local homeowners say in our customer reviews.
Call (608) 909-9109 for a free on-site inspection. Bring the paperwork.
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