While adjusters are generally well-trained, they are not professional roofing contractors, so it is not unheard of for them to miss important items that need repaired or replaced. It is very common for your contractor and adjustor to reconcile costs at the end of the project to come up with the final number.

There are some terms in your insurance contract that you need to be aware of … Replacement Cost Value (RCV), Actual Cash Value (ACV) and Depreciation. Almost everything loses value over time… and building components used to construct homes and buildings deteriorate as they age, thus reducing the value of your property. An insurance adjuster will calculate the amount of your claim settlement by figuring in the deductible and the deprecation of your property. If you have a policy that has ACV coverage, you will need to come up with the difference in the price of replacing or repairing your roof. Let’s take an example … let’s assume your roof costs $20,000 to completely replace, but you only receive a check from the insurance company for $15,000. You are responsible for the additional $5,000 to complete the job. With RCV, first you’ll receive the actual cash value check of $15,000, and later, once the damage is repaired, you’ll receive a second check that covers the difference between the ACV and RCV – the $5,000.

The most common roofing type, asphalt shingles, tend to have a life expectancy of 25 years. In general, the roof depreciates at about 4% per year. Now assume your roof is 10 years old and a recent hailstorm requires that you replace the entire roof. 10 years times 4% depreciation is 40%, so the ACV is 60%. That means if your roof costs $10,000 to replace, you will receive $6,000 minus your deductible and you are responsible for the $4,000 plus deductible.