The steps, in order
The money is released by a process, not by asking nicely on the phone. The process has four steps, and the order matters: the notice protects the clock, the work earns the money, the proof packet releases it, and the written demand closes it. Here is each step, in order.
The standard policy form gives you 180 days from the date of loss to notify the insurer of your intent to repair or replace and claim the full replacement cost. Send that notice in writing — a portal message or a letter you keep a dated copy of. It takes ten minutes and it is the cheapest protection in this entire fight. Your state may give you longer (California: 12 months minimum by law; Maryland: 2 years; New Mexico: no deadline allowed) — but the notice costs nothing and moots the argument. The exact wording is in the kit.
Depreciation is released against completed work, up to what you actually spent. Two disciplines decide whether the release is smooth: keep every invoice and receipt (the signed contractor invoice is the central document), and photograph each completed phase tied to the insurer's scope of loss. If the job runs in phases, you do not have to wait for the end — insurers release depreciation in stages as receipts for completed phases arrive. Send each phase's proof as it completes.
A phone call produces a promise; a packet produces a payment file. If any part of the scope grew (hidden damage, code-required items), that is a supplement — a separate documented request, covered in the kit's supplement pack.
If the insurer says you're late, the answer depends on which clock they mean. The 180-day figure in the standard form is a notice deadline. Your state's floor may be longer — and where it is, the floor wins. If you are late under every clock, the doors that remain are a written extension request (carriers grant them; good cause includes permit delays, material and contractor shortages, and the insurer's own delays) and a complaint to your state insurance department, which forces a written answer. The state table carries your floor and your department's door.
Run your own numbers. The free checker takes your state, your dates, and the figures on the insurer's estimate — and returns the dollars still held back, your real deadline, and the next document to send. Run the checker →
The pages above are the map. The kit is the paperwork: the proof packet that releases the money, the letters that protect the clocks, and the complaint pack for when the stall continues.
One payment, yours to keep. We never ask you to upload your policy — you file everything yourself. See everything inside the kit →