Roof claims

Recoverable depreciation on a roof: the holdback — and the trap under it.

Roof claims are where the holdback bites hardest, because roofs are expensive and depreciation on a 15-year-old roof is steep. They are also where a second, quieter mechanism hides: the roof payment schedule, which can make the depreciation non-recoverable no matter what you do. Two different fights — this page separates them.

The ordinary holdback, on a roof

The mechanics are the same as any other part of the house: first check = replacement cost − depreciation − deductible; finish the roof, send the signed final invoice and photos, and the depreciation is released up to what you spent. On a $20,000 roof with $8,000 of depreciation, that second payment is $8,000 — the single biggest check in most people's claim. Roof-specific frictions: the depreciation percentage itself (age scored from their inspection), drip edge / underlayment / code items missing from the scope (a supplement fight), and — if your state has one — the matching rule when the new shingles don't match the old slope. Matching rules by state are in the matching table.

The trap: the roof payment schedule

Many policies that advertise "replacement cost" carry a Roof Surface Payment Schedule endorsement. It pays the roof on an age curve instead: one carrier's published schedule (Kin) reduces asphalt shingles 4% per year, to a maximum 75% reduction at 19 years. Typical schedules across carriers run about 100% (0–5 years) → 80% → 60% → 40% → 25% at 20+ years.

The sentence that matters: money withheld under a payment schedule is not recoverable depreciation. There is no second check for it — finishing the roof perfectly and documenting everything changes nothing. Homeowners discover the endorsement at claim time, in the estimate's fine print.

What remains fightable on a scheduled roof: the age and material they scored (records of a newer roof or a different material change the band), the non-roof lines of the claim (decking, underlayment, flashing, interior water damage), and every other part of the house the same storm touched. The checker asks about the schedule explicitly and tells you which fight you're in.

How to find out which roof you have

  1. Pull your policy's endorsement list (the declarations page names them). Look for "roof surface," "payment schedule," or "roof settlement" in the endorsement titles.
  2. Read the estimate the adjuster sent: if a line shows depreciation marked recoverable, it's a holdback; if the roof line is paid at a schedule percentage with no recoverable column, it's a schedule.
  3. Ask the adjuster, in writing: "Is my roof settled under a payment schedule endorsement? Name the endorsement." A written answer is a document; a verbal one is a rumor.

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 working papers for this fight

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.

Included in the $39 DepreciationDecoded Kit

  • The proof packet: the completion-evidence checklist (final invoice, photos tied to the scope of loss, completion certificate) plus the submission letter that asks for release in the insurer's own language
  • The supplement request pack: how to document missed line items and code-required items, catch depreciation applied twice to the same line, and argue overhead and profit on multi-trade jobs — in the estimate's own line-item language
  • The state inserts: the labor-depreciation challenge and matching-law lines for your state, quoted from the dataset with their citations, ready to paste into any letter above
  • The deadline calendar worksheet: notice date, completion date, living-expense end, suit deadline — your dates entered once, every clock on one page
Get the $39 DepreciationDecoded Kit

One payment, yours to keep. We never ask you to upload your policy — you file everything yourself. See everything inside the kit →

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