If you've recently filed a homeowners roof insurance claim for roof damage, you may have noticed that your initial payout was lower than you expected. Before you accept that number as final, there's something important to understand: what is recoverable depreciation and how it could mean hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars still owed to you.
When a storm damages your roof, your insurance company doesn't simply write a check for the full cost of a new one. Instead, most standard homeowners policies start by calculating what your roof was worth at the time of the damage, not what it costs to replace it today. This calculation factors in the age and condition of your roof, which results in a reduced initial payout.
This process involves two key figures:
The gap between those two numbers is called depreciation. And whether or not you can recover it depends on the type of policy you have.
Not all homeowners insurance policies work the same way. An ACV policy only pays the depreciated value of your roof and nothing more. What you receive upfront is the final payment, regardless of what roof repairs actually cost.
An RCV policy, on the other hand, is a two-step process. The insurer first releases the ACV payment so you can begin repairs. Once the work is completed and documented, you can submit a claim for the remaining balance, the recoverable depreciation, to make up the difference between the ACV and the full replacement cost.
Before filing a claim, it's worth pulling out your policy documents and confirming which type of coverage you have.
Recoverable depreciation is the portion of your roof's total roof replacement cost that your insurance company withholds from your initial claim payment. It represents the difference between the ACV and the RCV on a replacement cost value policy.
Here's a simplified example:
Once you complete the roof replacement and submit proof of the completed work, your insurer releases that $3,500 in a supplemental payment. That money is yours, but only if you take the right steps to claim it.
Insurance companies use several variables to determine how much depreciation to deduct from your claim:
Louisville homeowners are no strangers to significant storm damage. Between spring hailstorms, summer severe weather, and winter ice, roofs in this area take a real beating year after year. After a major storm event, it's common for claims to involve meaningful depreciation holdbacks; which makes understanding the recovery process that much more important.
Learn how the age of your roof can impact insurance here: The Hidden Insurance Impact: Does the Age of Your Roof Affect Insurance Rates?
Recovering withheld depreciation isn't automatic. It requires action on your part. Here are the general steps involved:
It's not uncommon for homeowners to receive an initial claim settlement that doesn't fully reflect the cost of repairs. If you believe your payout was too low, you have options. You can request a re-inspection, hire a public adjuster to review your claim, or work with an experienced local roofing contractor who can document and communicate the full scope of storm damage on your behalf.
Louisville homeowners dealing with hail, wind, or ice damage often find that having a knowledgeable roofing contractor involved from the beginning makes a significant difference in how smoothly the claims process goes.
At 44 Roofing & Construction, we work with homeowners throughout Louisville and the surrounding areas to make the insurance claims process as straightforward as possible. As GAF Master Elite certified contractors with an A+ BBB rating, we provide thorough roof inspections, including free drone inspections, to document storm damage accurately and support your claim from start to finish. If your roof was recently damaged and you're not sure whether you've recovered everything you're owed, contact us today for a free inspection.
