Got a Hail Claim? Here Is How to Read It and What to Do Next.

Who the adjuster works for

An adjuster on your roof works for the insurance carrier. The task is to document covered damage with line items that survive audit. That frame can still produce a fair scope. It rarely produces a maximal scope without review. Expect the report to read like database output because many carriers still export pricing from standardized estimating libraries.

RCV, ACV, and the depreciation holdback

Replacement Cost Value (RCV) is the carrier’s scoped cost to restore like kind and quality today. Actual Cash Value (ACV) backs out depreciation for age and wear. A large holdback line on an older roof is ordinary. Most policies release held-back dollars after you complete scoped work and send invoices, but endorsement language controls the release. Read every endorsement before you cash a check that closes the file.

Mortgagees slow some checks. Endorsement rules differ when a bank still holds paper on the house. Build a week of administrative slack into your production calendar so a held check does not freeze tear-off day.

Overhead and profit

Overhead and profit (O&P) covers the cost to run trucks, payroll, insurance, supervision, and warranty backup. Trades scopes sometimes drop O&P when a desk reviewer calls the job straightforward. Roofing rarely stays a single trade once you expose decking, chimney flashings, skylight curbs, and mechanical supports. Missing O&P should trigger a written request to add it with a short contractor narrative that names coordination tasks.

Keep every email in one folder. Carriers reopen files months later and ask for the same PDF twice.

Line items people miss

Move past the field of shingles or panels. Separate line items often belong on gutters, downspouts, skylight flanges, pipe boots, satellite mounts, painted furnace vent caps, HVAC condenser coil guards, continuous valley metal, drip edge replacement, and starter strip courses that tear during removal. Each omission becomes cash out of your pocket unless you catch it during review. Stack carrier photos against what a roofer documents from the eaves.

Starter courses hide damage until someone lifts the first course. Ask early for a photo series that includes the eave edge before new material goes on.

Colorado matching law in plain terms

Colorado statute addresses uniform appearance after partial damage. Replacement of a slope may fail to match undamaged areas in color, texture, or profile. Courts and carriers fight the fact pattern daily. Carriers sometimes owe a broader replacement to produce a matched field. Your policy endorsements still matter. Ask how the carrier plans to match what the neighbors see from the street.

Code upgrades beyond cosmetic matching still belong inside honest supplements. Ice and water shield expansions, drip edge requirements, and nail schedule fixes sometimes trigger when someone actually opens the deck. Plan reviewers treat ignored code language like ignored hail tabs.

When the scope feels dangerously thin

Carrier totals that sit thousands below every detailed bid on your desk deserve a pause. A second roofer bid gives you comparison. Public adjusters and property attorneys earn their fee on large deltas. You keep the direct relationship with the carrier. We stay in our lane: detailed scope, code-correct assemblies, and a price you can hand to underwriting. We do not negotiate your claim as your agent.

Supplements remain normal on roofing work. Dry rot appears after tear-off, ice and water barriers expand when code demands them, and decking replacement squares grow once someone pulls nails. Politely document each finding with photos and dated notes. Carriers expect supplements on real jobs. Ghost supplements sink credibility.

Upgrade conversations belong on products. Numbers you can file beside the adjuster summary come from the estimate wizard.