On a Replacement Cost policy, your roof claim is paid in two checks. The first is the Actual Cash Value — the depreciated amount — issued when the claim is approved. The second is the recoverable depreciation, released after the work is completed. That second check is often the larger of the two, and it is the one homeowners most often lose.
Why it gets lost: there is a deadline, and a condition. The carrier will only release recoverable depreciation once the work is actually completed and you submit the final invoice and proof. Most policies put a time limit on that — commonly six months to a year from the date of loss, though it varies by carrier and state. Miss the window, or never complete the work to the approved scope, and the depreciation stays with the carrier.
The trap is the ACV check that feels like enough. A homeowner gets the first check, finds a roofer who will do a partial or cut-rate job for roughly that amount, and calls it done. The roof is technically replaced, but the documentation needed to recover the depreciation was never produced, or the deadline quietly passed. The second check — sometimes the bigger half of the claim — is forfeited.
What actually triggers the release: the completed scope matches the approved estimate, the invoice reflects it, and the paperwork is submitted before the deadline. Drip edge, underlayment, flashing, ridge — if the approved scope included them and the work did not, the carrier can hold the depreciation.
This is documentation work, and it is exactly the part most roofers skip. We complete the roof to the approved scope, invoice to match it, and submit the proof the carrier needs to release the recoverable depreciation before the clock runs out. Don ran claims from the adjuster's side for five years — he knows what the carrier requires to cut that second check, and what gives them a reason not to.
If you have an open claim and an ACV check sitting in a drawer, the most useful thing you can do is find out what your deadline is. We will read your paperwork with you and tell you honestly how much is still recoverable.
