Midwest hail damage settlements · third generation, since 1947
Collecting Recoverable Depreciation On A Roof Claim
The carrier held part of your roof money back. Getting it released is a paperwork exercise with a deadline attached, and it is the step homeowners most often leave on the table.
Short answer
Recoverable depreciation is the portion of a roof settlement your carrier holds back until the work is finished. You collect it by completing the roof, then sending the carrier a final invoice that matches the approved scope, a certificate of completion carrying the completion date, and dated photographs of the finished roof, with a written request to release the recoverable depreciation. Most carriers pay within two or three weeks of a clean submission. Nearly all of them attach a deadline, commonly one year from the date of loss, after which that held-back money is gone even though the damage was covered.
The second check is your money, held on a condition
A replacement cost policy pays a roof in two parts. The first check reflects the roof's depreciated value on the day the storm hit, less your deductible. The rest sits with the carrier until somebody proves the roof got built. That structure exists to stop people from pocketing a settlement and living under the same damaged shingles, which is a reasonable thing for an insurer to want. What it means practically is that the second check is not a bonus, a rebate or a negotiation. It is the balance of the roof you already own, and the only thing standing between you and it is a submission that matches.
What a clean release request contains
A final invoice on contractor letterhead
Totaling the approved replacement cost scope, with the claim number and date of loss printed on it. The company name has to match the name on the file.
A certificate of completion
Signed, with an actual completion date. Carriers use that date to confirm the work landed inside the policy window.
Dated photographs of the finished roof
Every elevation, plus the ridge and the penetrations. Two minutes of work that removes an entire round of questions.
The permit and final inspection card
Where the municipality issues them. Not every jurisdiction does, and carriers ask for them in the ones that do.
Approved supplement documentation
Anything added after the original scope needs its own written approval attached, or the invoice total will not reconcile.
A short cover request in writing
One paragraph asking for release of the recoverable depreciation, sent by email so the request carries a timestamp you can point to later.
The deadline almost nobody circles
Policies set a window for completing the work and claiming the balance. One year from the date of loss is the most common figure we see across Midwest carriers, though some allow two and a few commercial forms run shorter. When the window closes, the held-back money stays with the carrier. After a big regional hail event, material and crews back up, and a roof scheduled in good faith in September can slide past a spring deadline. Ask for an extension in writing before the date passes. Carriers grant those routinely for a documented backlog and almost never grant them once the window has already shut.
Why submissions get kicked back
The most common reason is that the final invoice comes in under the approved replacement cost figure. Carriers pay the lesser of what they approved and what you actually spent, so a discounted invoice reduces the release rather than putting the difference in your pocket. After that it is name mismatches, a missing completion date, upgrade lines blended into the same invoice, supplements billed but never formally approved, and a lender endorsement nobody started until the check arrived. None of those are arguments. They are formatting problems, and they cost weeks each.
Upgrades change the arithmetic
If you moved up to a Class 4 impact-resistant shingle or a premium color, the carrier still owes replacement cost for like-kind material only. The upgrade difference is yours to pay, and it does not increase what gets released. Keep it as a separate line or a separate invoice so the release is not held up while somebody tries to reconcile a total that does not match the scope. The upgrade has its own payoff on a different page of your file: a UL 2218 Class 4 rating earns a premium credit with most carriers, which is a conversation with your agent rather than your adjuster.
What we submit, and when
We assemble the release packet the same week the crew finishes and send the homeowner the identical PDF that goes to the carrier, so nobody is guessing about what was filed. If the file is quiet at fourteen days, we call. Seventy-nine years of doing this in the Midwest has taught us that the difference between a two-week release and a two-month release is almost never the adjuster. It is whether the packet arrived complete the first time.
Questions we get on this one
How long does a carrier take to release depreciation?
A complete submission usually turns around in two to three weeks. Incomplete ones take as long as it takes somebody to notice what is missing and email you about it, which can easily add a month. Sending everything at once, in one email, with the claim number in the subject line, is the single biggest thing you control here.
What if the final invoice comes in under the insurance estimate?
Then the release is reduced to the invoice figure, because the policy pays the lesser of the two. This is why a contractor offering to knock the price down to your deductible is costing you more than it looks like: the discount comes out of the held-back balance, not out of their pocket. The scope and the invoice should agree.
Does the mortgage company have to endorse the second check too?
On an escrowed loan, usually yes, the same way it endorsed the first one. Some servicers release the final draft faster once they have the completion certificate on file. Send the servicer that certificate at the same time you send it to the carrier so both sides are working from the same date.
Can I collect depreciation if I only had part of the work done?
Only on the part that got done, and the invoice has to show it clearly. If the scope covered the roof, the gutters and a section of siding and you replaced the roof only, the release will reflect the roof. Carriers reconcile line items, not totals, so a partial completion needs a line-item invoice rather than a lump sum.
What if I miss the deadline in my policy?
Ask anyway, in writing, and explain the delay with documentation - material backorders, a permit queue, a storm surge in your metro. Some carriers make an exception for a delay that was demonstrably not your fault. Many will not. The reliable version of this answer is to request an extension before the date arrives rather than after.
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Finish The Claim Properly
We file the release packet for every roof we build, and we chase it until it pays.
Do not leave the second check with the carrier.
Call and we will walk your settlement sheet with you, line by line, at no charge.