If you have recently been through a hailstorm and filed a claim, there is a good chance your insurance company has sent you a document called a Statement of Loss or a property estimate. It is usually several pages long, full of line items, abbreviations, and numbers that seem to contradict each other. Most homeowners look at it, skip to the bottom number, and move on.
That is understandable. But this document is the foundation of your entire claim. It determines how much you get paid, what work your contractor is expected to do, and whether there is room to request more coverage later. If you do not understand it, you are trusting the process blindly, and as we have written about before, that is where most claims quietly fall apart.
I recently reviewed a Travelers insurance estimate for a hail damage claim on a home in Verona, Wisconsin. The May 2025 storm caused damage to the roof, vinyl siding, and downspouts. I am going to use the real numbers from that estimate to walk through what each piece means so you know exactly what you are looking at when your own estimate arrives.
What the estimate covers
This particular estimate was written in Xactimate, which is the industry-standard software used by nearly every insurance carrier. The measurements came from HOVER, a technology platform that creates 3D models of your home from photos. Adjusters use HOVER to generate accurate exterior measurements without physically measuring every surface, and it is generally reliable.
The estimate covered two main areas of the home's exterior. The roof section accounted for about 45 percent of the total cost, while exterior surfaces, primarily vinyl siding, made up the other 55 percent. Four categories of work were included: roofing at $4,121 in replacement cost, siding at $4,905, general demolition at $1,515, and soffit, fascia, and gutter work at $315.
The three numbers that matter most
There are three numbers on every insurance estimate that determine your payout. Once you understand how they relate to each other, the rest of the document makes a lot more sense.
Replacement Cost Value (RCV) is what it would cost to repair or replace the damaged items brand new at current prices. In this estimate, the total RCV was $11,022.15. This includes materials, labor, and sales tax for every line item.
Actual Cash Value (ACV) is the replacement cost minus depreciation. Your roof was not new when the hail hit. It was nine years old. So the insurer reduces the payout to reflect that wear. ACV on this claim was $8,767.61.
Depreciation is the dollar amount subtracted from RCV to arrive at ACV. In this case, $2,254.54 was held back. The important detail here is that all of it was recoverable. That means once the repairs are completed and the homeowner submits documentation, the insurance company releases that money. Not every policy works this way. Some line items carry non-recoverable depreciation, which is money you never get back regardless of whether you complete the work. On Xactimate estimates, non-recoverable amounts are shown in angle brackets. This claim had none, which is the best-case scenario.
How the payout math works
Here is how the initial check is calculated. Start with the total RCV of $11,022.15. Subtract depreciation of $2,254.54 to get the ACV of $8,767.61. Then subtract the $2,500 deductible. That leaves a net claim of $6,267.61. That is the initial check.
After the repairs are completed and the homeowner submits proof, the recoverable depreciation of $2,254.54 is released. So the total payout becomes $8,522.15. The homeowner's out-of-pocket cost is the deductible alone.
A note on the deductible: be cautious of any contractor who offers to cover or waive your deductible. In most states, including Wisconsin, that can constitute insurance fraud. We touched on this type of red flag in our post about watching out for storm chasers after hail.
Why only part of the roof was approved
One of the most common reactions homeowners have is confusion about why the insurance company did not approve a full roof replacement. In this estimate, 5.43 squares were approved out of a total roof area of 43.05 squares. That is roughly 12.6 percent of the roof.
Insurance companies pay to restore your home to its pre-loss condition, not to upgrade it. If the adjuster found hail impacts concentrated on certain roof facets but not others, they will only scope the affected areas. This does not mean the rest of the roof is fine. It means the adjuster did not document damage there during their inspection.
This is where your contractor matters. Before any work begins, your contractor should inspect the roof independently and compare their findings against the insurance estimate. If they identify damage the adjuster missed, they file a supplement, which is a formal request to the carrier for additional coverage. A good storm restoration contractor will document the additional damage, write the supplement in Xactimate, and negotiate with the adjuster until the scope is right. All of this happens before a single shingle gets torn off. The initial estimate is a starting point, not the final word.
We wrote more about why the scope review stage is where most claims slow down and how the supplement process works before repairs begin.
How depreciation rates are determined
Each line item on the estimate shows the item's age, expected life, condition rating, and depreciation percentage. For this property, everything was nine years old and rated in average condition. Here is how the major items broke down.
The laminated composition shingles had a 30-year expected life and were depreciated at 30 percent. That works out to roughly one percent per year, which is a standard straight-line calculation. The roofing felt, which has a shorter 20-year expected life, was depreciated at 45 percent. The vinyl siding had a 50-year expected life, so the depreciation was a more modest 18 percent.
These rates can sometimes be contested. If the materials were in better condition than average, or if the adjuster applied the wrong expected life to a product, there is room to push back. This is another area where an experienced contractor or a public adjuster can advocate on the homeowner's behalf.
What ITEL pricing means on your estimate
You may notice a note on certain line items that says the component was priced by ITEL Asphalt Shingle Pricing. ITEL is a third-party service that identifies specific shingle products and provides current market pricing. When your exact shingle has been discontinued or is hard to source, ITEL finds a verified replacement match. This is standard practice and generally benefits the homeowner by ensuring accurate material costs rather than generic pricing.
The permit line item and why it matters
This estimate includes a line item for taxes, insurance, permits, and fees set at $0.00. That is a placeholder. If your municipality requires a building permit for the roof repair, the actual cost can be added via supplement. Your contractor should be pulling a permit and requesting reimbursement from the carrier.
Permits matter beyond just the insurance reimbursement. As we have written about extensively, a roofing permit is a public record that tells you something meaningful about whether the work was done properly and by whom.
Common questions homeowners ask
When will I get my check? Insurance companies typically issue the ACV payment within a few weeks of finalizing the estimate. The recoverable depreciation check comes after you complete the repairs and submit documentation. Timelines vary by carrier.
Do I have to use the insurance company's contractor? No. You have the right to choose your own contractor. The estimate defines the scope and cost of repairs, but you are not required to use any specific company. Choose someone who is licensed, insured, and experienced in insurance restoration work. We covered how to evaluate contractors in our post about what American Family Insurance gets right about choosing a contractor.
What if the repairs cost more than the estimate? This happens regularly. Your contractor should review the estimate before starting any work and compare it against their own inspection. If the scope is short, material prices have changed, or code requirements add items, they submit a supplement to the insurance company before the build begins. The goal is to get the estimate right first so there are no surprises once the crew shows up.
Can I keep the insurance money and skip the repairs? You can keep the ACV check, but you forfeit the recoverable depreciation. In this case that means you would receive $6,267.61 instead of $8,522.15. More importantly, unrepaired hail damage worsens over time. Winter freeze-thaw cycles turn small cracks into leaks. We explained this in detail in our post about why last summer's hailstorm is a winter problem.
What are the steep roof and high roof charges? Roofing work on steep-pitched roofs and multi-story homes requires additional safety equipment and slower work. Insurance companies account for this with line-item surcharges. In this estimate, those charges added about $1,063 to the RCV, which is standard for a two-story home with a 10/12 to 12/12 pitch.
The bigger picture
An insurance estimate is not just a bill. It is a negotiating document. It tells you what the carrier is willing to pay based on what the adjuster found during a single visit. If your contractor identifies damage the adjuster missed, the estimate can and should be supplemented before work begins. If depreciation rates seem aggressive, they can be challenged. If the scope does not match what your contractor sees on the roof, that conversation needs to happen before anything gets torn off, not after.
The homeowners who get the best outcomes are the ones who understand what they are looking at. That does not mean you need to become an Xactimate expert. It means you need a contractor who is one, and who is willing to walk you through the process step by step.
Storms are unpredictable. Your claim should not be.