How to read your insurance scope (and spot a short one)

After your adjuster's visit, you'll receive an estimate, usually built in Xactimate, the industry pricing software. It reads like a spreadsheet: line items, quantities, unit prices, then two totals that confuse everyone: RCV and ACV. RCV (replacement cost value) is what the full repair costs. ACV is RCV minus depreciation, and it's the first check. The depreciation is typically 'recoverable': it's released when the work is completed and invoiced.

A short scope is rarely wrong on price; the problem is missing lines. The items we most often find absent: ice-and-water shield (code-required across most of our service area), drip edge, proper ridge and starter courses instead of cut 3-tabs, steep- and high-charge labor for mountain rooflines, and the non-roof trades entirely: gutters, window cladding, screens, decks, and interior repairs.

Code upgrades are their own category. Colorado jurisdictions have adopted codes requiring ventilation corrections, ice barrier, and decking replacement in many tear-offs. If your policy carries ordinance-and-law coverage (most do), those upgrades can be evaluated under that coverage, but only if someone itemizes and cites them. That's what a supplement is: a documented request to correct the scope, with photos and code references.

You don't need to become an expert; you need someone on your side of the table who is. We review every scope line by line before you sign anything, and when legitimate construction items are missing we document them, with photos and code references, for your carrier's consideration.