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Free Roof Insurance Tool

Roof Insurance Claim Calculator — Estimate Your Payout

Q: What is recoverable vs non-recoverable depreciation?

On an RCV policy, depreciation is 'recoverable' - you get it back once repairs are completed. On an ACV policy, depreciation is 'non-recoverable' - it is deducted from your settlement permanently. Some policies have hybrid terms: recoverable depreciation for structural components but non-recoverable for cosmetic damage. Read your declarations page carefully.

Enter your roof's age, material, deductible, and policy type to get a realistic ACV or RCV payout estimate — including depreciation and your deductible impact — before you pick up the phone.

Start Free Calculator How It Works

Free to useNo signup requiredNo contractor referrals

Your Roof

Your Policy

Estimate

Tell us about your roof

Enter your roof's estimated replacement cost, material, and age.

Estimated replacement cost- contractor or insurer estimate, not your home's market value

Roof material

Roof Age- How many years ago was the roof last fully replaced?

Good ageRoof age can be an important factor when evaluating maintenance, replacement needs, and potential repair costs.

Your Roof Claim Estimate

Based on your inputs. Change any value and the estimate updates immediately.

Showing an example: $20,000 roof, 10 years old, $2,500 deductible. Go back and change your values to see your own estimate.

Settlement breakdown
Replacement cost
Useful life (material)
Roof age
Depreciation
Actual Cash Value (ACV)
Deductible
First cheque
Withheld depreciation released after work is invoiced
Total payout
Your out-of-pocket
Payout reaches $0 at age

Comparing this to an adjuster's estimate?How to read your adjuster's estimate →

Where your replacement cost goes

First cheque

Absorbed by deductible

Lost to depreciation (ACV - never recovered)

How was this calculated?

Depreciation is calculated straight-line: your roof's age divided by its material's expected useful life, capped at 80% (this calculator's own assumption — your carrier's cap may differ or may not exist). That percentage is subtracted from your replacement cost to get the Actual Cash Value (ACV).

Your deductible is then resolved to a dollar amount — directly if it's a flat amount, or by multiplying the percentage against your dwelling limit (Coverage A) if it's a percentage deductible — and subtracted from the ACV to produce your first cheque.

On an RCV policy, the withheld depreciation is added back as a second payment once repairs are completed and documented, bringing the total payout to replacement cost minus deductible. On an ACV policy, there is no second payment — the first cheque is the total.

What does this result mean?

First cheque is what you'd receive right after the claim is approved. Total payout is everything you'd eventually receive, including any recoverable depreciation released after repairs on an RCV policy.

Your out-of-pocket is the gap between your replacement cost and your total payout — what you'd need to cover yourself even in the best case. On an ACV policy, or if depreciation is high, this gap can be substantial.

What should I do next?

Whatever your verdict above says, a few steps apply generally: get a written contractor estimate to compare against any adjuster figure, confirm your policy type and deductible directly from yourdeclarations page rather than memory, and check your coverage exclusions before filing if you haven't already.

If you do file, the guide to reading your adjuster's estimate covers what to check once you have a number back, and the full filing checklist walks through the complete decision if you want more than this calculator's estimate.

Don't know your policy details? Here's where to find them.

Dwelling limit (Coverage A)

On your declarations page, look for a table labeled "Coverages" or "Coverage summary." Find the line that says Coverage A - Dwelling. The dollar amount next to it is your dwelling limit. This is what your insurer would pay to rebuild the structure, not your home's market value.

Enter this as "Dwelling limit" above if you have a percentage deductible.A 2% wind/hail deductible on a $400,000 dwelling limit is $8,000 - it is applied against this number, not against your roof damage estimate.

Your deductible - flat or percentage?

Find the "Deductibles" section. Most policies list two:

All Other Perils (AOP) - a flat dollar amount, applies to most claims. Not usually what applies to roof damage.
Wind / Hail or Named Storm - applies to storm damage. Often a percentage (e.g. "1%", "2%"). If it shows a percentage, choose % of dwelling limit above.

ACV or roof endorsements

Search your dec page and any attached endorsements for: Roof Surfacing Payment Schedule, ACV Roof, or Limited Roof Coverage. If you find any of these, your roof may be paid on actual cash value regardless of what the rest of your policy says. Run the calculator on ACV if so.

Full guide: How to read your declarations page →

This calculator provides educational estimates only - not an insurance claim determination, contractor quote, or guarantee of actual costs.

Methodology

How the roof insurance claim calculator works

Three inputs, one clear answer. No lead forms, no contractor referrals.

Enter your roof details

Provide your roof's estimated replacement cost, material, and age since last full replacement. Material determines the expected useful life - a 25-year arch-asphalt roof depreciates more slowly than a 20-year 3-tab.

Enter your policy details

Choose ACV or RCV coverage and enter your deductible. If your deductible is a percentage (e.g. 2%), you also enter your dwelling limit (Coverage A) - because the deductible applies to that number, not the claim amount.

Get your settlement estimate

The calculator applies straight-line depreciation (the standard industry method), resolves your deductible correctly, and returns the key numbers: first cheque, withheld depreciation, total payout, and a clear filing verdict.

Compare ACV and RCV payouts

Run the calculator twice with the same roof: once with ACV selected and once with RCV. The gap between the two totals is the withheld depreciation an RCV policy pays after repairs are completed and invoiced.

The math

Roof insurance claim payout formula

The formulas this calculator uses, in plain language.

Depreciation

Depreciation % = Roof Age ÷ Useful Life (capped at 80%)Depreciation $ = Replacement Cost × Depreciation %ACV = Replacement Cost − Depreciation $

Straight-line depreciation reduces your roof's insurable value each year. A 15-year-old architectural shingle roof (25-year useful life) is 60% depreciated.

ACV policy payout

Payout = ACV − Deductible

On an ACV policy, depreciation is permanent. You receive the depreciated value minus your deductible — nothing more.

RCV policy payout

First cheque = ACV − DeductibleWithheld = Replacement Cost − Deductible − First chequeTotal = Replacement Cost − Deductible

On an RCV policy, the withheld depreciation is released after you complete repairs and submit an invoice.

Percentage deductible

Deductible $ = Deductible % × Dwelling Limit

Wind/hail deductibles apply to your dwelling limit (Coverage A), not the claim amount. 2% of a $350,000 home is $7,000.

Cost factors

What affects your roof insurance claim payout

Your settlement depends on several interacting variables - most of which this calculator handles directly.

Roof age

The primary driver of depreciation. An older roof has more value depreciated away, reducing your ACV - and therefore your first cheque.

Roofing material

Each material has a different expected useful life. Slate roofs (75 yr) depreciate far more slowly than standard asphalt (20–25 yr), so they retain more value longer.

Your deductible

A percentage deductible tied to your dwelling limit can be far larger than it sounds. 2% of a $350,000 home is $7,000 - often larger than the entire claim for a partial roof repair.

ACV vs RCV policy

On an RCV policy, you can recover withheld depreciation after repairs. On an ACV policy, that depreciation is gone permanently - a critical difference for older roofs.

Replacement cost

Your total payout scales with the replacement cost. A higher estimate means more room for the claim to clear the deductible - but getting a written contractor estimate first is essential.

CLUE report impact

Filing a claim - even one that pays nothing - creates a record on your CLUE report for several years. A zero-payout claim still counts and can raise your premium or trigger non-renewal at the next policy review.

Key concepts

Roof insurance claim vs roof replacement cost

Insurance claim

A formal request to your insurer to pay for covered damage. The insurer sends an adjuster, determines scope and value, and issues a settlement based on your policy's depreciation method and deductible.

Contractor estimate

A written quote from a roofing contractor for the actual cost to repair or replace the roof. This is your independent data point - bring it to the adjuster meeting, not after.

ACV settlement

What your insurer pays today: replacement cost minus depreciation minus deductible. On an older roof this can be much less than the actual repair cost.

RCV settlement

ACV paid upfront, then the withheld depreciation released after you complete repairs and submit documentation. Total payout equals full replacement cost minus deductible.

Full ACV vs RCV guide →State-specific rules →

Learn more

Roof claim guides: understand before you file

Deeper reading on the concepts behind your estimate, from the guides and blog.

Should You File a Roof Insurance Claim?

Run the deductible math and CLUE-history check before you call your insurer.

What Is Recoverable Depreciation?

How to claim the withheld portion of an RCV settlement - and the deadline mistake that forfeits it.

How Does Roof Depreciation Work?

Why depreciation reduces your payout and which materials hold their value longest.

Is Your Roof Damage Actually Covered?

Wear, maintenance failures, and pre-existing conditions deny more claims than homeowners expect.

Browse all articles →Browse all guides →

FAQ

Roof insurance claim FAQ

What is ACV vs RCV coverage, and why does it matter for a roof claim?

ACV (Actual Cash Value) pays you the depreciated value of your roof - what it was worth the day before the storm, not what it costs to replace it today. Depreciation is permanent; you never recover it on an ACV policy.

RCV (Replacement Cost Value) pays ACV first, then releases the withheld depreciation once you complete repairs and submit an invoice. You receive the full replacement cost minus your deductible - but only if you actually do the work.

On an older roof, the gap between ACV and RCV can be enormous. A 15-year-old architectural shingle roof may have 60% of its value depreciated away. On an ACV policy that is gone forever.

My deductible is 2% - 2% of what?

Almost certainly 2% of your dwelling limit (Coverage A on your declarations page) - not 2% of the claim amount. This is the most common and costly misunderstanding homeowners have about wind/hail deductibles.

If your home is insured for $400,000 and you have a 2% wind deductible, your deductible is $8,000 regardless of whether the roof damage is $10,000 or $50,000. This calculator applies the deductible correctly.

Can I file a claim on an old roof?

You can file, but the payout may be zero - and the claim still goes on your CLUE report for several years. That record affects your renewal, your rate, and your ability to switch carriers.

The break-even age shown by this calculator is the roof age at which your estimated payout first reaches zero under your current deductible. Roofs older than that threshold often produce zero-payout claims that still carry renewal risk.

What is a CLUE report and why does it matter?

CLUE (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) is a database that insurers use to check your claims history. When you file a homeowner claim - even one that pays nothing - it appears in your CLUE report.

Carriers see this at renewal and at any new policy application. A zero-payout claim filed three years ago can still cost you a rate increase or a non-renewal notice today. This is why the verdict matters: filing is not free even when the cheque is.

Should I accept the first settlement offer from my insurance company?

Not necessarily. The adjuster's estimate is a starting point, not a final word. Adjusters can miss damage, use lower material prices than your local market, or apply depreciation differently than your policy requires.

Get an independent written estimate from a contractor before the adjuster visits - this becomes your negotiating baseline. If the gap is significant and a supplement request doesn't resolve it, a licensed public adjuster can work on your behalf for a percentage of the settlement.

What is recoverable vs non-recoverable depreciation?

How accurate are these estimates?

The math uses straight-line depreciation applied to the roof's age and material. The useful life figures are this calculator's own assumptions - your carrier's depreciation schedule may differ.

Your actual settlement depends on your specific policy language, your carrier's own depreciation schedule, the adjuster's assessed damage scope, and your local jurisdiction's regulations. This calculator gives a reliable starting estimate - not a guarantee.