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Chicago Storm Pros
Storm Damage Specialists
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How to Read Your Adjuster's Estimate

Reading the numbers is one skill. Knowing whether they match your actual damage is another. This guide covers both, with a real estimate's pages. Updated August 2026.

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The Short Answer

Your adjuster's estimate is a line-item Xactimate document with three parts worth reading: the grid (every priced item with quantity, unit price, RC, depreciation, and ACV columns), the summary math (how those columns become your checks), and the revision marks (struck lines and supplement sections). It tells you exactly what the carrier priced. It can't tell you what the inspection missed.

What Are You Actually Holding?

The packet your carrier sent is the priced version of one inspection. It's written in Xactimate, the same estimating software legitimate contractors bill in, which is what makes it comparable line by line rather than a mystery number. If you haven't read our companion guide on what a legitimate contractor invoice looks like, the two documents are built to be laid side by side.

Reading it well means answering two different questions. What did the carrier price, and did they price everything that's damaged? The document fully answers the first. It can't answer the second, because it only records what one adjuster found in one visit.

Reading the adjuster's numbers vs knowing your actual damage
What the Estimate Tells You What It Can't Tell You
The scope Every line the adjuster saw and priced, in Xactimate, at regional prices. Whether anyone looked at the back slopes, pressed for bruising, or checked the accessories.
The pricing Generally fair: the same regional price lists your contractor uses. Whether the quantities match your roof's real measurements.
The math Exactly how your checks are computed: RCV, depreciation, ACV, deductible, net. Whether your policy makes that depreciation recoverable. Your declarations page answers that.
The revisions Struck lines and supplement sections show every change, documented. Why an item was excluded. The estimate shows what, rarely why.
What it's for Comparing, line by line, against independently documented damage. It can't inspect your roof. It records one inspection that already happened.

Estimate formats vary slightly by carrier; the column structure and summary math are consistent because nearly all carriers price in Xactimate.

How Do You Read the Line-Item Grid?

Here's a section of a real carrier estimate from one of our projects, with identifying details removed. Read it column by column: quantity in measured units, unit price from the regional list, then RC, the depreciation being applied, and the ACV that remains.

Section of a real insurance adjuster's Xactimate estimate showing underlayment, flashing, and additional item lines with quantities, unit prices, RC, depreciation, and ACV columns, a struck-through dumpster line, and a supplement section adding a 292-linear-foot gutter item
A real adjuster's estimate (identifying details removed). Note the declared waste factors on the underlayment lines, the depreciation applied per line, the struck-through dumpster line removed in revision, and the supplement section at bottom adding 292 linear feet of gutter work the original estimate missed: a $2,928 line that documentation recovered.

Three details reward attention. The sticky notes declare waste factors per line, which makes the quantities checkable math. The struck-through line shows a revision: removed items stay visible instead of vanishing. And the supplement section at the bottom is the process working: a documented item the first pass missed, added to the carrier's own estimate.

How Do You Read the Summary Math?

The last page turns the columns into your checks, and this is where the RCV vs ACV distinction stops being abstract. Same project, real numbers:

Summary page of a real adjuster's estimate showing materials and labor totals, taxes, replacement cost value, recoverable depreciation subtracted to reach actual cash value, the deductible subtracted, and the net estimate the first check is based on
The summary math, top to bottom: materials plus labor plus taxes reach the Replacement Cost Value ($15,599.60). Depreciation ($1,580.35) is subtracted to reach ACV. The deductible ($1,000) comes off to produce the Net Estimate ($12,435.04), which drives the first check. The held-back depreciation returns after completed work is documented, which is why the final line, $14,599.60, is the number the project actually settles at.

Walk it once with your own estimate in hand and the two-check structure stops being confusing. First check: ACV minus deductible. Second check: the recoverable depreciation, released when the completed work is invoiced. If your summary says depreciation is non-recoverable, stop and pull your declarations page, because that's the ACV-policy surprise worth catching early.

Get the Other Half of the Picture

The estimate records what one inspection found. A free Haag-certified inspection documents what's actually on the roof, slope by slope, so the two can be compared line by line.

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Where Do Estimates Usually Fall Short?

Not from bad faith. Adjusters carry heavy caseloads after storm events and typically spend 20 to 30 minutes per roof. The items that go missing are predictable: back-slope damage, bruising that only shows under a press test, code-required items like ice and water barrier, accessories (vents, flashings, gutters), and decking damage that's invisible until tear-off.

Every one of those is a supplement candidate when it's documented. That gutter line in the grid above wasn't in the original estimate; photographed, measured evidence put it there. That's the normal repair path when the adjuster's findings and your roof disagree.

What Should You Do With It?

Don't accept or dispute it alone; complete it. Get an independent documented inspection, lay the two scopes side by side, and turn every discrepancy into a specific question with evidence attached. Most gaps resolve as routine supplements. If yours doesn't, the escalation ladder runs from free re-inspection up through appraisal.

The Verdict

The adjuster's estimate is the carrier's opening scope: readable, revisable, and negotiated line by line, not a verdict. Learn the summary math so you know what each check means, then verify the scope against independently documented damage before treating any number as final.

The estimate is probably solid when

  • Its scope closely matches an independent documented inspection
  • Quantities line up with the roof's actual measurements
  • Code-required items like ice and water barrier appear
  • Depreciation is recoverable and the math walks cleanly to your deductible

Push back with documentation when

  • Slopes, accessories, or code items are missing from the grid
  • Quantities run light against measured reality
  • The summary shows non-recoverable depreciation you didn't expect
  • The gap between scopes is far beyond rounding

Chicago Storm Pros is a service of C&N Construction, Inc. (cnroofs.com). Reviews, project counts, certifications, and ratings shown here reflect C&N Construction's work.

354 days left to file your storm damage claim. August 14-15 hit Chicagoland on August 14, 2026.

Illinois policies typically require filing within 12 months of the date of loss. Your deadline is August 14, 2027. Don't wait until the window closes. Get your roof documented now.

Source: NWS Chicago Flood Watch and Flood Warning products event write-up

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Common Questions

Adjuster Estimate FAQs

What do the RC and ACV columns on my estimate mean?
RC (or RCV) is replacement cost: what it costs to replace the item new today. ACV is actual cash value: replacement cost minus depreciation for age and wear. On a replacement cost policy, the ACV number drives your first check and the depreciation typically comes back after the work is completed and invoiced. Our RCV vs ACV guide covers the full math.
What is recoverable depreciation and when do I get it?
It's the depreciation your carrier holds back from the first payment, released after your contractor documents completed work with a final invoice. On the summary page it appears as its own line. On a $15,000 to $25,000 roof claim the holdback commonly runs $1,500 to $8,000, which is why skipping the paperwork at the end costs real money.
Why is there a crossed-out line on my estimate?
Struck-through lines are items removed as the estimate was revised, and they stay visible so the change is documented. That transparency cuts both ways: you can see what was taken out, and your contractor can dispute the removal with evidence if the item was legitimate.
What does the supplement section on my estimate mean?
Lines grouped under a supplement heading were added after the original estimate, usually because your contractor documented items the first inspection missed. Supplements are a routine, expected part of the process. Carriers have entire departments for processing them.
Should I share the adjuster's estimate with my contractor?
Yes, and a legitimate contractor will ask for it. Comparing the carrier's scope line by line against independently documented damage is exactly how missed items get found and supplemented. A contractor who quotes your roof without reading the approved scope is guessing at what insurance will pay.
Is the adjuster's estimate the final word on my claim?
Generally no. It's the carrier's opening scope based on what one inspection found, and it's revised routinely through supplements when documentation supports additions. Treat it as the starting document of a conversation, not a verdict. If the gap is large and supplements stall, our denied claim options guide covers the escalation paths.
What does my insurance roof estimate actually mean?
It means the carrier priced a specific list of repairs at specific quantities, then computed your payout: replacement cost, minus depreciation, minus your deductible, equals your first check, with held-back depreciation typically returning after completed work is documented. What it doesn't mean is that the list is complete. That's what an independent inspection verifies.
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