HARD KNOCKSCONSULTING
Where These Files Are Lost
Four ways a roof claim becomes a partial payment
A roof claim can be reduced without ever denying the damage. These are the four mechanisms, roughly in order of how much money they move.
Roof payment schedules and ACV endorsements
A growing number of Michigan policies now pay roofs on a depreciation schedule by age, or on actual cash value only, regardless of any replacement-cost coverage elsewhere in the policy. If this endorsement is on your declarations, it changes the entire strategy — and most policyholders learn it exists after the loss. It is the first thing to check.
Repair instead of replace
A slope repair is only a legitimate answer if it restores the roof to pre-loss condition. Brittleness on aged shingles, discontinued profiles and colors, sealed-in courses that cannot be separated without damage, and manufacturer requirements all bear on whether repair is physically possible.
Matching, and what “reasonably uniform appearance” means
When the replacement shingle will not match, the question becomes how far the repair has to extend. Policy language on matching varies considerably and is worth reading closely. A patched slope in a visibly different color is not a restoration of the property.
Code items and layers
Existing layer count, deck condition and spacing, ice-and-water shield, drip edge, ventilation, and current fastening requirements. Two existing layers usually means a full tear-off rather than an overlay, and tear-off is not a line item that appears on its own.
The File
What a defensible roof file contains
Roof scopes are where estimating errors are most expensive, because a small mistake in measurement or waste multiplies across the whole surface.
Accurate measurements by slope
Squares, pitch, ridge, hip, valley, rake, and eave, per slope. Aerial measurement reports are standard and worth having, because a scope built on a guess at total squares is wrong before anyone discusses damage.
Documentation of the peril, not just the condition
Hail hits, wind creases and seal failures, impact points, or weight-of-ice evidence — whatever mechanism applies. A roof in poor condition without an established peril is a maintenance conversation.
Layer count, deck condition, and existing components
Photographed at a test opening where possible. This drives tear-off, decking replacement, and whether an overlay is even permitted.
Waste, steep and high charges, and access
Real waste percentages for the cut-up complexity of the roof, steep charges above the applicable pitch, height charges, and any access limitations. These are legitimate, standard, and routinely omitted.
Everything attached to the roof
Ridge vents, turtle vents, power vents, pipe jacks, flashing, chimney counterflashing, skylights, gutters and guards, satellite dishes, and solar attachments — each with detach-and-reset or replacement as appropriate.
Ordinance-and-law and manufacturer requirements
Current code items triggered by the repair, and manufacturer installation requirements needed to keep any warranty intact. Both are payable and both need to be written down with the requirement cited.
Overhead and profit where a contractor is required
A roof replacement involving multiple trades — roofing, gutters, carpentry, sometimes interior repair — is general contracting work, and general contractor overhead and profit belongs in the estimate rather than being treated as negotiable.
Questions We Get
Roof claim questions
If yours is not here, ask it on the review form — it gets answered directly.
How do I know if I have a roof payment schedule endorsement?
It appears on your declarations page and in the endorsement list, often under a name referencing roof surfacing payment, actual cash value roof, or a windstorm and hail deductible or loss settlement provision. Send the declarations page and it takes two minutes to identify — it is the single most consequential thing to know before you argue anything else.
The carrier approved one slope. My roof has four.
Extremely common, and it is a scope dispute rather than a coverage dispute, which means the appraisal clause is available. The file needs damage documentation on the other slopes and a matching or repairability argument for why a single-slope replacement does not restore the property.
My shingles are discontinued. Does that help?
It often does. If the exact profile and color are no longer manufactured, a repair cannot restore pre-loss appearance, which strengthens the case for a broader replacement. Manufacturer discontinuation documentation belongs in the file as a document, not as an assertion.
What is recoverable depreciation and how do I get it?
If you carry replacement cost coverage, the carrier initially pays actual cash value — replacement cost minus depreciation — and releases the held-back depreciation after the work is completed and documented. It is your money, and the most common way to lose it is to never submit the final invoice.
My roofer says he can get me a new roof at no cost. Is that legitimate?
Be careful. Offers to absorb or waive your deductible are a problem in Michigan and can jeopardize your claim and your relationship with your carrier. A good contractor documents damage well and bids honestly; anyone selling you a free roof is telling you something about how the rest of the job will go.
Where We Work
Roof claims by county
Related losses: hail damage, wind and storm damage, and ice dams — three perils, one roof.
Roof Claims
One slope approved, three denied?
Send the estimate and your declarations page. Whether you have a roof payment schedule endorsement changes everything, and most people do not know either way.
HARD KNOCKS CONSULTING
220 South Main Street
Royal Oak, MI 48067
(947) 241-2950
stanley@hardknocksconsulting.com
State of Michigan — statewideNPN 20573993