Your Policy Quietly Switched to ACV. Here's How to Tell.
The premium barely moved. The coverage did. Across Ohio, carriers have been shifting older roofs off replacement cost, and most homeowners find out at the worst possible moment.
The Same Storm, Two Very Different Checks
Two neighbours in the same subdivision lose shingles in the same storm. Both have $15,000 roofs and $1,000 deductibles. One receives roughly $14,000. The other receives roughly $6,000.
Nothing about the damage explains the gap. The difference is in how each policy values a roof loss, and that is decided at renewal, not at the claim.
Three Ways a Policy Reduces a Roof Payout
These get conflated constantly, and they are not the same thing.
- Replacement cost value. Pays what it costs to replace the roof today, minus your deductible. Depreciation is withheld and released after the work is done.
- Actual cash value. Pays replacement cost minus depreciation, permanently. The older the roof, the smaller the payment, and completing the work does not release anything further.
- A roof payment schedule. An endorsement that pays a declining percentage of replacement cost based on roof age — full value for the first few years, then stepping down. This is the one that surprises people, because the policy still says replacement cost on the front page while an endorsement quietly converts the roof.
What Ohio carriers have been doing
The direction across the state has been consistent since the run of heavy storm years. Ohio agents have reported carriers applying roof loss settlement schedules from around the eleventh year, applying depreciation from the tenth year, flagging older three-tab roofs for limited or functional replacement coverage, and moving to actual cash value settlement once a roof reaches the mid-teens unless a buy-back endorsement is purchased.
Specific thresholds vary by carrier and change over time, so treat those as illustrations of the pattern rather than a list to rely on. The point is that if your roof is between ten and twenty years old, your coverage terms are a moving target at every renewal.
A Ten-Minute Policy Review
Pull your declarations page and find the loss settlement provision for the dwelling, then look specifically for anything mentioning roof surfacing. Read the endorsement list for a roof loss settlement schedule, a roof surfaces payment schedule, or a windstorm or hail loss to roof surfacing endorsement.
Then ask your agent three questions in writing: Is my roof currently settled at replacement cost or actual cash value? Is there a roof payment schedule attached, and what does the table say? Is a buy-back or replacement cost endorsement available, and what does it cost? Keep the answers with your policy.
Why Roof Age Documentation Is Worth Having
Where a carrier's terms depend on roof age or condition, being able to prove both is genuinely useful. If your roof was replaced in 2019 and the carrier's file says 2006 because that is when the house was built, that error is worth correcting before a claim rather than during one.
Keep the installation invoice, the permit if one was pulled, the manufacturer's warranty registration, and dated photographs. A GAF or Owens Corning warranty registration is particularly useful because it is third-party dated evidence of both the date and the system installed.
We can give you a written condition assessment and confirm the roof age from what is actually on the house. It costs nothing and it is a better document to have before the storm than after. Call (877) 521-7171.
Not Sure Where Your Claim Stands?
We inspect the roof, document what is actually there, and tell you honestly whether you have a claim worth filing.
Common Questions
Check the loss settlement provision on your declarations page and the attached endorsement list. Look for anything referencing roof surfacing, roof loss settlement, or a payment schedule. If it is unclear, ask your agent in writing.
An endorsement that pays a declining percentage of replacement cost based on the roof's age, rather than full replacement cost. It can apply even when the policy otherwise settles losses at replacement cost.
Some carriers offer a buy-back or replacement cost endorsement, often subject to a roof inspection and an age limit. Ask for the quote and the conditions.
It frequently improves your terms rather than only your price — a newer roof may qualify for replacement cost settlement where an older one would not. Tell your agent when the roof is replaced.
In some cases. Carriers have tightened underwriting on older roofs, and a roof past a certain age may require inspection, carry limited coverage, or affect a new policy application.
Related Pages
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