Depreciation

Carriers in NC typically use straight-line depreciation — the age of the roof divided by its expected useful life. A ten-year-old architectural shingle on a 25-year life is depreciated 40 percent. The number that comes out of the carrier’s software is rarely negotiable on the age math itself. What is negotiable is the underlying scope — line items the adjuster missed, code upgrades not included, and like-kind matching disputes.

On an ACV-only policy, depreciation is the gap you eat. On an RCV policy, depreciation is recoverable: the carrier holds it back, and once your roofer submits the final invoice and completion photos, the carrier releases it as a second check. Skipping the final-invoice step is the single most common reason homeowners never see the depreciation check.