5 Line Items Adjusters Miss on Every Roof Claim

You finish a roof, submit your claim, and the check comes in $2,000 to $4,000 short. You know something's wrong. The adjuster's estimate is clean and organized, but it's missing money you're legally owed.

It's not always malicious. Adjusters move fast, they use templates, and they're trained to keep estimates lean. The result is the same either way — you eat the cost or you fight for it.

Here are the five line items adjusters skip most often, what they're worth in real dollars, and what to do about it.

1. Starter Course Shingles

Starter course is a strip of material installed along the eave and rake edges before the first course of shingles goes down. It provides a waterproof base and helps the first row of shingles seal properly. This is not optional — it's a manufacturer requirement for any system to carry a warranty.

Adjusters regularly leave it off entirely or bury it inside the shingle line item as if it costs nothing extra. It doesn't. It's a separate product with a separate install cost.

The Xactimate code is RFG STRTR.

Your supplement argument: "Starter strip is a distinct product required under [manufacturer] installation instructions to maintain warranty coverage. It is not included in the shingle line item. Requesting separate line item per Xactimate code RFG STRTR."

2. Drip Edge

Drip edge is metal flashing installed at the roof perimeter to direct water into the gutter and away from the fascia. Under IRC Section R905.2.8.5, it's required on new residential roofing installations. Many jurisdictions require it on re-roofs too.

Adjusters either omit it entirely or include it at the bare minimum footage, ignoring rakes. Drip edge gets installed on eaves AND rakes — that's the full perimeter of the roof, not just the bottom edge.

The Xactimate code is RFG DRIPE.

Your supplement argument: "IRC R905.2.8.5 requires drip edge installation. Adjuster included eave drip edge only. Requesting rake drip edge per Xactimate code RFG DRIPE. Full perimeter = [X] linear feet."

3. Ice and Water Shield

Ice and water shield is a self-adhering membrane installed at eaves, valleys, and around penetrations to prevent water infiltration from ice dams and wind-driven rain. It is required by building code in cold-weather states and by most manufacturer installation instructions nationwide.

Adjusters frequently omit it entirely, include only the minimum footage, or price it at old rates that don't reflect current material costs.

The Xactimate code is RFG IWS.

Your supplement argument: "IRC R905.1.2 and local building code [cite jurisdiction] require ice barrier membrane. Current estimate includes insufficient square footage. Requesting full coverage per code: [X] SQ at eave, [X] LF at valleys, per Xactimate code RFG IWS."

4. Overhead and Profit (O&P)

O&P is the most financially significant item on this list, and it's also the most misunderstood. Overhead and profit is supposed to compensate you for the cost of running your business: office, insurance, trucks, administrative staff, software, and the actual profit margin that keeps your company alive.

The standard applied in most estimates is 10% overhead and 10% profit — a 20% combined figure. The problem is that most roofing contractors' actual overhead runs 25% to 40% of revenue. The 10% standard is a fiction that insurers created and contractors accepted without pushback.

More importantly: when a claim involves three or more trades (roofing, gutters, siding — which is most hail claims), the three-trade rule means the insurer must pay general contractor O&P on the full multi-trade scope. Many adjusters don't apply this at all.

Your supplement argument: "This claim involves three trades: roofing, gutters, and siding. Per industry standard practice for multi-trade losses, requesting general contractor O&P at 10% overhead + 10% profit on the full coordinated scope of $[X]. Reference: Xactware O&P White Paper."

5. Steep Pitch Labor Surcharge

Working on a steep roof is physically harder, slower, and more dangerous. It requires specialized equipment, more crew time, and carries higher liability. Xactimate recognizes this with steep pitch labor adjustments that kick in above 7/12 pitch.

Here's what those adjustments look like:

Adjusters either forget to include it, use the wrong pitch factor, or apply it only to tear-off and not install. If your crew is on a steep roof, steep pitch applies to all roof-related labor — tear-off, felt/synthetic underlayment, and shingle installation.

Your supplement argument: "Roof pitch verified at [X]/12. Requesting steep pitch labor factor [RFG STEEP1/2/3] applied to all labor line items: tear-off, underlayment, and shingle installation. Photos of pitch measurement attached."

The Math Adds Up Fast

Let's put all five items together on one average claim:

That's over $7,000 per claim. If you're running 15 claims a year and getting half of them supplemented, that's $50,000+ in recovered revenue — money that was already owed to you.

Stop Leaving It on the Table

None of this is about being aggressive or trying to inflate claims. These are legitimate line items that are either code-required, manufacturer-required, or standard Xactimate scope items that adjusters routinely omit.

The contractors getting the most out of every claim aren't smarter — they're just more systematic. They check every estimate against a consistent list of items before they accept anything.