Xactimate is the estimating software that nearly every property insurance carrier in the country uses to price a roof claim, and your roofer needs to know it because that’s the exact program the adjuster is using to decide what your claim is worth. A contractor who writes an estimate in a different format is arguing generalities against the carrier’s own numbers. Integrity CRR’s in-house estimating staff holds Xactimate certification through Haag Engineering, the same body that certifies our roof inspectors, so we write your claim scope in the adjuster’s own software and compare it line by line against theirs.
What Is Xactimate, and Why Does My Roofer Need It?
Xactimate is a line-item estimating platform, built by Verisk, that prices construction and repair work using regional labor and material costs updated monthly for a given zip code. Insurance carriers standardized on it decades ago because it gives every adjuster, every contractor, and every claim the same pricing reference instead of a dozen competing formats. When a carrier’s adjuster inspects your roof, the estimate they write is almost always a Xactimate estimate, with a specific line item, unit cost, and quantity for every piece of the scope, from tear-off to ridge cap to code-required drip edge.
A Xactimate estimate isn’t just a total dollar figure. Every line carries a specific code, a unit of measure (square, linear foot, each), a unit price pulled from that zip code’s regional price list, and a quantity pulled from a roof sketch built during inspection. Two totals show up on nearly every claim: RCV (replacement cost value, what it costs to replace the item new at current prices) and ACV (actual cash value, RCV minus depreciation for the roof’s age and condition). Most policies pay ACV up front and hold back recoverable depreciation until the repair is finished and proof of completion goes back to the carrier, at which point they release the difference up to RCV. Your policy decides which applies, not your contractor.
If your roofer doesn’t work in Xactimate, they’re handing the adjuster a bid in a format the adjuster didn’t build and can’t easily reconcile against their own line items. That forces the conversation into generalities: “this seems low” instead of “line 14, ice and water shield, is missing from your scope and code requires it here.” Integrity CRR is a service-disabled veteran-owned general contractor holding Georgia GC license #GCCO009212 and Florida Certified GC license #CGC1539499, and our in-house team holds the highest level of Haag Certified Reviewer, a credential that requires Xactimate certification as a prerequisite. That means the same estimate a carrier’s adjuster is defending, we can rebuild and challenge in the identical software.
How Integrity CRR Uses Xactimate on Your Claim
Working a claim in Xactimate isn’t a paperwork exercise. It changes what happens at every stage:
- Inspection. A Haag-certified inspector documents the damage on the roof itself, not just from photos, distinguishing functional damage (that shortens the roof’s life and is covered) from cosmetic damage (that often isn’t).
- Documentation. Every damaged component gets photographed and logged against a specific Xactimate line item, so nothing depends on memory or a verbal description later.
- Adjuster meeting. Our team walks the roof with the adjuster and compares our line-item scope against theirs while standing on the damage, not after the fact over email.
- Supplementing. Anything missing from the carrier’s approved scope, code-required upgrades, decking replacement discovered once the roof is opened, damaged flashing, detached structures, gets submitted as a supplement with photo documentation and the matching Xactimate line item.
- Scope of repair. The final approved scope becomes the actual repair specification, so the crew building the roof is working from the same document the carrier approved, not a separate in-house estimate.
What to Check on Your Adjuster’s Xactimate Estimate
You don’t need Xactimate training to read your own estimate, but a handful of line items get missed often enough that they’re worth checking for by name before you sign off:
- Ice and water shield. Many jurisdictions require it at eaves and valleys; a first-pass estimate sometimes prices to an older code cycle instead of the one currently in effect.
- Drip edge. Frequently left off entirely on wind and hail claims even though most current codes require it around the full roof perimeter.
- Tear-off of every layer. If your roof has two layers of shingles, the estimate needs to price removing both, not one.
- Ridge cap and ridge vent, priced as their own line items rather than lumped into the field shingle quantity.
- Flashing — step flashing, counter-flashing, and pipe boots, especially where new shingles meet a chimney, wall, or skylight.
- Overhead and profit (O&P). This applies when the job needs two or more trades or general contractor coordination; carriers sometimes drop it from an estimate that should include it.
If any of these are missing from your adjuster’s scope but are visible on the roof, that’s grounds for a supplement, not an argument. It’s a specific line item you can point to and a code section or photo you can attach to it.
Roofing Is Self-Performed, Not Brokered Out
On commercial build-outs, tenant improvements, and public works, Integrity CRR operates as the general contractor managing vetted subcontractors with a track record on prior projects. Roofing is the exception: Integrity CRR self-performs roofing with its own crews, and the roofing estimate is written in-house by the same Haag-certified, Xactimate-certified reviewer who inspected the damage, not farmed out to a separate estimator or a sub. The company that writes the scope is the same company holding the GC license that builds the repair.
What Happens if the Carrier’s Estimate Comes Up Short
Once your claim is approved, we guarantee you get the full value of it. Our in-house Xactimate staff writes every item of justified, claimable damage into the scope, including the items carriers routinely miss or leave off: code-required upgrades, detached structures like a shed or fence damaged by the same storm, and labor or material costs that only surface once the roof is opened. If the approved estimate comes up short against what the damage actually requires, we document the gap with photos and the matching Xactimate line item and submit a supplement.
That guarantee covers the completeness of the scope we control, it is not a guarantee that a claim will be approved, that coverage exists, or a promise about a dollar figure. What your policy covers is a decision between you and your carrier. Integrity CRR is not a public adjuster and does not negotiate, adjust, or settle your claim on your behalf, that is licensed public-adjuster work in Georgia. We write the scope, document the damage, and submit supplements as your contractor.
What This Means for Your Repair Cost
Xactimate doesn’t set your out-of-pocket cost, your policy’s deductible and coverage terms do. But a complete scope changes what the carrier pays for versus what you’d otherwise cover yourself. General Southeast market ranges below are not a quote, every roof needs a site-specific estimate:
| Scope item | Typical metro Atlanta range |
|---|---|
| Localized shingle repair | $600 - $2,500 |
| Full asphalt shingle replacement | $9,000 - $18,000 |
| Code-required upgrades (drip edge, ice and water shield) | $500 - $2,500, often missing from a first-pass adjuster estimate |
| Commercial low-slope TPO replacement | $5 - $10 per sq ft installed |
A roof that lands at the top of these ranges usually has steep pitch, multiple layers to tear off, or extensive decking replacement once the old roofing comes up; a roof at the low end is a simple, single-layer, walkable tear-off.
Why This Matters More Than It Sounds Like It Should
A roof claim is decided almost entirely on paper before a nail gets fired. If the paper the carrier is working from is missing line items, the repair gets built to a scope that’s short, and the gap lands on the homeowner unless someone catches it before the work starts. That’s the actual value of a contractor who works in Xactimate: not a sales pitch about “fighting for you,” but a specific, checkable comparison between what the carrier approved and what the roof requires.
Integrity CRR serves Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, and the surrounding metro on both roofing and storm restoration claims. If you’ve got an adjuster estimate in hand and aren’t sure it covers everything, contact us or call (833) 423-6255 and we’ll walk the scope with you line by line.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Xactimate the same software my insurance adjuster uses?
Yes. Xactimate is the estimating platform nearly every property insurance carrier in the U.S. uses to price claims, so the adjuster’s estimate on your roof is almost always built in it. A contractor certified in Xactimate can compare their scope directly against the adjuster’s line by line instead of arguing in general terms.
Does my roofing contractor need to be Xactimate-certified?
It isn’t legally required, but it changes how a disputed claim gets resolved. Integrity CRR’s in-house team holds Haag Certified Reviewer credentials, which require Xactimate certification, so the estimate we write is directly comparable to the carrier’s own scope, line item for line item.
What is a supplement, and when does my roofer file one?
A supplement is an additional claim submission for damage or code-required work that the carrier’s original approved scope left out, things like ice and water shield, decking replacement found once the roof is opened, or a damaged detached structure. Integrity CRR documents the gap with photos and the matching Xactimate line item and submits it to the carrier as part of the same claim.
Can my contractor negotiate my claim settlement with the insurance company?
No, negotiating, adjusting, or settling a claim on a homeowner’s behalf is licensed public-adjuster work in Georgia, and Integrity CRR is not a public adjuster. As your contractor, we write the repair scope, document the damage, and submit supplements, while the coverage decision stays between you and your carrier.
What’s the difference between RCV and ACV on my Xactimate estimate?
RCV (replacement cost value) is what it costs to replace the damaged item new, at current material and labor prices. ACV (actual cash value) is RCV minus depreciation for the roof’s age and condition. Most policies pay ACV first and hold back recoverable depreciation until the repair is complete and you submit proof, then release the difference up to RCV. Which one applies to your claim is set by your policy, not by your contractor.
How long does the Xactimate estimate and supplement process take?
Inspection and the carrier’s initial adjuster estimate typically take one to two weeks. A supplement submitted with photo documentation and matching Xactimate line items is usually reviewed within another one to three weeks, though timelines run longer with any carrier during high claim volume after a widespread storm event.