Carrier Underpaid Your Roof Claim — Here's What to Do

The carrier sent you a check and closed the claim. But when you compared it to your estimate, the numbers didn't match. Missing line items. Low unit prices. Depreciation that shouldn't be there. You know the job costs more than what they paid — you just need to know what to do about it.

This is what the supplement process is, how it works, and what a successful one looks like.

What a Supplement Is

A supplement is a formal request to reopen a closed or settled claim and recover additional amounts the carrier missed, underpaid, or denied the first time. It's not a dispute or an appeal — it's a line-item argument backed by documentation.

Carriers supplement claims every day. It's a standard part of the claims process. A well-prepared supplement with proper documentation gets added to the scope in most cases. A poorly prepared one — or no supplement at all — means money left behind.

The Three Most Common Reasons Carriers Underpay

1. Missing line items

The adjuster scoped the main items — field shingles, underlayment, maybe a few accessories — and stopped there. Code-required components like drip edge, starter strip, and ice and water shield at the eaves got left out. So did items that weren't visible during the inspection: ridge cap, pipe boots, satellite dish removal and reset, flashing at walls and penetrations.

Every item that's on your estimate and missing from theirs is a potential supplement line.

2. Low unit prices

Carriers use Xactimate pricing databases that update quarterly. Depending on when your claim was priced and your zip code, the carrier's unit prices may be lower than what labor and materials actually cost in your market. This is one of the more technical supplement arguments — it requires a price justification (invoices, local bid comparisons, or a labor rate analysis) to override the carrier's database pricing.

3. Denied overhead and profit

If a general contractor is coordinating the work, overhead and profit (O&P) — typically 10% overhead and 10% profit on top of direct costs — is a recoverable line item. Carriers routinely deny it on the initial estimate by treating the job as a single-trade project. Arguing for O&P requires establishing that a general contractor is involved and that multiple trades are being coordinated. See our full guide on O&P for the complete argument.

What You Need to Send

A supplement that gets approved needs three things: a revised scope, documentation that supports each added or increased line item, and a narrative that connects the two.

How to Submit

Supplements are submitted directly to the carrier through their preferred channel — email to the adjuster, through the carrier's contractor portal, or by mail. Include the original claim number on everything.

Response times vary by carrier and adjuster caseload. Most carriers respond to a complete supplement in 10–21 days. If you haven't heard back in 3 weeks, a follow-up email referencing the claim number and submission date is appropriate.

Partial approvals are common on the first round. If the carrier approves some items and denies others, you can supplement again on the denied items with additional documentation. The supplement process can go multiple rounds — each round should add new information, not just resubmit the same argument.

Common Mistakes That Get Supplements Denied

• Submitting a revised estimate with no supporting documentation — the adjuster has no reason to approve what they can't verify
• Arguing prices without any local market data — "your price is too low" isn't an argument without a comparable
• Sending everything at once — large unorganized packets get triaged to the bottom; targeted supplements on 3–5 items at a time work better
• Waiting too long — most policies have deadlines for supplementing; check the policy language and don't let months go by
• Supplementing without reading the carrier's initial scope — missing items that were already in the estimate weakens your credibility on everything else

How Supplement Desk Handles This

We review your carrier's EOR against your estimate line by line, identify every gap, and build the supplement packet — revised scope, supporting documentation pulled to each line item, and a written narrative. You review and approve it before anything goes to the carrier.

The first review is free. If there's nothing to recover, you owe nothing. If we find recoverable amounts, we charge 10% of what's approved, with a $150 minimum per file.