How the Insurance Supplementing Process Works for Missouri Homeowners
Insurance companies are not in the business of paying you more than they have to. When your adjuster visits your property and hands you an estimate, that number is almost never the full story. The supplementing process is how experienced contractors — like Hail Shield Exteriors — go back and recover the money your insurance company left on the table. For our clients, the average supplement increases the total claim value by 38%.
What Is a Supplement?
A supplement is a formal submission to your insurance carrier requesting additional payment beyond their initial estimate. It includes line items for damages, code-required upgrades, and labor costs that the adjuster missed, underpriced, or excluded from their initial scope of loss. Supplements are legal, standard in the industry, and your right as a policyholder.
Common Items Missed in Initial Estimates
Code-required ice and water shield at eaves and valleys is one of the most commonly omitted line items in Missouri. Other frequent omissions include: drip edge replacement (code-required upon re-roofing), detach-and-reset items like satellite dishes, skylights, and gutters, contractor overhead and profit (O&P — a standard markup on insurance work), updated material pricing (adjusters often use outdated cost databases), and permit fees.
How We Build a Supplement
Our supplement specialists use Xactimate — the same software insurance companies use — to build a line-by-line rebuttal. We document every discrepancy with photos, measurements, manufacturer specs, and local building code citations. We submit the supplement directly to your adjuster with supporting evidence and a professional cover letter. In most cases, carriers respond within 7-14 days.
ACV vs RCV: The Depreciation Holdback
Most Missouri homeowners have RCV (Replacement Cost Value) policies, meaning the insurance company pays the full replacement cost — not just the depreciated value. However, they initially withhold the depreciation amount (called the 'holdback' or 'recoverable depreciation') until repairs are completed. Once we finish your roof and submit a certificate of completion, your carrier releases the second check. We manage this entire process for you.