What Is Xactimate? How to Read Your Insurance Roof Estimate

Xactimate is property claims estimating software made by Verisk. Insurance adjusters and contractors use it to measure a damaged building, list every repair as a line item and price each item from a local price list. If your insurance company sent you a roof estimate full of item codes, quantities and unit prices, it may have been written in Xactimate. That estimate, usually called the scope of loss, is the insurance company's list of what it is paying for. It is not a bill, and it is not the final word: items that were left off can be added later through a supplement.

This is general information to help you read your estimate. It is not insurance advice. Your own policy, and your insurance company, decide what is covered.

What Xactimate is, in plain words

Verisk describes Xactimate as "property claims estimating software for sketching, scoping, localized pricing, and reporting." In practice that means three jobs:

• Sketch. The adjuster or estimator draws the roof: each slope, its pitch, its area, and the length of ridges, hips, valleys, eaves and rakes.
• Scope. Each piece of work becomes a line item: tear off the old shingles, install new ones, replace a pipe jack, add drip edge, and so on.
• Price. The software applies a unit price to each line from the price list for your area, then adds it all up into the estimate you receive.

Verisk says Xactimate offers pricing for more than 460 geographic regions. Its own customer stories include an independent adjusting company and a clean-up and construction business, which is a fair picture of who uses it: the people who write insurance estimates, and the contractors who do the work.

Where the prices come from

Homeowners often assume the insurance company picks its own prices. With Xactimate, the prices come from Verisk's price lists. Verisk's pricing research methodology says price lists for each market are published monthly, and can be published as often as every two weeks when demand surges, such as after a big storm. Verisk says the prices are built from local and regional material, labor and equipment costs, industry surveys and recently completed estimates.

Two points from Verisk are worth knowing before you read your own estimate:

• Verisk says its role "is to report a market price based upon recent transactions that have occurred and industry surveys." It reports prices; it does not set what your roof should cost.
• Verisk also says there is "no guarantee any published price will be appropriate for every specific situation," and that its data is a foundation from which all parties can decide whether a price should be accepted or adjusted. In other words, a line item price can be discussed when the job calls for it.

How to read a roof estimate written in Xactimate

The layout varies by insurance company, but most roof scopes of loss show the same pieces for every line:

• Description. What the work is, for example removing the old shingles or installing ridge cap.
• Quantity and unit. Roofing is measured in squares, and one square is 100 square feet of roof, often written SQ. Trim and flashing are usually in linear feet (LF), and single items such as pipe jacks or vents are counted each (EA).
• Unit price and total. The price per unit from the local price list, times the quantity.
• Replacement cost and depreciation. Many estimates show the full replacement cost, the depreciation taken for age and wear, and the actual cash value that is paid first. How that money reaches you is covered in how long a roof insurance claim takes.

At the end you will usually see totals, your deductible subtracted, and the amount of the first check. Keep the whole document. Your roofer needs every page, not just the summary.

What to check on the scope of loss for a roof

A scope of loss is only as good as what it lists. Many adjusters are not construction experts, so items a roofing job needs can be missed. Here is what a full roof replacement with Patriot Roofing and Restoration includes, which makes a good checklist to hold your estimate against:

• Tear-off down to the decking, haul-away and cleanup, including any extra layers of old shingles.
• Decking checked and replaced where it is damaged.
• Starter shingles on the eaves and rakes, and hip and ridge cap.
• Synthetic underlayment and ice and water protection in the valleys.
• Drip edge on the full perimeter.
• Ventilation, such as ridge vent with intake or turbines.
• Pipe flashings, step flashing, headwall flashing and flashing on other penetrations such as exhaust vents and the electrical mast.
• Chimney flashing and a cricket where needed, and skylight flashing kits.
• A roofing permit in towns that require one. In the towns Patriot serves, that list is Hot Springs, Hot Springs Village, Maumelle, Cabot, Searcy, White Hall and Haskell.

Also look at what the estimate covers by slope. Policies generally pay for the part of the roof that was damaged, so an estimate may approve one or two slopes rather than the whole roof. Hail damage on soft metals such as vents and flashing is part of the evidence, which is why a specialist should meet the adjuster on the roof. If you want the background on whether a whole roof qualifies, read does insurance cover roof replacement.

How Patriot Roofing works with your Xactimate estimate

We work with your insurance company, not against it. The insurer decides what is covered, and we do not act as a public adjuster or negotiate your settlement. What we do is make sure the estimate matches the roof:

1. You send us the scope of loss. Once your claim is approved, ask your insurance company for the full estimate and send it to your Roofing Specialist.
2. We audit it line by line. Your specialist checks every item against what your roof actually needs and goes over your options with you, including any upgrades you want, which go into a separate construction agreement.
3. We submit a supplement for anything missing. Items left off the scope are sent to your insurance company with our detailed estimate. The main supplement usually takes 21 to 30 days. See how roof claim supplements work.
4. You watch for checks. Supplements are approved in stages, so you may get three or four checks. If your mortgage company is named on a check, send it to them right away the way they require; we recommend overnight delivery with tracking.
5. We close it out honestly. When the job is done, we send your adjuster a signed certificate of completion so the remaining funds can be released. What the insurer is told about the work and what you paid always matches what actually happened. Arkansas Code 23-66-501 to 513 makes it a fraudulent insurance act to give an insurer false information, and we never knowingly do.

Your deductible stays your responsibility. We follow Arkansas HB 1308 (2025) and never waive, absorb or pay a deductible. Patriot financing helps cover deductibles, with approved credit.

If your claim has not started yet, our storm damage repair page and the storm claim checklist walk through the first steps, from tarping to meeting the adjuster.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Xactimate price the price I will pay for my roof?

Not necessarily. The estimate is what the insurance company has approved so far. Missing items can be added through a supplement, your deductible comes out of the total, and any upgrades you choose are priced separately in your construction agreement.

Does the insurance company set Xactimate prices?

No. Verisk publishes the price lists and says its role is to report market prices from recent transactions and industry surveys. Verisk also says a published price will not fit every situation, so prices can be adjusted when the job calls for it.

How often are Xactimate prices updated?

Verisk says price lists for each market are published monthly, and can be published as often as every two weeks during a demand surge such as the weeks after a major storm.

What does SQ mean on my roof estimate?

A square, which is 100 square feet of roof. A 25 SQ roof covers about 2,500 square feet of roof surface. LF means linear feet and EA means each.

What if something is missing from my scope of loss?

Send the full estimate to your roofer. A missing item is added through a supplement submitted with a detailed estimate, and the insurance company decides whether to approve it. If Patriot disagrees with the adjuster's decision on the damage itself, a reinspection is a separate step with its own cost.

Will Patriot Roofing pay my deductible to make the numbers work?

No. The deductible is yours under your policy, and we never waive, absorb or pay it. Financing with approved credit can help you pay it.

Get a second set of eyes on your estimate

Have a storm-damaged roof, or an insurance estimate you cannot make sense of? Book a free storm or replacement inspection and we will check every slope, photograph what we find and walk you through your scope of loss line by line. Contact us or call 501.441.2900.

Sources: Verisk, Xactimate product page (verisk.com); Verisk, Pricing Research Methodology (verisk.com, PDF); Verisk, Pricing Data Services (verisk.com); all checked November 10, 2026. Xactimate is a registered trademark of Verisk. Patriot Roofing and Restoration is not affiliated with Verisk. This article is general information, not insurance advice. Coverage, deductibles and deadlines vary by policy and insurance company. Confirm the details with your agent or insurer.