Two policies can quote within a few dollars of each other and pay thousands apart on the same roof. The difference is one line on the declarations page. Put your roof in below and see both outcomes side by side.
Roof settlement is frequently the largest financial difference between two homeowners policies that look identical on price. It is also the term least likely to be explained at the point of sale, because explaining it makes the cheaper policy look worse.
Carriers have been moving steadily from replacement cost to actual cash value on roofs, and in March 2026 the Federal Housing Finance Agency loosened its requirements so that more homeowners can be placed on actual cash value roof coverage. It lowers the premium now and raises what you pay after a storm. On a twelve-year-old roof that trade is rarely worth taking.
Does my policy settle the roof at replacement cost or actual cash value — and if it is actual cash value, what would the endorsement cost to change it?
It is one line on the declarations page and it is not always labelled clearly. Send us the page and we will tell you in a sentence which basis you are on, and what changing it would cost.
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