Underpaid Claims
The check came. It does not cover the repairs.
An underpayment is the hardest denial to recognize, because it arrives looking like a win. A payment that covers a third of the work is still a claim your insurer has not paid — and cashing it does not have to be the end of the conversation.
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- in settlements secured
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- Gulf Coast families helped
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How claims get underpaid
Depreciation that never comes back
Your policy pays actual cash value first and the withheld depreciation once repairs are done. Many policyholders never learn the second payment exists, and the carrier is not required to remind you.
Estimating software, not a contractor
Carrier estimates are generated from pricing databases that lag the real market, especially after a storm when labor and materials spike. No local contractor will do the job for that number.
Repair when it should be replace
Patching four slopes of a roof that no longer matches, or replacing part of a floor that runs continuously through the house. Matching and continuity provisions in your policy often require more than the estimate allows.
Scope that misses the damage
The adjuster measured the visible damage. The estimate has no line for the wet insulation behind the wall, the code upgrade the parish now requires, or the contents ruined underneath.
Underpayment is the most common outcome, and the least reported
A denial is unmistakable — you get a letter saying no. An underpayment arrives as a check, and a check feels like the system worked. Most policyholders deposit it, discover the shortfall when the contractor bids the job, and conclude that the difference is simply what insurance does not cover.
Frequently it is not. The difference between what a carrier’s software generated and what the repair actually costs is the single largest category of money left on the table in property insurance, and it goes unclaimed because the shortfall never looked like a dispute.
What a real estimate looks like
We rebuild the estimate from the damage rather than from the carrier’s file: an independent inspection, a licensed contractor or estimator pricing the work at what it genuinely costs in your parish or county this year, and every line the original scope omitted — code upgrades, matching, contents, and additional living expenses where your policy provides them.
That number is what we take to the carrier. The gap between the two estimates is usually not a matter of opinion, and it is usually large. Three of the recoveries shown on our home page began exactly this way — as a check the homeowner had already received.
Cashing the check does not waive your claim
This is the misunderstanding that costs people the most. Accepting a partial payment on an open claim generally does not release your insurer from paying the rest of what it owes — what matters is whether you signed a release, and what it said. Before you conclude your claim is closed, let us look at what you actually signed.
Common questions
I already cashed the check. Is it too late?
Usually not. Depositing a partial payment on an open claim generally does not release the insurer from the balance it owes. What matters is whether you signed a release and what that document said — which is worth having reviewed before you assume the claim is over.
What is recoverable depreciation?
On a replacement cost policy, the insurer first pays actual cash value — the value after depreciation — and holds the depreciated amount back until repairs are complete and documented. That withheld money is yours when the work is done. A great many policyholders never claim it.
How do I know whether my settlement was fair?
Get an independent bid for the full scope of repairs and compare it line by line with the carrier’s estimate. Where a real contractor’s number substantially exceeds the adjuster’s, the difference is what we would pursue. We do that comparison at no charge.
What does it cost to challenge a low settlement?
Nothing up front. We work on contingency, so our fee comes out of the additional recovery. If there is no additional recovery, you owe us nothing.
These answers are general information about property insurance claims, not legal advice about your claim. Every policy and every loss is different — talk to us about yours.
Have your settlement reviewed
The review is free and we work on contingency — we get paid when you get paid. Talk to us before you accept that offer!