The Check Will Not Cover the Repairs
This is the most common problem we see, and the one people are most likely to accept. The claim was approved, a check arrived, and then every contractor who looks at the job quotes double. That gap is not your problem to absorb. It usually means the scope was short.
Bellator Claims Resolution are licensed public adjusters and insurance appraisers. Send us the estimate and the policy. We will tell you at no cost whether the number is defensible.
How Settlements Come In Short
- Missing line items. Flashing, drip edge, ice and water shield, detach and reset, disposal.
- Partial scope. Two slopes paid when the whole roof needs replacement.
- No matching. You are left with mismatched siding, shingles or tile.
- Stale pricing. Software pricing that has not kept up with local labor and materials.
- Overhead and profit withheld. On a job that obviously needs a general contractor.
- Excessive depreciation. Applied to items that are not depreciable, or at the wrong age.
- Code upgrades ignored. Even when your policy includes ordinance or law coverage.
- Hidden damage never investigated. Decking, insulation, interior finishes.
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Actual Cash Value Is Not the Final Number
Most residential and commercial policies are replacement cost policies that pay in two stages. The first check is actual cash value, which is replacement cost minus depreciation. The rest, called recoverable depreciation, is owed once the work is done and documented. A lot of people never claim it because nobody told them it existed.
If you have a first check in hand and no plan for the second, call us.
Supplements Are Normal
A supplement is simply a request to add what the first estimate missed, supported by documentation. Carriers pay supplements every day. They just rarely volunteer them. What a supplement needs is a line-item estimate, photographs, and policy language - not a phone call complaining the number is low.
If They Will Not Move: Appraisal
When the carrier agrees the loss is covered but will not agree on the amount, that is a dispute over the amount of loss, and nearly every property policy contains an appraisal clause to resolve it. Each side names an appraiser, the two select an umpire, and the award binds the carrier. It is faster and far cheaper than a lawsuit. We serve as appraiser and as umpire. See property insurance appraisal.
Do Not Cash the Check and Assume It Is Over
Depositing a claim payment does not by itself close your claim, but signing a release can. Read anything the carrier asks you to sign, and do not sign a full and final release while repairs are unpriced.
What We Do
- Re-inspect and write a complete, line-item scope at real local pricing.
- Compare it against the carrier's estimate and identify every gap.
- Submit a documented supplement and negotiate it.
- Track recoverable depreciation and get it released.
- Invoke appraisal if the gap will not close.
What It Costs
Nothing up front. We are paid a percentage of what we recover above what you were already offered. Related: denied claims, commercial claims, hail damage claims.
Send Us the Estimate
Call 720-707-3577 in Colorado or 307-206-8711 in Wyoming. Free second opinion on any property claim estimate.
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