ACV vs. RCV, Recoverable Depreciation, and Your Hail Deductible — Explained for Texas Homeowners
The three numbers on your claim summary decide what you actually get paid. Here's what actual cash value, replacement cost value, and recoverable depreciation mean on a DFW hail claim in 2026.
Open a Texas hail claim summary and you will see four numbers: RCV, depreciation, ACV, and deductible. Understanding them is the difference between feeling cheated and knowing exactly where you stand.
Replacement Cost Value (RCV)
What it costs today to replace the damaged roof with materials of like kind and quality, including labor, tear-off, disposal, and code items.
Depreciation
Value lost to age and wear. A 14-year-old 25-year shingle carries substantial depreciation. On an RCV policy it is recoverable: the carrier holds it back, then releases it once the work is complete and invoiced.
Actual Cash Value (ACV)
RCV minus depreciation. On an ACV-only policy — increasingly common on older Texas roofs — that is all you ever get. Check your declarations page for “Roof Surfaces Payment Schedule” or an ACV roof endorsement before the next storm, not after.
The deductible
Many North Texas policies now carry a separate percentage wind/hail deductible — commonly 1% to 5% of the dwelling coverage. On a $450,000 dwelling limit, a 2% wind/hail deductible is $9,000, not the $1,000 all-peril deductible you remember.
How the payments actually arrive
- First check: ACV minus your deductible, often co-payable to your mortgage company.
- Supplements: approved additions discovered during tear-off.
- Final check: recoverable depreciation, released after the completion invoice.
A warning: under Texas law it is insurance fraud for a contractor to rebate, waive, or absorb your deductible. Anyone offering to “take care of your deductible” is proposing a crime and telling you exactly how they treat everything else.
Want your claim summary walked through line by line? Call (844) 893-7326 or request a free inspection.