Key takeaways
- Recoverable depreciation depends on the policy, covered loss, completed work, and claim facts.
- Track the carrier's estimate, withheld amount, repair evidence, submission, and payment as one chain.
- Separate building, contents, and other coverage components.
- Preserve invoices and proof of completion in their original form.
- Reconcile every payment to carrier correspondence and the estimate version it addresses.
What recoverable depreciation means operationally
Replacement-cost policies may involve an initial payment reflecting actual cash value and a later claim for withheld depreciation after qualifying repair or replacement. The policy controls whether, when, and under what conditions additional amounts are payable.
A public adjuster tracker should not assume that every withheld amount is recoverable or that every invoice proves entitlement. It should make the required review possible.
Start with the policy
Record:
- Policy form and endorsement set
- Replacement-cost and actual-cash-value provisions
- Duties, conditions, and time-related language
- Coverage part and applicable limit
- Deductible treatment
- Carrier explanation of depreciation
- Any limitation tied to amounts actually and necessarily spent
Florida Statute 627.7011 addresses offers of replacement-cost and law-and-ordinance coverage for homeowners' policies and contains payment provisions for certain insured property. The exact policy and claim facts still control the file.
Build the depreciation ledger
Use one row per coverage component, trade, room, item group, or carrier line, depending on the claim's complexity.
| Field | What it answers |
|---|---|
| Carrier estimate version | Which calculation is being reconciled? |
| Replacement cost value | What value did the carrier assign before depreciation? |
| Depreciation | What amount was withheld and how was it described? |
| Actual cash value | What initial basis was used? |
| Deductible and prior payments | What else affected the payment? |
| Work status | Not started, in progress, complete, or not pursued |
| Evidence | Contract, invoice, receipt, photo, permit, or completion record |
| Amount incurred | What cost is supported by the records? |
| Submission | What was sent, when, and to whom? |
| Carrier response | Accepted, requested more information, disputed, or pending |
| Payment | Amount, date, payees, and associated explanation |
Keep scope and payment versions aligned
Depreciation tracking breaks when the carrier estimate changes but the ledger does not. Preserve every estimate and payment letter, then associate each withheld and paid amount with the version that created it.
If a supplement adds scope, distinguish new replacement-cost value from previously withheld depreciation. Do not blend them into one unexplained balance.
Evidence of repair or replacement
Depending on the policy and issue, the file may include:
- Executed contractor agreement
- Itemized invoices
- Proof of payment
- Progress and completion photos
- Permits and inspection records
- Material receipts
- Contents replacement receipts
- Sworn statements or other carrier-requested records
Record what each document proves and what it does not prove. An invoice may show a charge without proving payment; a photo may show completion without establishing cost.
Submission register
For each recovery request, preserve:
- Cover communication
- Exact attachments and versions
- Requested amount and calculation
- Recipient and delivery channel
- Timestamp and delivery confirmation
- Carrier acknowledgment
- Additional-information request
- Response and payment explanation
Create the submission from a controlled file set. Avoid attaching a live folder whose contents can change after sending.
Client and mortgagee visibility
Status updates should explain:
- What depreciation the carrier identified
- Which work is complete
- What evidence the firm has received
- What has been submitted
- What information is still needed
- Whether a payment has dual payees or endorsement requirements
- What uncertainty remains
Do not promise that the carrier will release a specific amount. State the policy and claim review still required.
Reconcile the payment
When a check or electronic payment arrives:
- Match it to the carrier letter and estimate version.
- Identify the coverage part and line items addressed.
- Record payees and endorsement status.
- Separate depreciation recovery from supplement or other payment components.
- Confirm the remaining balance in the ledger.
- Update the client with the next action.
An unexplained payment should remain unresolved until the carrier's basis is documented.
Common mistakes
- Treating the carrier's total depreciation figure as one recoverable balance
- Mixing building and contents calculations
- Losing the original estimate after a revision
- Recording invoice totals without the supported scope
- Failing to preserve proof of submission
- Assuming a payment represents the full recovery request
- Calculating public adjuster fees from an unreviewed payment category
Closeout test
The file should show, by coverage component, what was withheld, what work was completed, what evidence was submitted, what the carrier paid, and what remains disputed or unavailable. Another reviewer should be able to reproduce the balance without oral explanation.
This guide is operational information, not coverage, accounting, construction, or legal advice. The policy, loss facts, completed work, current law, carrier handling, and qualified professional judgment determine the correct result.
Official sources
- Florida Statute 627.7011: Homeowners' replacement-cost and law-and-ordinance coverage
- Florida DFS Homeowners Insurance Overview
Restoria completed an editorial check of the cited primary sources on July 12, 2026. No Florida-licensed public adjuster or attorney review or endorsement is claimed.
