Services
Aged Claim File
Review
An aged claim file review is a check on a roofing insurance claim that's been open for months, sometimes over a year, to determine what's still recoverable before a policy deadline closes it permanently. We pull the file, check what was paid, what was never submitted, and what window is still open, then tell you exactly what to do next.
By Kyle Hamrick, Founder
Why Old Claims Still Have Money in Them
Every roofing contractor has a folder of claims that got the roof replaced, the homeowner is happy, and then the file just stopped moving. Nobody submitted the completion letter. Nobody supplemented the missed code items. Nobody followed up when the carrier went quiet. Months pass. The job is done and paid for on the surface, but there's money still sitting with the carrier that nobody has gone back to collect.
This happens for a predictable reason: closing a claim file well takes ongoing attention, and once the roof is installed and the homeowner is happy, everyone's attention moves to the next job. The claim isn't actually finished, it just stopped being anyone's priority. An aged file review exists to find those files before their recovery window closes for good.
What We Check in an Aged File
Depreciation status
If the claim was paid on an ACV basis, was a Completion Letter (COC) ever submitted to release the withheld depreciation? Recoverable depreciation windows commonly run from 180 days to 2 years from the initial payment, but the exact window varies by state and by policy, so it has to be verified on your specific claim rather than assumed. Once that window closes, the money is forfeited permanently.
Unsubmitted supplements
Was the original carrier estimate reviewed for missed code items, manufacturer requirements, or scope gaps before the job closed out? If not, and the claim is still technically open, there may still be a window to supplement it.
Documentation gaps
Do we have what we need, photos, measurement reports, the original and any revised carrier estimates, to act on this file at all? Aged files are often missing pieces that were never organized in the first place. We tell you specifically what's missing and whether it can still be reconstructed.
Deadline exposure
Every open item on an aged file has some kind of clock running, whether it's a depreciation window, a policy-level claim deadline, or a statute of limitations that varies by state. We flag what's time-sensitive so nothing closes out by accident while it's sitting in a drawer.
See our full depreciation recovery service for how the depreciation step works.
How the Review Works
Send us whatever you have on the file: the original claim number, any carrier correspondence, estimates, and completion documentation. We review the claim status against what's typically recoverable at that stage and tell you, in writing, what's still open, what's likely forfeited already, and what needs to move immediately versus what can wait.
This review is written same-day or next-day for a standard single file. Portfolios of multiple aged claims (common for contractors doing this cleanup across a whole customer list) take longer depending on volume; we'll scope that with you directly once we see how many files are involved.
Why Speed Matters More on Aged Files Than Fresh Ones
A fresh claim has time on its side. An aged claim, by definition, does not. Every week a file sits untouched is a week closer to a deadline you may not even know exists on that specific policy. That's the entire reason this is a distinct service instead of just folding into our standard roofing supplements process: aged files need triage first, because the question isn't just "what's owed," it's "how much time is left to collect it."
Who This Is For
Contractors doing a portfolio cleanup: going back through the last one to two years of completed jobs to find depreciation and supplement dollars that were never collected. Contractors who inherited a backlog of claims from a previous production manager or estimator who didn't close files properly. Homeowners who got their roof done a while back, received an ACV check, and never heard anything else from their carrier about the rest of the money.
If your claim closed less than a couple of months ago and nothing has been submitted yet, you may not need an "aged" review at all, that's still a standard file. This service is specifically for files old enough that a deadline might already be close or already passed.
What to Send Us
The original claim number and carrier name, any estimates or correspondence you still have, and the completion date of the roofing work if it's finished. If you're not sure what documentation survived from a job months ago, our roof claim inspection checklist shows what should have been captured at the time and can help you figure out what's missing versus what might still exist in an old file somewhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it too late to check on an old claim?
Usually not, but the only way to know is to check. Some recovery windows run out to two years; others are shorter. We won't know what's still open on your specific file until we look.
What if nothing is recoverable?
We tell you that directly. An aged file review sometimes turns up nothing, and we'd rather tell you that in the first pass than waste your time chasing a closed door.
Can you handle a whole backlog of old claims at once?
Yes. This is common for contractors doing a first-time cleanup of their claim history. Send us the list and we'll triage by urgency, oldest deadlines first.
Does this cost anything to find out?
The initial review of what's open and what's time-sensitive has no cost to look. If action is needed, like submitting a completion letter or a supplement, that's a separate scoped step.
Send the old claim number. We'll tell you what's still open.
No cost to look. Written same-day or next-day on a standard single file.