For homeowners whose first check came up short
On a replacement-cost policy, the claim pays in two checks. The first is the depreciated value. The rest — routinely 40 to 50 cents of every dollar — is released only after you finish the repairs, submit the proof, and beat a deadline. The standard deadline is 180 days. But in some states the law sets a longer floor your policy cannot go below — California's floor is 12 months, Maryland's is 2 years, and New Mexico does not allow the deadline at all. Your insurer will quote you the shorter clock. This site does the arithmetic it won't: how much is being held back, what your real deadline is, and the exact document to send next.
No login. Nothing uploaded. Ever.
Before you spend another hour on hold, you deserve two numbers: the dollars still being held back, and the date that actually governs you. Both come from the insurer's own estimate letter and your state's law — and both are free here.
Tell it your state and the numbers on the insurer's own estimate. It does the subtraction, then measures your policy's clock against your state's legal floor — the deadline your insurer may not be telling you about. No login, nothing uploaded; it runs on this page, in your browser.
We never ask you to upload your policy or your declarations page — not here, not anywhere. Anyone who asks for your insurer-portal password while offering to help with a claim is running a scam.
The deadline
Finish late, or document badly, and the held-back depreciation is forfeited — permanently. The trap inside the trap: the 180 days in most letters is a notice deadline in the standard form, and your state's law may give you far longer. How long do I have? → · How to get it back →
The denial
"Wear and tear." "Cosmetic." "Not covered." A denial letter is the start of a process, not the end of one — internal appeal, the appraisal clause for amount fights, and the state complaint that forces a written answer. Claim denied → · The appraisal clause →
The schedule
Many "replacement cost" policies carry a roof payment schedule that caps an old roof at 40%, 25% — and money withheld under a schedule is not recoverable, however perfect your paperwork. Find out which fight you're actually in. Roof depreciation → · The roof schedule guide →
The floors nobody quotes you: California — at least 12 months from your first check (36 after a declared emergency), by statute · Maryland — 2 years from the loss, by statute · New Mexico — a completion deadline is not allowed, by the Superintendent's own bulletin · Colorado — at least 365 days after your living-expense coverage ends on a total loss. The full 50-state table, with sources, is here.
First — is yours insurance, or is it a warranty? A warranty covers things that wear out. Insurance covers things that happen. This site is about your insurance policy after a loss — storm, fire, burst pipe. A home warranty is a different product: a service contract you buy to cover breakdowns, sold by companies like American Home Shield or Choice. If that's what you have, use our sister site's free tool instead: WarrantyDecoded's claim-readiness checker — same company as us, built for that contract. If an insurer sent you a first check that came up short after a loss, stay here.
No carrier page will ever say "we may owe you a second check; here is your state's minimum deadline, the extension you can demand, and the proof list that releases the money." That page would pay out money the company currently keeps by silence. So the giant publishes the brochure and buries the arithmetic — and sells the fight to public adjusters at 10 to 20 percent of your whole settlement.
This site is the arithmetic, done from primary sources: the statutes, the regulator bulletins, the standard policy form — every rule stamped with its source and the date we checked it. One discipline, stated up front: we never ask you to upload your policy or your declarations page. A $99 service launched this year reads your documents for you; we think your documents should stay in your house. The checker runs in your browser, and the kit works from the paperwork you already hold.
One payment, yours to keep. We never ask you to upload your policy — you file everything yourself. See everything inside the kit →
No. DepreciationDecoded is a self-help kit: a checker, a state dataset, letters, and checklists that you use yourself. Public adjusting — negotiating a claim for someone else — is a licensed profession, and we are not public adjusters. We sell the computation and the paperwork for $39, once. If your loss is very large, involves an injury, or shows a pattern of the insurer missing its own written deadlines, the honest move is a licensed public adjuster or an attorney — the kit's documents are organized so either can pick up your file cold.
Yes — if three things happen: the work is actually completed, the proof is submitted, and both happen inside the deadline that governs you. The money is not automatic and it is capped at what you actually spent. The full answer, including what happens when a mortgage company is on the check, is on one page.
It is a deadline — in the standard policy form, 180 days is the window to notify the insurer of your intent to repair or replace. Whether it is your real deadline depends on your state: California law forbids any limit under 12 months, Maryland requires 2 years be allowed, and New Mexico's Superintendent has ruled time limits are not authorized at all. Run the checker with your state — it measures both clocks.
Not by yourself — a two-name check needs the mortgage company's endorsement, and the lender will usually escrow the money and release it in draws as work is verified. It is a process, not a refusal. The steps are on the two-names page and the release walkthrough.
It depends on your state — genuinely. Washington, California, Vermont, DC, and several other states bar or restrict labor depreciation; Arkansas and Oklahoma expressly allow it; some states are split. Your state's position, with its citation, is in the state table, and the checker states it for your state.
No — a home warranty is a service contract for breakdowns, a different product with different companies. Use our sister site's free WarrantyDecoded checker. If an insurance company sent you the short check after a storm, fire, or burst pipe, you're in the right place here.
Facts checked Oct 20, 2026 against primary sources: the California and Maryland insurance codes, the New Mexico Superintendent's Bulletin 2024-003, the Colorado Revised Statutes, the standard HO-3 policy form, and a 50-state law-firm survey of labor-depreciation law (updated Aug 28, 2025). Every rule on this site carries its source; cells we could not verify are flagged as unverified, on the page.