Quick answerA roof claim generally moves from first notice of loss, to assignment and triage, to inspection and scope, to estimate build in Xactimate® or Symbility®, to review and any supplement, to payment and file close. There is no single legal deadline that applies to every stage; actual timeframes depend on the carrier's workflow, the policy language, and applicable state requirements, so treat this as a sequence reference, not a compliance calendar. The roof measurement report is typically ordered once the claim is assigned and scope work begins, ahead of or alongside the inspection.

The claim lifecycle, stage by stage

The stages below describe the order most residential roof claims follow. Some steps happen out of sequence or in parallel depending on the carrier's system and the IA firm's workflow, and catastrophe volume can compress or stretch every stage. Nothing here is a statutory deadline; it is the operational sequence adjusters and contractors actually work through.

StageWhat happensWhere the roof report fits
FNOLLoss is reported to the carrier or agent; a claim number is openedNot yet; the file is just being created
Assignment and triageClaim is routed to a desk adjuster, field adjuster, or independent adjusting firmDesk staff may start the estimate shell here
Inspection and scopeDamage is documented at the property; slope, pitch, and facet detail get recordedThe report is commonly ordered here, before or right after the site visit, so measurements are ready for the estimate
Estimate buildLine items go into Xactimate® or Symbility®; the report file is importedESX or XML from the report is imported directly into the estimate
Review and QAA supervisor or IA firm reviews line items, code items, and totalsMeasurement figures get checked against photos and the scope
Negotiation and supplementContractor or policyholder disputes scope; additional facets or code items may surfaceA revised or reordered report may be needed if the roof was reclassified
Payment and closeFinal payment is issued and the file is archivedReport, ESX or XML, and delivery email are retained in the closed file

FNOL to assignment: what happens first

First notice of loss opens the file: a claim number is issued, basic loss details are captured, and the claim is queued for assignment. From there it routes to a desk adjuster, a field adjuster, or an independent adjusting firm depending on the carrier's staffing model and the volume the region is seeing. Nothing about the roof itself is measured yet; this stage is administrative.

How quickly a claim moves from FNOL to an assigned adjuster depends entirely on the carrier's own service standards and, during a catastrophe event, on how many claims are in the queue ahead of it. There is no single number that applies across carriers, so this reference does not assign a day count to this step.

Inspection and scope: where the roof report fits

Once a claim is assigned, the adjuster schedules the inspection and starts building scope. This is the point in the timeline where a roof measurement report is most commonly ordered: either just before the site visit so the adjuster has facet counts and pitch on hand, or immediately after, to confirm what was observed and get exact numbers into the estimate.

The report is ordered from the property address, not from a site visit, so it can be requested at any point once the address and claim number are known. You can order a roof report by address from the site sponsor, Sketch My Roof, choosing Standard ESX ($19), Complex-roof ESX ($25) for cut-up roofs, PDF-only ($25), or ESX + PDF ($29). Orders placed before the 6 PM Eastern cutoff are delivered the same calendar day, with no subscription and no minimum order.

Building the estimate: Xactimate®, Symbility®, and XactAnalysis®

Once measurements are in hand, the estimate gets built in whichever platform the desk uses. An ESX file imports into Xactimate® as a sketch that carries the roof geometry into the estimate; an XML file serves the same purpose in Symbility®. The exact menu path for importing a sketch file varies by version, so verify the current steps in your own build via the vendor's help documentation rather than a fixed click path.

XactAnalysis® sits alongside Xactimate® in many carrier and Verisk™ workflows as the assignment and routing layer, tracking where a claim is in the pipeline rather than producing the estimate itself. Carriers running claims through the Verisk™ ecosystem can route report orders directly through Xactimate® Integration ordering rather than placing a standalone order.

Review, negotiation, and supplements

Before payment goes out, most files pass through a review step: a supervisor, an IA firm's QA desk, or a second adjuster checks that the line items match the documented damage and that the roof measurements match the estimate. This is also where disputes and supplements originate, most often because a contractor's own measurement disagrees with the file, or because additional facets, valleys, or steep sections were found once work started.

When a roof needs to be reclassified mid-claim, for example from a simple gable to a heavily cut-up roof with many facets, the report itself may need to be reordered in the Complex-roof ESX format rather than patched by hand. A revision or correction on an existing order is generally available from the original delivery email; check the order terms before placing a second full order.

Payment and file close

Once scope is agreed, payment is issued according to the policy's payment terms, and the file moves to close. What gets archived at this stage matters for later disputes or supplements, so keep the full paper trail rather than just the final estimate.

  • Claim number recorded on every document, including the roof report

    A file with mismatched or missing claim numbers is harder to reconcile if the claim reopens for a supplement

  • Original report delivery email retained

    It documents when the measurement was ordered and delivered, and it is the channel for requesting a correction later

  • ESX or XML file saved separately from the PDF exhibit

    The estimate file and the readable exhibit serve different audiences; both belong in the closed file

  • Supplement approvals documented with the revised scope

    Without a written record, a reopened claim has no clear starting point for the new numbers

  • Inspection photos time-stamped and matched to the report's facet layout

    Photos and measurements that do not align are the most common source of a stalled review

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a legal deadline for each stage of a roof claim?
No single deadline applies across every carrier and state. Timeframes are set by the carrier's own claim-handling procedures, the policy's payment terms, and in some jurisdictions state prompt-pay or unfair-claims-practices requirements. This reference describes the typical sequence of stages, not a compliance calendar; check your policy language and jurisdiction for anything binding.
When should the roof measurement report be ordered?
Most commonly once the claim is assigned and scope work begins, either just ahead of the inspection or right after it, so the estimate can be built with confirmed facet counts and pitch. The report is ordered by property address and can be requested at any point in the file once that address and a claim number are known.
How do I decide between ordering ESX and XML for the report?
Match the format to the estimating platform in use. ESX imports into Xactimate®; XML imports into Symbility®. A PDF-only or combined ESX plus PDF order covers a file exhibit alongside the estimate file.
What usually triggers a supplement mid-claim?
The most common triggers are additional facets, valleys, or steep sections found after the original scope was written, and disagreements between a contractor's field measurement and the file. When the roof's complexity changes materially, the measurement itself may need to be reordered in a complex-roof format rather than adjusted by hand.
Where does XactAnalysis® fit into the timeline?
XactAnalysis® functions as an assignment and routing layer in many carrier and Verisk™ workflows, tracking a claim's status through the pipeline. It sits alongside Xactimate®, which is where the line-item estimate itself is built.

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