What Is a Summary of Damages?
A Summary of Damages (also called a scope of loss or scope of damages) is the insurance company's documented estimate of the approved repair or replacement scope, including line items, material allowances, overhead and profit, and depreciation breakdowns. It is the carrier's document, not the contractor's proposal — a roofing contractor prepares its own separate estimate that may align with, supplement, or differ from the carrier's scope. Reading and acting on the Summary of Damages is between the homeowner and their insurer or adjuster.
Important Distinction
Note: The Summary of Damages is the carrier’s document, not Zilker Roofing’s: it is produced by the insurer or their adjuster, and we neither author it nor negotiate it. We can explain what its numbers and terms mean so you can read it yourself, and we can show you every item in our own independent estimate — but we are not licensed adjusters and this is not legal or claims advice.
Dealing with this on your own roof? Call (512) 893-7663 or get an instant online quote — Zilker Roofing inspects before recommending. Honest assessment, no pressure.
Also Known As
These are the search terms and phrases that commonly refer to this topic, so you can find it however you describe it.
How Summary of Damages Relates to Other Topics
A summary of damages is the carrier's estimate — not Zilker Roofing's proposal. Zilker prepares a separate roofing estimate that may or may not align with the carrier's scope.
A summary of damages helps homeowners understand what the carrier has estimated in the claim process — including line items, deductible, depreciation, and approved scope.
The carrier’s summary of damages defines the approved scope that an insurance restoration aligns the roofing work to.
Related To Summary of Damages
The carrier's Summary of Damages defines the approved scope an insurance-covered replacement is built around.
When a roof replacement involves an insurance claim, the carrier's summary of damages is typically reviewed to align the roofing estimate with the approved scope.
A Summary of Damages is typically generated in Xactimate, the carrier estimating platform.
A supplement request references and builds on the original Summary of Damages, adding line items the adjuster did not include in the initial approved scope.
The adjuster's roof inspection is where the carrier's scope is born: what gets photographed, chalked, and counted on the roof that day becomes the line items in the summary of damages, which is why documentation at the inspection matters.
The Summary of Damages is the carrier artifact whose columns and totals this reading structure describes.
Questions about Summary of Damages?
Zilker Roofing inspects before recommending. Honest assessment, no pressure.