Policy Decoder

The Problem: You Learn What Your Policy Means After the Check Arrives

It happens constantly: the settlement check arrives thousands short, and only then does the homeowner learn what ACV means. Or that their '1% deductible' is 1% of the home's insured value, not the claim. Or that a cosmetic-damage endorsement quietly excluded half their roof.

The policy isn't hiding these things — they're printed right there. They're just printed in language designed to make your eyes glaze over. The carrier's adjuster reads that language fluently. You should too.

Every negotiation in a claim traces back to the policy. Whoever understands it better wins the argument.

Policy Decoder levels that playing field. Your policy, translated, with the traps marked.

What's Inside

20 pages of plain-English guidance. Here's what's inside:

• Dec page anatomy — how to read your declarations page line by line and find what matters in 10 minutes.
• Coverage A through F — what each coverage actually covers when the roof is the issue.
• RCV vs. ACV — replacement cost versus actual cash value, and why the gap comes out of your pocket first.
• Depreciation & recoverable depreciation — how the holdback works, and the exact steps to get it released.
• Flat vs. percentage deductibles — the real math, and why '1%' is bigger than it sounds.
• The wind/hail deductible trap — separate, higher deductibles hiding in plain sight in storm states.
• Common exclusions — wear and tear, neglect, and the phrases carriers lean on most.
• Endorsements that change everything — cosmetic damage and matching exclusions, explained with examples.
• Ordinance & law coverage — when code upgrades are covered, when they aren't, and how to tell.
• Plain-English definitions — the 30 terms adjusters use, translated into words you'd actually say.
• A worked hypothetical claim — follow every dollar from damage to payout, start to finish.
• Questions to ask your agent — the ones to ask before you file, not after you're disappointed.
• Duties after loss — what the policy requires of you, in order, with realistic timelines.
• Mortgage & loss draft — why your check has two names on it and how to get it released.
• CLUE reports — your claim history file, what it contains, and how to read yours.
• The dispute ladder — your options when you disagree, from reinspection up to formal complaint.
• Storm-season binder checklist — what to have ready before the next storm, not after.
• Glossary — quick-reference for every term used in the guide.

Is This For You?

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