Why it matters for your bill
When your insurer and your contractor both write their estimates in Xactimate, they start from the same kind of price list: one for your area and one month. Verisk says it reports market prices, from completed bids, suppliers and surveys, rather than setting them, and that its prices are a starting point all sides can accept or adjust. Its 2021 pricing white paper says Xactimate lets whoever writes the estimate change any price.
So disagreements are often about scope rather than unit prices: which rooms, how many square feet, how many days of drying, whether the drywall comes out. California’s insurance department separates the two: a scope lists the damage and the measurements, and an estimate puts prices on them.
The prices move. Verisk publishes price lists for more than 460 markets in the U.S. and Canada and updates them monthly, and as often as weekly after a major disaster. Not every price changes each month: labor rates are updated monthly, and materials and equipment when Verisk’s market analysis shows a change.
All of that makes an Xactimate estimate easier to check than a lump-sum quote. Every line has a quantity, a unit and a price, so you can find exactly where two estimates differ.
What a line-item estimate looks like
One 200 sq ft room with carpet and drywall and gray water, from drying through repairs, listed the way an estimate lists it. Its total, $5,516, sits inside our calculator’s range for this room, $3,650–$7,850.
| Line item | Quantity | Unit price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drying and tear-out | |||
| Emergency service callComing out to start the job | 1 visit | $198.62 | $198.62 |
| Extract water from carpetCategory 2 water, the wet area | 200 sq ft | $0.66 | $132.00 |
| Air movers4 machines × 3 days | 12 machine-days | $30.97 | $371.64 |
| Dehumidifier, large LGR1 machine × 3 days | 3 machine-days | $133.89 | $401.67 |
| Technician laborSetup, daily moisture checks, pickup | 8 hours | $59.49 | $475.92 |
| Tear out wet carpet and padRemove only | 200 sq ft | $0.96 | $192.00 |
| Flood cut drywallRemove only: the bottom 2 ft of the walls | 113 sq ft | $1.65 | $186.45 |
| Apply antimicrobialThe wet area | 200 sq ft | $0.17 | $34.00 |
| Repairs after drying | |||
| New drywall, hung and finishedReplace the cut-out strip | 113 sq ft | $5.56 | $628.28 |
| Prime new drywallThe new drywall only | 113 sq ft | $0.34 | $38.42 |
| Paint walls, two coatsThe room’s walls, 8 ft high, less doors and windows | 385 sq ft | $1.05 | $404.25 |
| New carpet and padReplace | 200 sq ft | $4.90 | $980.00 |
| New baseboardReplace, installed and painted | 57 linear ft | $7.65 | $436.05 |
| Trips and setupEach trade’s trips and setup | 6 hours | $74.87 | $449.22 |
| Line items | $4,928.52 | ||
| Overhead, 10% of the repairs | $293.62 | ||
| Profit, 10% of the repairs | $293.62 | ||
| Total | $5,515.76 | ||
Codes and columns you’ll see
Xactimate abbreviates. These codes come from the guide New Jersey’s disaster recovery office gives homeowners for reading Xactimate reports; the column definitions are Verisk’s, from its XactAnalysis help.
What the line does
- R&R
- Remove and replace
- -
- Remove only
- +
- Replace only
- R
- Detach and reset: take it off and put the same one back
- I
- Install only
- M
- Materials only
Units
- SF
- Square feet
- LF
- Linear feet
- SY
- Square yards
- EA
- Each
- DA
- Day
- W · C · F
- Square feet of walls, ceiling, floor
- PF
- Perimeter of the floor
On an insurer’s estimate
- RCV
- Replacement cost value: the repair with nothing taken off
- Depreciation
- What’s taken off for age and wear
- ACV
- Actual cash value: RCV minus depreciation
- O&P
- Overhead and profit
On a replacement-cost policy, some of the depreciation usually comes back once the repairs are done.
How to check an Xactimate estimate
Six checks to run, whoever wrote it.
- 1
Get every line
Quantities, units and unit prices for every line, and which price list it used. A total on its own can’t be checked.
- 2
Ask which price list it used
Xactimate prices come from a price list for one area and one month. If the area isn’t yours or the month is old, ask why.
- 3
Check the quantities
Measure one room yourself. Compare the drying days and the number of machines with the daily drying log.
- 4
Check overhead and profit
FEMA’s flood claims manual adds it when the repairs need a general contractor to coordinate them, usually 10% each. Make sure it’s charged once.
- 5
Check depreciation
On an insurer’s estimate, ask what was taken off for age and wear and whether you get it back after the repairs. California requires each deduction to be itemized and explained in writing.
- 6
Compare it with your contractor’s
Line by line. Texas’s insurance department suggests having your contractor and the adjuster talk through the differences.
Other words on your estimate
Questions people ask
Does Xactimate set the price of my repair?
No. Verisk says it reports market prices from completed bids, suppliers and surveys, as a starting point all sides can accept or adjust, and its 2021 white paper says the right price for a job is whatever the buyer and the provider agree. Xactimate lets whoever writes the estimate change a price, so an insurer’s Xactimate estimate isn’t the final word.
Why is my contractor’s estimate higher than the insurer’s?
Often scope: lines one of them left out, different quantities, or damage found once the walls were opened. A different price list area or month, overhead and profit, and minimum charges can add to the gap; Verisk says Xactimate can add a trade’s minimum charge when a task is small. Compare the two line by line, and tell your insurer right away if hidden damage turns up.
Can I get a copy of my insurer’s Xactimate estimate?
Ask for it in writing. California requires insurers to give you a copy of any estimate they settle on. In Florida, if the insurer’s adjuster writes a detailed estimate, you get a copy within 7 days. The NAIC says adjusters share their estimates and calculations with you or your representative.
Who makes Xactimate?
Verisk. James Loveland wrote the first version in 1986 for his own restoration crews and founded Xactware in Orem, Utah. Xactware became part of ISO in 2006, and ISO is now part of Verisk Analytics, which went public in 2009. Verisk says its products now handle most of North America’s property claims.
Sources
The sample estimate uses our calculator’s national prices: drying rates from 10 published price sheets, repair prices built from published labor hours, federal wage data and store prices. Xactimate is a registered trademark of Xactware Solutions, Inc., a Verisk business. RestoreCost isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by Verisk. Read the full methodology.
- Xactimate, Verisk.
- Pricing data services, Verisk.
- Form 10-K for 2025, Verisk Analytics, Inc. (SEC filing).
- Pricing Methodology Summary (white paper), Verisk.
- Labor Efficiencies Design (white paper), Verisk.
- About Xactware, Verisk Property & Restoration Solutions.
- Xactimate Glossary Tip Sheet (Ida Recovery Programs), New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.
- Contractor line item worksheet (XactAnalysis SP help), Verisk.
- NFIP Claims Manual, FEMA.
- Overhead and profit decision overturned (appeal decision), FEMA FloodSmart.
- Claim Guidance: Structural Drying and Other Related Items (Bulletin W-13025a), FEMA, NFIP.
- Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, § 2695.9, California Department of Insurance, via Cornell LII.
- Fla. Stat. 627.70131, insurer’s duty to acknowledge communications regarding claims; investigation, Florida Senate.
- Residential property claims guide, California Department of Insurance.
- Consumer claim tips, Texas Department of Insurance.
- What you should know about settling a homeowners insurance claim, NAIC.
- Copyright and terms of use (Xactware), Verisk.
- Published restoration price sheets (state and county contracts, contractor price lists), RestoreCost.
