Roof Insurance Is Shifting Toward ACV: The Follow-Up Play for Your Old Estimates

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now accept actual cash value coverage on roofs. Here is which old roofing estimates to pull, what to say, and what to leave out.

Somewhere in your CRM is a homeowner who got a roofing price from you, said they needed to think about it, and never called back. A change in how roofs get insured gives you a fresh, honest reason to contact them. It gives you no reason to talk about their policy, and the second half of this playbook is about staying on the right side of that line.

Most shops are slow to make that call. ServiceTitan's 2026 roofing report found that only 16% of contractors follow up with homeowners the same day on unsold estimates. Thrive Analytics ran the survey for ServiceTitan across more than 1,000 roofing-focused companies, and ServiceTitan itself calls the data informational. Treat it as a directional read on the industry.

What did Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac change about roof insurance?

On March 18, 2026, the FHFA announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will accept ACV coverage on roofs for single-family homes and condos. The rest of the house still needs replacement cost protection. Fannie Mae's current Selling Guide now says roofs "must be insured, but do not have to be insured on a replacement cost basis."

Two limits on that. The FHFA release gives no effective date, so don't quote timing to a homeowner. And the change removes a lender requirement. It does not order any insurer to rewrite a policy. Whether a carrier writes ACV roofs is still the carrier's call.

Why would that make an old estimate worth a call?

Because the homeowner who passed on your estimate may get a notice about their roof coverage at renewal. The Texas Department of Insurance says that as roofs age, some companies switch to actual cash value, and that the company should tell the homeowner when it changes their coverage. The same page tells homeowners to check their roof coverage every time they renew.

That notice is your opening. A homeowner reading that their roof will be paid at depreciated value thinks differently about a new roof than the one who shrugged at your price six months ago. You want to be the roofer they already know when they start asking around.

Actual cash value (ACV) is a payout basis. In NAIC's words, an ACV policy pays "the depreciated cost to repair or replace your damaged property." Replacement cost value (RCV) pays the cost to repair or replace it without deducting for depreciation.

How much does ACV change what the homeowner pays?

On a depreciated roof, it can move most of the bill to the homeowner. NAIC's consumer example uses $15,000 of roof damage and a $1,000 deductible. On replacement cost the insurer pays $14,000. On ACV, with $10,000 of depreciation, it pays $4,000. Run the same arithmetic and the homeowner covers $11,000 instead of $1,000.

Treat that example as an illustration. Real depreciation depends on roof age, material, policy language and the carrier. Never put those numbers in front of a homeowner as a prediction of their claim.

Which old estimates should you pull from the CRM?

Start with estimates delivered at least six months ago on roofs you know are 10 or more years old. Those homeowners are the likeliest to see roof age come up at renewal. Neither cutoff comes from a published benchmark. They are working rules, so tighten or loosen them once the first replies come in.

• Wave one: estimates 6 to 24 months old, roof 10+ years old. Lead with the coverage trend and the old price.
• Wave two: estimates where the lost reason mentions insurance or a pending claim. Pull these by searching your notes field. Our JobNimbus export walkthrough shows how to get the list out.
• Wave three: price objections on newer roofs. Skip the insurance angle and run the standard sequence from our guide to reactivating unsold roofing estimates.
• Leave out: anyone who opted out, anyone with an active job, and estimates under 90 days old, which belong in normal follow-up.

The segmenting logic is the same one in our roofing database reactivation playbook. This play adds one trigger on top of it.

What should the message say, and what should it leave out?

Say what changed, mention the old estimate, and offer an updated number. Leave out anything about what their policy covers. You are a roofer, not an adjuster or an agent, and a wrong guess about coverage costs you the customer and invites a complaint.

Sample text for wave one: "Hi [first name], it's [your name] at [company]. We priced your roof last spring. Some insurers switch older roofs to depreciated payouts, so it may be worth asking your agent what your renewal says. If you want an updated number from us, reply YES. Reply STOP to opt out." Keep it about that short.

• Do reference the specific estimate: date, address, rough scope.
• Do send them to their agent or carrier for anything about coverage.
• Do not say "your insurance will pay" or "you will be covered."
• Do not quote the NAIC numbers as their outcome.
• Do not offer to help with the claim unless you already run that service.

This is general information, not insurance or legal advice. If you work claims for homeowners, check your state's rules on contractor involvement before you add that to a script.

What are the texting and calling rules?

Under 47 CFR 64.1200, telephone solicitations to residential subscribers are barred before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. at the called party's location. Autodialed or prerecorded telemarketing generally needs prior express written consent. The rules reach text messages, and a request to revoke consent must be honored within a reasonable time not to exceed ten business days.

Whether a homeowner who requested an estimate in 2025 agreed to marketing texts depends on the form they signed and how you stored it. Our TCPA guide to texting old leads walks through the consent question. Have your attorney review your consent language before the first send.

What can this segment realistically produce?

Set expectations low and count replies first. We've found reactivation campaigns produce a 2% to 5% response rate. On a clean list of 400 aged estimates, that is roughly 8 to 20 replies. Some become re-inspections, and fewer become signed work. Treat those figures as an estimate.

The play costs a few hours of list work and no ad spend. If your office manager doesn't have those hours, our lead reactivation service starts from the same cleaned estimate list.