Xactimate and the estimate file
- Xactimate
- Property-claims estimating software from Verisk, widely used by insurance carriers, adjusters and restoration contractors to scope and price repairs.
- ESX file
- Xactimate's native estimate file format. An ESX file can be imported into another Xactimate user's account with the sketch, line items and notes intact, which is why carriers and contractors often exchange estimates as ESX files alongside a PDF.
- ESX vs. PDF: what's the difference
- XactAnalysis
- A Verisk platform carriers and programs use to assign, track and review claims and estimates.
- Sketch
- The diagram of rooms and structures in an Xactimate estimate. Sketch measurements drive the quantities of many line items (square feet of drywall, linear feet of baseboard, and so on).
- Line item
- A single priced task or material on an estimate, such as removing drywall or a day of air mover rental, with a quantity, unit and unit price.
Codes and pricing
- Category code
- The group a line item belongs to, shown as a short code. Examples: WTR (water extraction and remediation), DRY (drywall), CLN (cleaning), FCC (floor covering, carpet), PNT (painting).
- Selector code
- The code that identifies the specific item within a category, for example a particular size or type of material. Category plus selector together identify a line item.
- Activity code
- Indicates the action on a line item. Common ones include remove, replace, remove and replace, detach and reset, material only, and install only.
- Price list
- The regional database of unit prices Xactimate uses, specific to a geographic area and a date. Verisk updates price lists regularly. Using the right price list for the job's location and date is part of a correct estimate.
- Labor minimum
- A minimum charge applied when a trade's work on a job is too small to justify a trip at normal unit pricing.
- Waste factor
- An allowance added to material quantities for cutting and fitting waste, common on flooring, drywall and roofing.
Notes and justification
- F9 notes
- Notes attached to an individual line item in Xactimate (opened with the F9 key in desktop versions). Contractors use them to explain why an item was needed, often citing photos, readings or a standard such as IICRC S500.
- Estimate notes / general notes
- Notes at the estimate or room level that describe the loss, cause, scope approach or conditions.
Money terms
- O&P (Overhead and Profit)
- An amount added to an estimate to cover a contractor's general business overhead and profit, often calculated as a percentage of the estimate (10% overhead plus 10% profit is common). Whether O&P applies to a claim depends on the carrier, policy and circumstances. We don't give coverage opinions; you decide whether to include it.
- RCV (Replacement Cost Value)
- The cost to repair or replace damaged property at current prices, without subtracting depreciation. Redefined measures the claim support baseline at RCV.
- ACV (Actual Cash Value)
- Replacement cost minus depreciation.
- Depreciation
- The reduction in value for age and wear. Depreciation withheld on a replacement-cost policy may be recoverable after the work is completed, depending on the policy.
- Baseline (Redefined claim support)
- The amount the carrier agreed to in writing before Redefined takes a file, such as an approved estimate, approval letter or payment already issued, measured at RCV. Redefined's 3.5% claim support fee never applies to the baseline. If there's no written approval, the baseline is $0.
Process terms
- Supplement
- A revision to an existing estimate that adds scope, quantities or line items that were missed or discovered later.
- Xactimate supplements
- Mitigation
- Emergency work that stops further damage: extraction, drying, demo, board up, tarping.
- Reconstruction
- The rebuild that returns the property to pre-loss condition after mitigation.
- Pre-loss condition
- The condition of the property immediately before the loss; the target of a restoration scope.
- TPA (Third-Party Administrator) / program work
- Work assigned through a carrier's managed repair or third-party program, usually with its own estimating guidelines.
Water and mold standards
- IICRC S500
- The ANSI/IICRC Standard for Professional Water Damage Restoration.
- IICRC S520
- The ANSI/IICRC Standard for Professional Mold Remediation.
- Category of water (1, 2, 3)
- The S500 classification of water by contamination: Category 1 (clean), Category 2 (significantly contaminated, "gray") and Category 3 (grossly contaminated, "black").
- Class of water (1–4)
- The S500 classification of how much water and evaporation load is in the space, which guides how much drying equipment is needed. Class 4 covers specialty drying situations such as hardwood, plaster or concrete.
- GPP (grains per pound)
- A measure of the moisture in air (specific humidity), used in psychrometric readings to track drying progress.
- WRT, ASD, FSRT
- IICRC certifications: Water Damage Restoration Technician, Applied Structural Drying, and Fire and Smoke Restoration Technician. Michael White holds all three; Erik Pauliks holds WRT and ASD.