For Roofing Sales Representatives ·
What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll know how to use Claude (an AI writing assistant) to draft a professional insurance supplement letter in 10–15 minutes instead of 45–90 minutes — or instead of paying $50–150 to outsource it. You'll also have a reusable template you can adapt for any job.
What you'll need
Go to claude.ai and click "Sign up" — use your email or Google account. The free version handles supplement letters well. If your letters are very long (10+ pages of scope), Claude Pro ($20/mo) handles more text at once.
What you should see: A clean chat interface with a text box at the bottom.
Troubleshooting: If Claude says the document is too long, break your adjuster scope into sections and submit in pieces.
Before writing, collect:
In the Claude chat box, paste this prompt:
I'm a roofing contractor writing an insurance supplement letter. The adjuster's original estimate missed the following items:
[LIST YOUR MISSED ITEMS — one per line with your reason]
The homeowner is: [HOMEOWNER NAME]
Claim number: [CLAIM NUMBER]
Insurance company: [COMPANY NAME]
Original settlement amount: $[AMOUNT]
Date of loss: [DATE]
Write a formal supplement letter requesting coverage for these items. Include:
- Professional letterhead format
- Reference to the original claim
- Itemized justification for each missed item
- Reference to local building codes where applicable
- Professional closing requesting a revised settlement
Keep it factual and professional, not emotional.
What you should see: A 1–3 page formal letter with proper structure, each item addressed with a justification paragraph.
Claude will give you a solid draft, but you need to review these things:
Edit anything that feels off — either directly in the document, or by telling Claude: "Revise the section about ice & water shield to add that it's required by [STATE] building code for slopes under 4/12."
If you know specific Xactimate line item codes for the items you're supplementing, add this to your prompt: "Use Xactimate terminology and line item names where applicable." This makes the letter more credible to adjusters who work in that system.
If you don't know the Xactimate codes, ask Claude: "What are the standard Xactimate line item names for [ITEM YOU'RE SUPPLEMENTING]?" and use those in your final letter.
Once you have a letter you're proud of, save it as a Word document template. Replace the specific homeowner details with placeholders like [HOMEOWNER NAME], [CLAIM NUMBER], [DATE OF LOSS]. Next time you need a supplement, fill in the blanks and adjust the missed items section — takes 5 minutes.
What you should see: A professional, ready-to-send supplement letter.
For a standard 3-item supplement: "Write a formal insurance supplement letter for claim [#]. Homeowner: [NAME]. Insurance: [COMPANY]. Items missed by adjuster: [LIST]. Include code references for ice & water shield and justify each line item professionally."
For a large supplement with 6+ items: "The adjuster missed the following items on claim [#] for [HOMEOWNER]. Write a comprehensive supplement letter with one section per item. Items: [LIST WITH BRIEF JUSTIFICATION]. Request a full re-evaluation of the scope."
For a supplement after adjuster pushback: "The adjuster denied our supplement request for [ITEM]. Write a professional response letter disputing the denial, referencing [CODE/STANDARD] as our basis for the request."
For a code-upgrade supplement: "Write a supplement letter section justifying the upgrade to [CODE-REQUIRED ITEM] under [STATE] building code. The adjuster's original estimate did not account for this requirement."