Few line items get argued over more than overhead and profit. Carriers push back on it, adjusters cut it out of the estimate, and a lot of roofers either don't ask for it or don't know when they're actually owed it.
Here's the straight version: O&P isn't a bonus and it isn't a markup you sneak in. It's compensation for the cost of coordinating a complex job — and there's a recognized test for when it applies. Know the test, document it, and you collect it without a fight.
What O&P actually is
Overhead and profit — usually written as the "10 and 10" — is two separate ten-percent figures. Overhead covers the indirect cost of running the job: your office, your project management, scheduling, supervision, insurance, the time it takes to coordinate the people who actually do the work. Profit is exactly what it sounds like, your margin for taking on and carrying the project.
It's applied on top of the trade costs in the scope of loss. For the full definition and how it shows up on an estimate, see the overhead and profit glossary entry.
The key thing to understand: in property insurance, O&P is generally tied to the role of a general contractor. The reasoning is that when a job is complex enough to need a GC to coordinate multiple trades, the GC's overhead and profit are a legitimate, foreseeable cost of restoring the property — so the carrier owes it as part of replacement cost.
The trades-and-complexity test
The most widely used standard for whether O&P is warranted comes down to two questions:
- How many trades does the job require? The common rule of thumb is three or more separate trades. Roofing is one. Gutters, siding, painting, drywall, framing, HVAC, electrical, fascia and soffit work — each can be a separate trade.
- Is the job complex enough to need coordination? Multiple trades that have to be sequenced, scheduled, and supervised is the kind of work a general contractor exists to manage.
When a loss legitimately involves several trades that need coordinating, the argument for O&P is strong. When it's a single-trade, drop-the-shingles-and-go job, it's weaker — and that's the honest line to hold. Asking for O&P on a one-trade job is the kind of thing that gets your whole estimate scrutinized.
So count the trades on the actual loss, not on the roof alone. A hailstorm rarely hits only the roof. It dents gutters, shreds screens, beats up siding and painted surfaces, and damages detached structures. Once you're scoping all of that, you're frequently past the three-trade threshold without stretching anything.
Where roofers leave O&P on the table
Two patterns cost roofers O&P they were owed.
The first is underscoping the loss. If you only write the roof, you've talked yourself out of the multi-trade case for O&P. Scope the entire covered loss — every trade the storm actually damaged — and the trade count makes the argument for you. This is the same discipline that catches the Xactimate line items most estimates miss; the thoroughness pays twice.
The second is accepting the carrier's removal of it without a documented response. Some carriers have a habit of stripping O&P out of the initial Xactimate estimate, then waiting to see who pushes back. If the job qualifies and you don't respond, you've left it there. A short, factual supplement that lists the trades and explains the coordination involved is usually all it takes.
How to document O&P so it sticks
Carriers approve what's easy to justify. Make it easy.
- List every trade by name. Don't say "multiple trades." Write them out: roofing, gutters, siding, paint, fascia. A reviewer should be able to count them at a glance.
- Tie each trade to documented damage. Every trade you claim needs a photo and a location. The trade count is only as strong as the damage behind it.
- State the coordination plainly. One or two sentences explaining that the trades must be sequenced and supervised, and that managing them is the function O&P compensates.
- Reference the standard. Note that the loss meets the common three-or-more-trades-plus-complexity threshold for general contractor overhead and profit.
- Apply it to the full scope, consistently. O&P sits on top of the trade costs in the scope of loss. Make sure it's applied across the whole qualifying scope, not just part of it.
A clean O&P request reads less like a demand and more like a summary the adjuster can approve without escalating. Keep these justifications and the supporting photos organized per claim so you're not rebuilding the case from scratch every time — that record is the difference between collecting O&P routinely and arguing about it. The HailMate supplement engine is built to assemble exactly this kind of documented, trade-by-trade case.
A quick reference
| Situation | O&P likely warranted? |
|---|---|
| Roof only, single trade | Weak — usually no |
| Roof plus gutters only (two trades) | Borderline — depends on complexity |
| Roof, gutters, siding, paint (three-plus trades) | Strong |
| Multi-trade loss the carrier stripped O&P from | Strong — supplement it back |
The through-line: O&P follows complexity. Count the trades honestly, document each one, and the carrier has every reason to pay it.
Ask for what the job actually requires
O&P isn't aggressive billing — it's the recognized cost of acting as the general contractor on a multi-trade restoration. The roofers who collect it consistently aren't the loudest ones. They're the ones who scope the whole loss, name every trade, and hand the adjuster a justification that's faster to approve than to deny.
This post is general information for contractors, not legal or insurance advice. O&P standards and carrier practices vary by policy, jurisdiction, and adjuster — confirm the specifics on your own claims.