In this market, the roof is the policy.
Northwest Arkansas homeowners claims are dominated by one thing, and how a policy settles a hail-damaged roof matters more here than almost any other clause in it. Arkansas has rules about that, and they're better than most states — with one qualification nobody explains. Here's what each coverage part pays for, how roofs actually settle, and why home is one half of the package that carries the rest of your household.
The short answer
A homeowners policy is six coverages in one contract — dwelling, other structures, personal property, loss of use, personal liability, and medical payments — each with its own limit. In Arkansas, roof claims settle at replacement cost or under a filed Agreed Roof Payment Schedule rather than open-ended depreciation, though a wind and hail actual cash value endorsement is permitted once a roof reaches seven years. With Acuity, home and auto form the core package, and that package is what makes the umbrella, boat, camper, side-by-side, and rental dwelling coverage available at all.
How roofs actually settle here.
This is regulatory ground rather than a carrier characteristic — it applies across the market — and it's the part of a homeowners policy most worth understanding before a storm rather than after one.
Arkansas roof claims settle at replacement cost or under a filed Agreed Roof Payment Schedule — not through open-ended actual cash value depreciation. In plain terms, an insurer cannot simply subtract years of wear from a roof and hand you the remainder.
That is a genuine consumer protection and it is not how every state works. Homeowners moving here from elsewhere are often carrying assumptions from a market with far weaker roof rules.
The qualification nobody explains. Arkansas Insurance Department Bulletin 17-2023 permits an insurer to require an actual cash value endorsement for wind and hail losses once a roof reaches seven years of age. So the shorthand you'll hear — "Arkansas doesn't allow ACV on roofs" — overstates it. The accurate version is that Arkansas constrains how and when actual cash value can apply to a roof, rather than forbidding it outright. What settles your claim is the endorsement schedule attached to your policy, and that is a line on your declarations page, not a rule you can look up once and stop thinking about.
Ask us to read the roof language on your declarations page before the next hail season. Not after. It takes two minutes, it's the single line that decides the size of the check on the largest claim most Northwest Arkansas households will ever file, and almost nobody has been walked through it. This is general information about Arkansas rules, not legal advice.
Six coverages wearing one name.
People say "my homeowners policy" as though it were a single thing. It's six, each with a separate limit, and the two that get misread have nothing to do with the building.
Dwelling
The house itself, including what's attached to it. The limit is derived from what it would cost to rebuild — a different number from the purchase price, the market value, and the county assessment, all three of which people mistake for it.
Other structures
The detached garage, the shop, the fence, the storage building. It's a separate limit, usually set as a share of the dwelling limit, and it's the one that comes up short on properties where somebody built a serious shop out back.
Personal property
Everything inside. Certain categories — jewelry, firearms, cash, collectibles — carry internal sublimits far below the overall contents limit, which is why scheduling specific items exists and why it's worth asking what yours are.
Loss of use
Pays to house you somewhere else while a covered loss is repaired, plus the extra costs of living displaced. After a serious fire that can run months. It's the coverage nobody asks about and everybody needs at exactly the worst moment.
Personal liability
Follows you, not the house. It responds when someone is injured on your property, when your dog bites a visitor, and in many situations away from home entirely. It pays defense costs as well as damages, and it's the coverage a personal umbrella sits on top of.
Medical payments
A small no-fault amount for someone injured on your property, paid without anyone establishing blame. It exists to settle a minor injury quickly and quietly, before it turns into a liability claim between neighbors.
Replacement cost, or depreciated value?
Replacement cost pays what it takes to repair or replace with comparable new materials. Actual cash value pays that figure less depreciation for age and wear — on an older item, dramatically less.
Beyond those, the market also offers extended and guaranteed replacement cost, which behave differently when rebuild costs run past the limit stated on your policy. They are not the same thing and the names do not explain themselves.
These are the three questions worth asking us in these words: which valuation applies to the dwelling, which applies to the contents, and does any endorsement change it for the roof? Two policies at a similar premium can behave completely differently at a claim over exactly those settings, and they are almost never what people compare when they shop. We'll read yours back to you and tell you plainly which one you have.
Home is one half of the package.
Acuity's personal side is built around a package rather than around standalone policies, and this page is one half of it.
Auto and home written together form the core, and that package is what makes Acuity's personal umbrella, motorcycle, RV and motorhome, travel trailer, ATV and UTV, boat, and landlord coverage available. Those lines are not sold on their own. So the home quote and the auto quote are one conversation here, not two.
Read the right way round, that structure earns its keep. A household with a camper in the driveway, a side-by-side in the garage, and a boat at Beaver Lake ends up with one policy, one renewal date, and one deductible conversation instead of six anniversaries and six chances for something to lapse unnoticed. If the package doesn't fit your household, that's not a problem either — we have carriers that write watercraft, motorcycles, and recreational vehicles standalone, and we'll place them there instead.
The exclusions that surprise people.
Every homeowners form has edges. These are the four that produce the denied claims we see most.
Flood
Excluded from every standard homeowners form, everywhere, without exception. Flood coverage is a separate policy. Rising water and surface water are not the same thing as a burst pipe, and the policy treats them completely differently.
Earthquake
Also excluded and also available separately. Arkansas sits near enough to the New Madrid seismic zone that this is a real conversation here rather than a formality, and it's cheaper than most people assume.
Gradual damage
Seepage, a long-running leak, rot, and wear are maintenance, not sudden accidental loss. A pipe that bursts is generally covered; the slow drip behind the wall that nobody noticed for two years generally isn't.
Sewer and drain backup
Usually excluded unless an endorsement is added. It's a modest addition and a genuinely unpleasant loss to discover you don't have, particularly in a finished basement or a lower-level living space.
Planning ranges, not quotes.
A typical range for bundled homeowners policies placed through Cribb Insurance Group across our markets, reflecting a five-year-old $400,000 Northwest Arkansas home — a planning figure, not a quote, not carrier-specific, and not a guarantee. Your premium turns on dwelling value, roof age and material, construction type, protection class, the deductible selections you make, claims history, and a credit-based insurance score. Some households fall below this band and some fall well above it. Full-coverage auto through our markets has commonly run $79 – $105 per month, and since Acuity writes the two together, both figures are part of the same conversation. Send your current declarations page and we'll build the real number with you.
Home is where the package starts.
Acuity home insurance questions.
How do roof claims settle in Arkansas?
Arkansas roof claims are settled either at replacement cost or under a filed Agreed Roof Payment Schedule, rather than through open-ended actual cash value depreciation. That is a meaningful protection and it is not how every state works.
There is an important qualification: Arkansas Insurance Department Bulletin 17-2023 permits an insurer to require an actual cash value endorsement for wind and hail losses once a roof reaches seven years of age. So the accurate statement is not that Arkansas forbids actual cash value on roofs, but that it constrains how and when it can apply. What settles your specific claim is the endorsement schedule attached to your own policy, which is why reading the declarations page matters more than reading a summary. This is general information, not legal advice.
What does a homeowners policy actually cover?
A homeowners policy is really six coverages bundled together. Coverage A is the dwelling itself. Coverage B is other structures such as a detached garage, shop, or fence. Coverage C is your personal property. Coverage D is loss of use, which pays to house you somewhere else while a covered loss is repaired. Coverage E is personal liability, and Coverage F is medical payments to others.
Each carries its own limit, and the ones people misunderstand most are D and E, because neither has anything to do with the building. Limits, deductibles, endorsements, and exclusions are set by the carrier and apply as written in the policy actually issued.
How is the dwelling limit decided?
It is based on what it would cost to rebuild the house, not on what you paid for it, not on what it would sell for today, and not on the county assessment. Those four numbers are frequently very different, and the gap surprises people.
Rebuild cost is driven by square footage, construction type, finishes, roof structure, and local labor and materials pricing, which is why it can rise even in a year when the housing market is flat. We build the figure with a replacement cost estimate rather than guessing at it, and we revisit it, because a limit that was right when the policy was written can drift out of date after a renovation or a run of construction cost inflation.
What is the difference between replacement cost and actual cash value?
Replacement cost pays what it takes to repair or replace with comparable new materials. Actual cash value pays that amount less depreciation for age and wear, which on an older roof or an older item can be dramatically less.
There are also extended and guaranteed replacement cost options in the market, which respond differently when rebuild costs run past your stated limit. Ask us specifically which valuation applies to your dwelling, which applies to your contents, and whether any endorsement changes it for the roof, because two policies at a similar price can behave completely differently at a claim over exactly this.
Why does Acuity write my home and auto together?
Because on the personal side Acuity is built around a package rather than around standalone policies. Auto and home written together form the core, and that package is what makes Acuity's personal umbrella, motorcycle, RV and motorhome, travel trailer, ATV and UTV, boat, and landlord coverage available. Those lines are not sold on their own.
For a household with a camper, a side-by-side, and a boat, that means one policy, one renewal date, and one carrier instead of six anniversaries to keep track of. If the package does not fit your household, we place those pieces with other carriers that write them standalone.
What isn't covered by a homeowners policy?
Flood is excluded from every standard homeowners form and requires separate coverage, and so does earthquake, which is a live consideration in Arkansas given the New Madrid seismic zone.
Gradual damage is also outside the policy: seepage, long-term leaks, rot, mold arising from an ongoing condition, wear and tear, and mechanical breakdown are maintenance rather than sudden accidental loss. Sudden and accidental water damage, such as a pipe that bursts, is generally covered, while the slow leak behind the wall that nobody noticed generally is not. Sewer and drain backup is usually excluded unless an endorsement is added.
How do I get an Acuity home insurance quote in Bentonville or Rogers?
Start at our personal lines quote form or call (479) 286-1066. Send your current declarations page if you have one, because reading what you already carry is faster than answering questions about it, and it is how we find the dwelling limit that has drifted, the roof endorsement nobody explained, and the water backup coverage that was never added.
Tell us what else is in the household as well, since auto is quoted alongside home here and the rest of the package rides on both. We quote Acuity against 40-plus other carriers before telling you whether it is the right home for your account.
If our coverage explainers are useful, mark Cribb Insurance as a preferred source so more Northwest Arkansas homeowners can find our local, plain-English guides.
Send us the declarations page before the next storm.
We'll read the roof language back to you in plain English, check whether the dwelling limit still matches what it would cost to rebuild, tell you which valuation is actually on the policy, and quote Acuity against 40-plus other carriers. If what you have is already right, we'll tell you that too.
Cribb Insurance Group Inc. is an independent insurance agency licensed in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Texas. We are not Acuity, and this page is not endorsed, sponsored, reviewed, or approved by Acuity. "Acuity" is a trademark or service mark of ACUITY, A Mutual Insurance Company and its affiliates, used here nominatively to identify products we are appointed to place. Acuity's Arkansas homeowners policies are issued by Acuity-affiliated underwriting companies.
This page describes homeowners coverage in general, industry-standard terms for informational purposes only. It is not a policy, not an offer of insurance, and not a guarantee of coverage, availability, eligibility, or price. Dwelling, other structures, personal property, loss of use, personal liability, medical payments, replacement-cost and actual-cash-value valuation, extended and guaranteed replacement cost options, scheduled personal property, water backup and other endorsements, limits, deductibles, and exclusions are optional or conditional, are set by the carrier, vary by state and by policy and over time, are subject to the carrier's underwriting approval and eligibility, and apply only as written in the policy actually issued to you. Not every coverage, valuation option, or endorsement is available on every policy.
Program structure described on this page — including that Acuity's personal umbrella, motorcycle, RV and motorhome, travel trailer, ATV and UTV, boat and watercraft, and landlord coverages are written under a package policy available when auto and home are written together — reflects the carrier's program as described to this agency, is subject to the carrier's rules, eligibility, and underwriting approval, may vary by state and by policy and over time, and is subject to change without notice.
Statements about Arkansas roof claim settlement — including that roof losses are settled at replacement cost or under a filed Agreed Roof Payment Schedule, and that Arkansas Insurance Department Bulletin 17-2023 permits a mandatory actual cash value endorsement for wind and hail losses at a roof age of seven years — are general information, not legal advice, are simplified, and are subject to change. How any particular claim settles depends on the endorsements and terms of the policy actually issued and on the facts of the loss. Confirm specifics with the Arkansas Insurance Department or a qualified professional. Flood and earthquake are excluded from standard homeowners forms and require separate coverage.
Cost figures reflect policies placed through Cribb Insurance Group across our markets, are a planning range rather than a quote, and are not carrier-specific and not a guarantee of your rate.
Last reviewed August 2026.