After a loss, your carrier issues a settlement based on an Xactimate estimate, and you go collect bids to do the actual repair. The trap I see most often: treating the settlement as the budget. It's not a budget — it's an anchor, and the gap between it and the real bids is your out-of-pocket exposure.
RCV vs. ACV
Know which number you're holding. Replacement Cost Value (RCV) is what it costs to replace the damage new; Actual Cash Value (ACV) is RCV minus depreciation, often paid up front with the depreciation released after the work is done. Bidding against ACV when you'll recover RCV can make a perfectly good bid look unaffordable.
Scope alignment is everything
The most important comparison isn't bid-to-bid — it's bid-to-carrier-estimate. If the carrier paid for tear-off, disposal, and code upgrades and a contractor's bid omits them, that's paid-for-but-not-included work. If a bid adds items the carrier didn't approve, that's out-of-pocket unless you get a supplement approved.
Watch supplement risk
Some contractors bid low, start the job, then re-open the claim with supplements. A bid full of 'pending inspection' language is telling you the final number is a moving target. Favor contractors whose scope matches the carrier estimate and who price firmly.
BidsScores scores insurance jobs against the carrier estimate specifically — flagging omitted-but-paid scope, supplement risk, and the exact out-of-pocket number you'll defend upstairs.