Insurance Claims & Adjuster Disputes
Xactimate RFG DRIP vs RFG DRIP+: Why the Code Changes Your Payout
RFG DRIP and RFG DRIP+ are different Xactimate line items for drip edge. Using the wrong one understates the material and the labor on every linear foot of eave and rake.
Written by Nathaniel Davis, owner of Roof Gutter Now — a licensed exterior restoration contractor in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. Updated August 2026
What this comes down to
Two drip edge line items sit next to each other in Xactimate and pay differently. Which one belongs on your estimate depends on the profile actually installed, not on which one the estimator reached for first.
What separates the two line items
RFG DRIP covers standard aluminum drip edge. RFG DRIP+ covers the heavier or wider profile — typically a taller vertical leg and a longer roof flange, the kind specified where ice barrier terminates or where the fascia needs full coverage.
The unit price difference looks small per linear foot. Across 300 feet of eave and rake it stops being small, and it compounds when the same understatement carries into the ridge, valley and starter lines.
How to correct it in a supplement
Photograph the existing profile against a tape measure so the leg dimension is visible. Note the manufacturer specification for the shingle system being installed. If the roof requires the heavier profile to meet the ice barrier detail or to cover the fascia, cite that and request the line item change with the measured footage attached.
Keep the argument to the material, not the price. You are not asking for more money per foot; you are asking for the line item that matches what the roof needs.
Common questions
Does the carrier have to use my line item?
+
They price from their own list. What you can establish is which item correctly describes the material required, and the price follows from their database, not yours.
Is drip edge required by code?
+
Under the IRC, drip edge is required at eaves and rakes. That is what makes it a code item rather than an upgrade.
What if the original roof had no drip edge?
+
Then it is a code upgrade, and ordinance and law coverage is the route rather than a like-for-like replacement argument.
More on Insurance Claims & Adjuster Disputes
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- The Repairability Test: Proving a Patch Will Destroy the Roof
- Overhead & Profit: Triggering the Three-Trade Requirement
- Ordinance & Law Coverage: Getting Drip Edge and Ice Barrier Paid
- Reading a Summary of Loss: RCV, ACV and the Net Claim Trap
- The Cosmetic Damage Exclusion: When Metal Roof Dents Get Denied
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