Roof Insurance Claims in Texas

What your roofer is legally allowed to do, and what half of them are doing anyway.

After a Houston hail or wind event, two things arrive at the same time. The damage, and a stream of contractors offering to handle your insurance claim for you. The second one is where homeowners get hurt, and almost nobody explains why.

The law your roofer is probably breaking

Texas Insurance Code, chapter 4102

A contractor cannot act as a public adjuster on a claim for a job they are also going to perform. Not filing it. Not negotiating it. Not interpreting your policy language to the carrier on your behalf. The conflict is obvious once you see it: the person telling your insurer what the repair is worth should not be the person getting paid to do the repair.

A roofer who says "we handle the whole claim for you, you don't have to talk to your insurance at all" is describing a criminal offense. Sometimes they know. Usually they do not. Either way the claim is in your name, and an improperly handled claim is your problem long after that company has moved to the next storm.

House Bill 2102, effective September 2019

Paying, waiving, rebating or absorbing a homeowner's insurance deductible is a criminal offense in Texas, and so is advertising that you will. "We'll waive your deductible" and "your insurance covers everything, you pay nothing" are the two phrases to walk away from. It is not a generous contractor. It is insurance fraud, and the policyholder is a party to it.

What we actually do

We document. That is the whole role, and done properly it is worth more than the thing you were being offered.

• A dated, photographed damage report. Every slope, with the hail strikes and wind creases marked, shot close enough to show the mat and wide enough to show location.
• A test square. The standard 10 foot by 10 foot marked area adjusters use to count strikes per square, so your report speaks the same language as theirs.
• Collateral evidence. Soft metals bruise before shingles do, so we shoot the gutters, downspouts, vents, flashing, window screens and any AC fins. A carrier arguing the damage is old has to explain those too.
• A Cost Plus scope of repair. Line by line, at real material pricing.
• We will meet your adjuster on the roof. That is allowed, and it is useful. Being present to point at what we found is not the same as negotiating for you.

How to run the claim yourself, in order

1. Get the damage documented first, before you call it in. A claim filed on a hunch and then denied is harder to reopen than a claim filed with photographs attached.
2. Find your deductible. On many Texas policies, wind and hail carries a separate and higher deductible, often 1 or 2 percent of the dwelling coverage rather than a flat dollar amount. On a $400,000 dwelling limit, 2 percent is $8,000. Know this number before you file, because it decides whether filing is even worth it.
3. Call your carrier directly. Not a contractor's claim line.
4. Be there for the adjuster's visit, and have your roofer there too.
5. Read the scope they send back. Carriers pay actual cash value first and the recoverable depreciation after the work is done and invoiced. A quote that matches the ACV number exactly, with nothing left for you to claim back, deserves a second look.
6. If you want representation, hire a licensed public adjuster, separately, who is not also doing the work. That is the legal version of what the door knocker offered.

Filing is not always the right move

If the repair comes in near or below your wind and hail deductible, filing gets you nothing and puts a claim on your record. We will tell you when the numbers say that, which is a conversation a contractor paid on claim volume has no reason to have with you.

Common Questions

Will my rates go up if I file a hail claim?

That is between you and your carrier and it varies, but a weather claim is treated differently from an at-fault claim by most Texas insurers. Ask your agent before you file. Do not ask a roofer, including us, because we do not know your policy.

A roofer told me my deductible would be covered. Is that legal?

No. Texas House Bill 2102 made paying, waiving, rebating or absorbing a homeowner's deductible a criminal offense in September 2019, and advertising it is also an offense. Walk away from that quote.

Can you talk to my insurance company for me?

We can meet your adjuster on the roof and show them exactly what we found. We cannot file, negotiate or argue your policy on your behalf, because Texas Insurance Code chapter 4102 does not allow a contractor to adjust a claim they will be paid to repair.

How long do I have to file after a storm?

Policies set their own deadlines and Texas law sets outer limits, so check your own policy language rather than a general answer. The practical advice is do not wait, because the longer the gap the easier it is for a carrier to argue the damage came from something else.

Related Pages

• Hail Damage Roof Repair
• Storm Damage Repair
• How to Spot a Storm Chaser
• Hail Damage: What to Look For