The short answer: absolutely.
Is It Unlawful For Your Roofer To Pay Your Deductible?
Your roofer paying your deductible used to be a gray area or something that most people and insurance companies turned their heads to. As times have changed and now in many states, it is through and through illegal for your roofer to offer to pay your deductible. By doing this your roofer is committing insurance fraud. In addition, if your roofing contractor is willing to commit insurance fraud and put themselves and you at risk then what else are they willing to do to get your money?
Why Is It Now Illegal For Your Roofing Contractor To Pay Your Deductible?
Home insurance works completely differently than it used to. Before, you would submit a case with your insurance agency about your damaged or harmed roof, and then the insurance agency would decide the amount they owed you. They would take out your deductible and afterward sent you a single amount. You could then decide to fix your roof or not. You could pick an expensive roofing contactor or a cheap one, you could even DIY the roof yourself. Or you could take the insurance money and do as you please with it. Whatever you wanted to do, it was up to you.
Now, insurance companies give you the exact amount that it costs to fix or replace your roof. For the insurance company to give you the exact amount they need to know the exact inspection of the project. Once they obtain that information through a roofing contactor, they will subtract your deducible and send the money that it costs to replace your roof, this will usually happen in two installments. From that point, you are not allowed to fix your roof yourself or do as you please with the insurance money.
This implies that when a roofer offers to cover your deductible, they are taking a complete loss. After all, the insurance agency is just sending them the specific sum they need to complete the roof, right?
But, would you take loss after loss for your company? Probably not.
What they are doing is telling you that your roof replacement will cost a certain amount of money and telling your insurance company that it will cost much more. The roofing contractor will end up pocketing the difference and incentivizing you by telling you that they are paying for your deductible.
If A Roofing Contractor Pays My Deductible, Who Does This Effect?
In all honestly, this is a scam that is taking advantage of homeowners that do not want to pay out of pocket or for homeowners that are not aware of the new law. If the insurance company is aware of the insurance fraud that took place the least that could happen is your insurance company canceling you and the worst that could happen is that you are presented with criminal charges, along with the roofing company.
A roofer who will face the challenge of scamming an insurance agency is likely to do it to homeowners as well. They may rush the project and installation of the roof or cut corners to cut down on material and labor costs to be able to pocket even more of your insurance money.
Protect yourself and your insurance by steering away from roofing companies that offer to pay your deductibles. TUSK Roofing is a local, Oklahoma City company that values our customers and our reputation. You will not find us cheating our way through the system or with out customers. Bottom line, we will not cover a customers insurance deductible. We choose not to break the law or compromise our ethics. If you have any questions or want to set up a roof inspection call us or visit us at www.tuskroofs.com