Storm Damage and Insurance Claim Advertising Rules

Raftervio sells website design to roofing contractors. This guide explains the topic first and mentions our service only where it fits.

Why storm pages carry extra risk

After a hailstorm or high winds, homeowners search for roofers in large numbers, and many jobs are paid partly by insurance. That creates pressure to make offers that sound helpful: "We'll cover your deductible," "We handle the insurance company for you," "Free roof if you qualify." Several states have passed laws aimed squarely at those offers, partly in response to aggressive door-to-door "storm chasing."

Your website is advertising, so these rules apply to it. A storm damage page written years ago may contain wording that is now unlawful in your state. This guide covers three states in detail. If you work elsewhere, check your state's insurance department and contractor licensing board.

The three rules that come up everywhere

Across the states covered here, three themes repeat:

1. No deductible offers. Do not offer to waive, pay, absorb or rebate a homeowner's deductible.
2. No claim adjusting. Do not advertise that you will negotiate, adjust or "fight" an insurance claim unless you are licensed as a public adjuster, and in Texas, not even then on the same property.
3. No inducements for claims. Do not offer gifts, cash or rebates in exchange for an inspection or a claim.

Texas

The Texas Department of Insurance says it is illegal for a contractor to offer to waive, rebate or absorb a policyholder's deductible, citing Business and Commerce Code section 27.02.¹ TDI also notes that contracts of $1,000 or more involving an insurance settlement must include a notice that the policyholder must pay the deductible.¹

On claim handling, TDI cites Insurance Code section 4102.163, which prohibits acting as a public adjuster, or advertising to adjust claims, where you provide or may provide contracting services on the property.¹ TDI says websites, ads and other materials must not say or imply that you will act as both contractor and adjuster, and gives examples of improper language and conduct:¹

• Offering to negotiate claim settlements or file claims for policyholders
• Promising to recover "every dime you are owed" from an insurer
• Advertising to help homeowners avoid "incorrect settlement pricing"
• Telling others, including insurers, that you represent the policyholder or can speak for them on coverage issues

Texas regulations define "advertisement" to include a website.¹

Florida

Florida's rules are in section 489.147 of the Florida Statutes, titled "Prohibited property insurance practices." The section has been amended several times, most recently by chapter 2025-40, Laws of Florida.²

Prohibited advertisements. The statute defines a prohibited advertisement as "any written or electronic communication by a contractor which encourages, instructs, or induces a consumer" to contact a contractor or public adjuster for a roof damage insurance claim, unless it includes required disclosures in a font of "at least 12 points and at least half as large as the largest font size used in the communication."² The disclosures must state that:

• The consumer is responsible for "any insurance deductible"
• Waiving or rebating a deductible is felony insurance fraud
• "To intentionally file an insurance claim containing any false, incomplete, or misleading information" is felony insurance fraud

Prohibited practices. A contractor may not solicit a residential property owner through a prohibited advertisement, or offer "a rebate, gift, gift card, cash, coupon, waiver of any insurance deductible" in exchange for a roof inspection or making a roof insurance claim.² A contractor also may not interpret policy provisions, advise on coverage or adjust a claim unless licensed as a public adjuster.²

Penalties. A contractor who violates the section is subject to discipline and "may receive up to a $10,000 fine for each violation."² Acts by compensated employees or other people soliciting on the contractor's behalf are treated as the contractor's acts.²

Contract notices. The statute also sets wording that must appear in roof repair and replacement contracts, including a notice in bold type of at least 14 points advising the owner to contact their insurance company if the work relates to a claim.² That affects contract templates, and any sample contract you publish online.

Colorado

Colorado Revised Statutes section 6-22-105 says a roofing contractor doing work paid from a property and casualty insurance policy "shall not advertise or promise to pay, waive, or rebate all or part of any insurance deductible."³ If a contractor does, the insurer is "not obligated to consider the estimate of costs for the roofing work prepared by the roofing contractor," and the owner or insurer may sue the contractor for damages.³

The same section says a contractor soliciting roofing work in Colorado may not claim to be, or act as, a public adjuster, though a contractor with a valid contract may still discuss the scope of repairs with the insurer on the owner's behalf.³

Wording to remove, and safer alternatives

These alternatives are starting points, not legal advice. Florida pages that encourage a claim may still need the full statutory disclosures, in the required font size.

What a good storm damage page does

A storm page can still be helpful and persuasive without crossing these lines:

• Explain signs of hail and wind damage a homeowner can check from the ground
• Describe your inspection: what you look at, how long it takes, what they receive
• Say clearly that the homeowner chooses whether to file a claim and deals with their insurer
• Show your license number where your state requires it
• Use real photos of storm repairs you completed, with permission
• Link to your state insurance department's consumer guidance
• Give a phone number and a short form for inspection requests

A note on door-to-door and text campaigns

Some roofers follow storms with door hangers, texts and calls. Those campaigns are outside the scope of this website guide, but the same deductible and claim rules apply, and texting brings in TCPA consent rules. See the consent section of our lead capture page.

Checking your own site in ten minutes

1. Search your site for the words "deductible", "insurance", "claim", "adjuster" and "free roof".
2. Read every sentence where they appear and ask whether it offers to pay or waive anything, promises to deal with the insurer for the homeowner, or offers a gift for an inspection.
3. Check pop-ups, banners, image text and PDF flyers, not only page text.
4. If you work in Florida, check whether any page encourages a roof claim and, if so, whether the required disclosures appear in the right font size.
5. Note anything unclear and ask an attorney who works with contractors in your state.