Texas roof deductibles: what homeowners must pay

What the Texas rules say

The Texas Department of Insurance states the rule plainly: contractors may not offer to waive, rebate, or absorb a property-policy deductible. TDI also points homeowners to two parts of state law.

Texas Insurance Code Chapter 707 requires a policyholder to pay the deductible. For replacement-cost coverage, Section 707.004 allows an insurer to withhold recoverable depreciation or another replacement-cost holdback until it receives reasonable proof that the policyholder paid the deductible.

Texas Business and Commerce Code Section 27.02 addresses goods or services paid for with property-insurance proceeds. TDI explains that contracts of $1,000 or more involving an insurance settlement must contain a notice that the policyholder must pay the deductible. Read the current statute and your own contract rather than relying on a salesperson's summary.

Arrangements that should make you stop

TDI identifies several ways a contractor might try to disguise a waiver. Be cautious if a contractor proposes to:

• raise the estimate above the real construction price and use the difference to cover your deductible;
• issue a rebate or credit equal to all or part of the deductible;
• advertise a “free roof” when an insurance settlement is involved; or
• show the carrier one price while privately agreeing to collect a lower amount from you.

The problem is not merely the label on the discount. TDI warns that sending false cost information to an insurance company can be fraud. Your invoice, contract, and proof of payment should describe the real transaction.

What counts as proof of payment

Insurance Code Section 707.004 gives examples of reasonable proof: a canceled check, money-order receipt, credit-card statement, executed installment-plan contract, or another financing arrangement that requires full payment of the deductible over time. Your carrier can tell you what it will accept for the specific claim.

Keep the signed construction contract, change orders, invoices, receipts, proof of your payments, and completion documents together. Do not alter an invoice to make it resemble a carrier estimate.

A lower construction price is not a deductible waiver

A contractor may be able to perform the agreed construction for less than another contractor or less than an amount shown in a carrier estimate. That price difference is not permission to misstate what you paid or to promise that the deductible disappears.

Use the contractor's truthful price in the contract and invoice. Ask the carrier—not the contractor—to explain how the actual construction cost affects claim payment, recoverable depreciation, or any remaining funds under your policy. Coverage and payment depend on the policy and the carrier's claim decision.

At-Cost prices the construction work independently from the carrier estimate. It invoices the property owner, shows supplier and crew charges plus the flat facilitation fee, and leaves coverage and claim-payment discussions between the policyholder and carrier. It does not invoice the carrier or negotiate the claim as a public adjuster.

Questions to ask before signing

• Does the contract show the actual price you are expected to pay?
• Does it contain the deductible notice required for an insurance-funded contract when applicable?
• Is every discount or credit shown truthfully and unrelated to avoiding the deductible?
• Will the final invoice match the amount actually charged for the work?
• What proof of deductible payment does your carrier require?
• Who is answering the insurance question: the carrier, a licensed public adjuster, or a contractor who should stay within the construction role?

If a contractor offers to waive your deductible, TDI directs consumers to speak with their insurance company and report suspected violations to the Texas Attorney General's Consumer Protection Hotline.